NEED HELP WITH TWO AFFLICTED SQUIRRELS

[stevetheartist]

My wife Pamela has two squirrels needing help that she sees at a huge (one square mile) city cemetery that is like a woodland park here in Colorado Springs. One appears to be really old, according to Pamela, and seems to have a squirrel version of osteoporosis, given the extreme curving of her spine when she sits to eat. Pamela also believes she is missing teeth. She generally moves somewhat slowly (except when she first sees Pamela and comes bounding over to her) and takes forever to eat anything hard like a nut. We have started making our own almond and sunflower butters for her with our Champion juicer, and she really LOVES these. We also have plenty of walnuts, so we could also make walnut butter for her if you think that is a good idea. The nut butters are so much easier for her to eat. She also loves watermelon and apples, and believe it or not, oranges. We don't know if there is more we can do to help her, but we would like to try if you experts can give us any advice beyond what we are already doing. I will post a couple of photos of her. We are not trying to artificially prolong her life; just to give her as much joy as possible in her remaining days.

The second squirrel appears to move and behave normally, but she has a great quantity of white fur. She is not an albino, but she appeared hesitant to approach my wife in a way that is unusual in my wife's many years of experience with squirrels. It is almost as though she is used to getting strange reactions from other creatures. I realize we may be inventing that idea. Anyway, I have no idea if there is a medical condition that needs attention or if this is just some genetic quirk. She is certainly a much easier-to-spot target for the red tails, falcons, great horned owls and coyotes that all roam there, but we hope you can tell us if there is anything we can do to help her.

I have not seen either squirrel, though I do know many of her other squirrel friends. I wish she could write this in her own words, but she cannot be around electricity in any form and thus cannot use a computer. So I realize I may not have done a good job describing the situation, but we would love your wisdom if you can suggest anything we might do to improve the lives of these two dear creatures. Thank you so much. I will enclose three photos of the first squirrel who appears, according to my wife, to lack teeth and have some spinal problems. One photo shows what Pamela thinks is an unnatural hump from the back. The other two images of her show close-ups of her eating a nut-butter ball and some watermelon. The fourth photo shows the squirrel with the white patches.

Thank you for any help you can give us.

[stepnstone]

My wife Pamela has two squirrels needing help that she sees at a huge (one square mile) city cemetery that is like a woodland park here in Colorado Springs. One appears to be really old, according to Pamela, and seems to have a squirrel version of osteoporosis, given the extreme curving of her spine when she sits to eat. Pamela also believes she is missing teeth. She generally moves somewhat slowly (except when she first sees Pamela and comes bounding over to her) and takes forever to eat anything hard like a nut. We have started making our own almond and sunflower butters for her with our Champion juicer, and she really LOVES these. We also have plenty of walnuts, so we could also make walnut butter for her if you think that is a good idea. The nut butters are so much easier for her to eat. She also loves watermelon and apples, and believe it or not, oranges. We don't know if there is more we can do to help her, but we would like to try if you experts can give us any advice beyond what we are already doing. I will post a couple of photos of her. We are not trying to artificially prolong her life; just to give her as much joy as possible in her remaining days.

The second squirrel appears to move and behave normally, but she has a great quantity of white fur. She is not an albino, but she appeared hesitant to approach my wife in a way that is unusual in my wife's many years of experience with squirrels. It is almost as though she is used to getting strange reactions from other creatures. I realize we may be inventing that idea. Anyway, I have no idea if there is a medical condition that needs attention or if this is just some genetic quirk. She is certainly a much easier-to-spot target for the red tails, falcons, great horned owls and coyotes that all roam there, but we hope you can tell us if there is anything we can do to help her.

I have not seen either squirrel, though I do know many of her other squirrel friends. I wish she could write this in her own words, but she cannot be around electricity in any form and thus cannot use a computer. So I realize I may not have done a good job describing the situation, but we would love your wisdom if you can suggest anything we might do to improve the lives of these two dear creatures. Thank you so much. I will enclose three photos of the first squirrel who appears, according to my wife, to lack teeth and have some spinal problems. One photo shows what Pamela thinks is an unnatural hump from the back. The other two images of her show close-ups of her eating a nut-butter ball and some watermelon. The fourth photo shows the squirrel with the white patches.

Thank you for any help you can give us.

WoW!! Just wow! :eek
The top pictures of the one squirrel looks to be a dwarf, if it is that would explain it's difficulty with eating and what you are suspecting to be a hunched back. I really think it is a dwarf but am going to direct some members here that have and know them better then I. Dwarfs are very challenged and do not live long, they can not survive in the wild because their very existence is challenged and they do have special needs. If it is a dwarf it needs to be brought in. You & wife feeding it the soft foods is actually life saving to her, keep it up.
There is nothing wrong with the other squirrel but it is the most unusual color variant that I have ever seen! It is not so unusual to see color variations in grey squirrels from being partial black to all black, partial white to all white but that one wow! It almost looks like it could have a bit of fox squirrel in it but I can't say if they can interbreed or not. I'm just in awe!!

[Chickenlegs]

The first little squirrel sure looks like a dwarf. Doesn't really look old. Dwarf squirrels are easy pickins for predators. They don't move very fast, have a hard time finding food and even eating is a challenge. The soft foods you're giving this little one are life saving. She may not be missing teeth, but they're teeth and jaws just aren't strong like a normal squirrels. Look at that precious face. Oh dear lord if I was able I would take that sweetheart. Please bring her in. She will live a short blessed life with your care. Without it, her future looks brief and bleak. She can't climb like her fellow squirrels and falls are an issue. Even if she's high functioning, she needs your protection.

The other squirrel is just amazing!

[stepnstone]

The first little squirrel sure looks like a dwarf. Doesn't really look old. Dwarf squirrels are easy pickins for predators. They don't move very fast, have a hard time finding food and even eating is a challenge. The soft foods you're giving this little one are life saving. She may not be missing teeth, but they're teeth and jaws just aren't strong like a normal squirrels. Look at that precious face. Oh dear lord if I was able I would take that sweetheart. Please bring her in. She will live a short blessed life with your care. Without it, her future looks brief and bleak. She can't climb like her fellow squirrels and falls are an issue. Even if she's high functioning, she needs your protection. The other squirrel is just amazing!
.................................................. .................................................: yeahthathttp://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/christian/prayer-smiley-emoticon.png

[island rehabber]

Wow! First of all, thanks to your wife for feeding these precious ones, especially the little dwarf. And to you for bringing these pix to TSB so we can all be amazed -- I have never seen such odd coloration as that second squirrel has! I do believe he is a foxer, which would be typical for your area anyway, but what on earth caused him to be a "pinto" foxer, I have no idea.

Chickenlegs knows her dwarf squirrels and I agree with everything she said. Please take this baby in if you can. And please please keep us updated (more pix would be great, too :grin2).

[Mel1959]

I agree, the first squirrel does look like a dwarf. Do you notice that it seems smaller than the other squirrels? Does it move differently when it runs? Dwarf squirrels joints aren't connected well, so they sorta bumble when they walk or run. How long has Pamela been seeing this little guy?

[HRT4SQRLS]

Steve, thank your wife for caring about these two beauties. :Love_Icon :hug

I think the second one is a Piebald squirrel which is a rare genetic anomaly. It is an AWESOME anomaly.
http://dfwurbanwildlife.com/2015/03/17/mammals/fox-squirrel-oddities/

I'm not sure the first one is a dwarf. Is it small? How long has this one been observed in the cemetery. Dwarf don't live long in nature. To help these two you could add calcium carbonate powder to your nut paste. That will help tremendously because the nuts aren't particularly healthy. The calcium carbonate will help. You could also try avocado. Most squirrels really like it. I'm not sure about a wild though.

Welcome to The Squirrel Board.
We would love to see more pics of these two.

[Mel1959]

Steve, thank your wife for caring about these two beauties. :Love_Icon :hug

I think the second one is a Piebald squirrel which is a rare genetic anomaly. It is an AWESOME anomaly.
http://dfwurbanwildlife.com/2015/03/17/mammals/fox-squirrel-oddities/

I'm not sure the first one is a dwarf. Is it small? How long has this one been observed in the cemetery. Dwarf don't live long in nature. To help these two you could add calcium carbonate powder to your nut paste. That will help tremendously because the nuts aren't particularly healthy. The calcium carbonate will help. You could also try avocado. Most squirrels really like it. I'm not sure about a wild though.

Welcome to The Squirrel Board.
We would love to see more pics of these two.

I think you are absolutely correct about the squirrel being Piebald. Thank you for sharing that article it was very interesting. :hug

[lennysmom]

Oh WOW I am just amazed that little dwarf looking foxer has survived all this time out in the wild with so many physical setbacks - little one must be such a fighter!:Love_Icon The will to survive in squirrels never ceases to amaze me! Bless your wife for feeding and looking out the needs of this little one.:hug

[stepnstone]

The will to survive in squirrels never ceases to amaze me!

http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/yes/yes-i-fully-agree-smiley-emoticon.gif They are an extraordinary species! :Love_Icon

[stevetheartist]

Hi, everyone, I am not well-versed on forums, so I will try to do this well. I am uploading more photos as some of you requested. Thank you for your time and wisdom. I know my wife would absolutely LOVE to bring this squirrel who may be a dwarf home with her. She has named her Claire, for she names virtually all the animals she cares for at the cemetery. But we have two Irish setters and are soon moving to SW Colorado to get Pamela away from the electromagnetic nightmare of large cities, and we are absolutely overwhelmed with life at present. I am not absolutely ruling out rescuing this squirrel, but we know nothing about such work. On top of everything else, six days from now I am undergoing hernia surgery and will be relatively restricted for an entire month afterward. If is is REALLY feasible for total newbies to do this with two big dogs who are also like our kids, can you give us some advice as to how to begin? Pamela says that Claire does move a bit oddly and does not seem to like to climb like most squirrels love to do. She is not sure that she is significantly smaller than the others, and she is hoping to check that out today if the lightning does not prevent her from going.

QUESTIONS: One of you suggested adding calcium carbonate to the nut butters. We can sure do that. Is calcium citrate okay, or does it need to be carbonate? Also suggested was avocado. We will sure try that, too. What other foods would be good for her? We want to do all we can, whether it is here or at the cemetery. She seems to trust my wife completely and will eat anything Pamela gives her, including the organic tangerine as I mentioned last time. This series of photos shows her eating an organic date after demolishing a bunch of tangerine.

FUNNY COMMENT: Earlier this wee, while I was trying to get our income taxes done, Pamela lost our $275 car ignition key near where this squirrel lives. We hunted for it for a day and a half in the car, in my wife's food bags, and at the cemetery where Pamela thought she had been. We finally found the key a day later with many squirrel teeth marks. The culprit had chewed off two buttons completely before deciding that even though this key had my wife's scent on it, it was not really very tasty. Thankfully, we can live without the functions of those two buttons, and the key still works in the ignition.

Once again,THANKS TO ALL OF YOU KIND AND LOVING PEOPLE!

[HRT4SQRLS]

:thankyou Steve for the pics. I am totally 'taken' with your piebald squirrel. What a sight! :grin2

Now to Claire... the reason people have asked about her size is because there is just something about the shape of her head and face that gives her the distinctive 'look' of a dwarf. They have a short face and the ears sometimes set low on the head. Claire has the short, rounded face but her ears look normal (for a fox squirrel) to me. IDK, maybe they are further back on the head. Dwarfs are just that .... very small and have many issues due to a genetic 'flaw' although I hate to use that word. In nature they don't survive long so it is unlikely that you would see a true dwarf surviving in a cemetery. With that said, there is definitely something 'odd' about the way she looks. I could pass off the humped back as an injury but the short face and small eyes is definitely different. Personally, I have never seen a squirrel quite like Claire. Is she the same size as the piebald? I know that fox squirrels are typically large, upwards of 2 pounds. That is astounding to me as our squirrels in FL are around 1 pound as adults. :tilt
A dwarf should be considerably small than normal. Very odd indeed.

I'm super happy to hear that Claire is a hearty eater. For squirrels that live inside, diet is critical as an improper diet will lead to death from a calcium deficiency (Metabolic Bone Disease). This problem is exacerbated by feeding too many nuts as nuts cause calcium to be leeched from the bones. An outside squirrel is able to balance their diet with natural foods so the concerns about calcium deficiency aren't as great. With that said, I would never provide so many nuts to outside squirrel that they stopped foraging for natural foods and came to depend on handouts of nuts. That wouldn't be healthy.

I don't think that's a problem with Claire. She sounds like a good eater. Your nut butters are fine. You could use the calcium citrate but NOT if it has Vitamin D. Too much Vitamin D is toxic to squirrels. Tums is calcium carbonate and could be used. A tiny pinch of crushed Tums in the nut butter would be good for her. Her humped back concerns me. I wonder what that's all about. If she was a dwarf that could possible explain that but I just don't know.

I'm not sure an outside squirrel would eat any of this but our inside squirrels will eat avocado, sugar snap peas, butternut or acorn squash, fresh corn and many other veggies. They also like fruit as you have discovered. :grin2 Apple, orange, blueberries, grapes, etc. Yeah, squirrels eat better than we do. :peace :grin2

You said that Claire doesn't climb much. Can she climb trees at all? You also mentioned that she can run if she's coming for food, right? I wonder where she lives? Squirrels build dreys (nests) in trees to live in.


Edit... I forgot something. Squirrels love to chew remotes, cell phones, computer keys, key fobs, etc. :)
I'm glad they left enough for you to salvage. Stinkers!!!

[stevetheartist]

:thankyou Steve for the pics. I am totally 'taken' with your piebald squirrel. What a sight! :grin2

Now to Claire... the reason people have asked about her size is because there is just something about the shape of her head and face that gives her the distinctive 'look' of a dwarf. They have a short face and the ears sometimes set low on the head. Claire has the short, rounded face but her ears look normal (for a fox squirrel) to me. Dwarfs are just that .... very small and have many issues due to a genetic 'flaw' although I hate to use that word. In nature they don't survive long so it is unlikely that you would see a true dwarf surviving in a cemetery. With that said, there is definitely something 'odd' about the way she looks. I could pass off the humped back as an injury but the short face and small eyes is definitely different. Personally, I have never seen a squirrel quite like Claire. Is she the same size as the piebald? I know that fox squirrels are typically large, upwards of 2 pounds. That is astounding to me as our squirrels in FL are around 1 pound as adults. :tilt
A dwarf should be considerably small than normal. Very odd indeed.

I'm super happy to hear that Claire is a hearty eater. For squirrels that live inside, diet is critical as an improper diet will lead to death from a calcium deficiency (Metabolic Bone Disease). This problem is exacerbated by feeding too many nuts as nuts cause calcium to be leeched from the bones. An outside squirrel is able to balance their diet with natural foods so the concerns about calcium deficiency aren't as great. With that said, I would never provide so many nuts to outside squirrel that they stopped foraging for natural foods and came to depend on handouts of nuts. That wouldn't be healthy.

I don't think that's a problem with Claire. She sounds like a good eater. Your nut butters are fine. You could use the calcium citrate but NOT if it has Vitamin D. Too much Vitamin D is toxic to squirrels. Tums is calcium carbonate and could be used. A tiny pinch of crushed Tums in the nut butter would be good for her. Her humped back concerns me. I wonder what that's all about. If she was a dwarf that could possible explain that but I just don't know.

I'm not sure an outside squirrel would eat any of this but our inside squirrels will eat avocado, sugar snap peas, butternut or acorn squash, and many other veggies. They also like fruit as you have discovered. :grin2 Apple, orange, blueberries, grapes, etc. Yeah, squirrels eat better than we do. :peace :grin2

You said that Claire doesn't climb much. Can she climb trees at all? You also mentioned that she can run if she's coming for food, right? I wonder where she lives? Squirrels build dreys (nets) in trees to live in.


Edit... I forgot something. Squirrels love to chew remotes, cell phones, computer keys, key fobs, etc. :)
I'm glad they left enough for you to salvage. Stinkers!!!

Thank you for the information about the nuts and the other nutritional issues. It's a bit scary how many problems well-meaning but ignorant humans (like my wife and I) can cause when all we are trying to do is help. We will indeed try the various foods you mentioned above. We have also wondered about her face, since it does not look like any other squirrel we have ever seen. And we will certainly buy some calcium carbonate powder to add to the foods. Claire can climb trees, but she does not seem to go as high in the trees as most squirrels seem to love to do. I have been trying to remember when Pamela first met her there. I believe Pamela saw her the first time about two or three months ago. Then we did not see her again for over a month, and we were afraid something had happened to her. We had made all the nut butters but never saw Claire. Then one day last week, while Pamela was just sitting down feeding some other creatures, she felt a tap on her bare arm and looked. Claire had put her front paw on Pamela's elbow. Pamela recognized her immediately. So we have been feeding her daily with fresh batches of nut butters since then. But we will try to do much better now with your advice. Do you think we could mix some of those things together with the nut butter in hope of getting her to eat it happily? ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR HELPING US!!!

[HRT4SQRLS]

Steve, if Claire is able to survive on her own for months she is definitely able to provide for herself. Any food that you provide helps her and gives her a boost. You mentioned that she might be missing teeth. I'm sure your soft food is a real treat for her. That's awesome that she trusts Pamela enough to touch her arm. :grin2

I didn't mean to suggest that your offering would harm her. Your offering are a total blessing to her. The calcium makes the nut butters 'better' food. Feeding outside squirrels doesn't have the many restrictions that feeding captive, rehab or pet squirrels does. It sounds like a special relationship that Pamela has with Claire. :tilt

Sure, you can get creative with the foods.

[squizzabelle]

This is why i totally LOVE this place, always something so amazing to read about and see, God bless you all for looking out for the critters and what a beautiful,little 'odd couple' :Love_Icon

[Chickenlegs]

Could these two be siblings? They both look young. The piebald boy hasn't developed his man pillows yet and the little dwarf has no trait pattern baldness and doesn't look at all scruffy--something old dwarfs do. Check out some of the dwarf pix on TSB (special needs) We do have another fox dwarf. Claire doesn't look like anybody else, but with genetic anomalies, there's no continuity. She does appear stubby like dwarfkind but can't really see without comparison to something constant--coke can, brick, quart paint can--that sort of thing. Thank you for your kind hearts. You know what you can do and they are so much better off than they were without you. Any other TSB members out your way?

[stevetheartist]

Steve, if Claire is able to survive on her own for months she is definitely able to provide for herself. Any food that you provide helps her and gives her a boost. You mentioned that she might be missing teeth. I'm sure your soft food is a real treat for her. That's awesome that she trusts Pamela enough to touch her arm. :grin2

I didn't mean to suggest that your offering would harm her. Your offering are a total blessing to her. The calcium makes the nut butters 'better' food. Feeding outside squirrels doesn't have the many restrictions that feeding captive, rehab or pet squirrels does. It sounds like a special relationship that Pamela has with Claire. :tilt

Sure, you can get creative with the foods.

I honestly don't know how to thank you for your gracious help. One of the problems with living a normal-length (whatever that really is) human life is that we outlive so many other creatures we dearly love, whether our Irish setters or the wild ones that God brings our way. Often we are not able to do much for the needy ones, and having people like you in our lives is a rich blessing. You make us wiser and better able to help them. THANK YOU.

Now a bit about my wife, who is a combination of a female St. Francis of Assisi and Snow White from the Walt Disney movie. She has two raven families who have loved her for over five years, who have brought all their young to her each year to be blessed and fed by Grandma, who perform air shows (five or more birds at a time) a few feet over her head, who follow us into the Rockies flying about five to ten feet from the open passenger window where my wife is sitting, and who come to our home daily. She originally met them at the same cemetery five miles away, but they have followed her home and learned where we live. She has an uncountable number of smaller birds that follow her around, land on her head or hand, etc. And dozens of squirrels. But the oddest one of all is the great horned owl who spent half an hour sitting within a few feet of her just studying her one day. She has known him for years. Any time he is around, she leaves the area so as not to attract any squirrels to become dinner. But Julio the owl is apparently fascinated by my wife. So am I. Here is a photo she took of him the day he came to sit by her.

[stevetheartist]

Could these two be siblings? They both look young. The piebald boy hasn't developed his man pillows yet and the little dwarf has no trait pattern baldness and doesn't look at all scruffy--something old dwarfs do. Check out some of the dwarf pix on TSB (special needs) We do have another fox dwarf. Claire doesn't look like anybody else, but with genetic anomalies, there's no continuity. She does appear stubby like dwarfkind but can't really see without comparison to something constant--coke can, brick, quart paint can--that sort of thing. Thank you for your kind hearts. You know what you can do and they are so much better off than they were without you. Any other TSB members out your way?

Thanks for the ideas. We will try to get some shots of Claire with a known object so you can judge size better. All of you are such cool people. Thank you!!! When I have a chance, I will seek out the photos you suggested.

[CritterMom]

For calcium, may I suggest you just google "NOW calcium carbonate powder" and buy at the site with the best prices. The powder is really convenient and they entire calcium supply for an adult squirrel is only 1/3 of a teaspoon, so you don't have to feed a lot of it.

[stevetheartist]

For calcium, may I suggest you just google "NOW calcium carbonate powder" and buy at the site with the best prices. The powder is really convenient and they entire calcium supply for an adult squirrel is only 1/3 of a teaspoon, so you don't have to feed a lot of it.

I was probably going to end up with NOW anyway, but I am heading to our local health food store where we normally shop for ourselves. I am encouraged by all of you and don't want to wait for Amazon, even with their great two-day shipping. Thank you for the advice!!!

[stepnstone]

I'm not sure the first one is a dwarf. Is it small?

Do we have any members with a dwarf foxer?
I would assume even a foxer dwarf would be bigger then our greys. :dono

[stevetheartist]

Do we have any members with a dwarf foxer?
I would assume even a foxer dwarf would be bigger then our greys. :dono

Thanks to all of you who are seeking to help us know what to do. Pamela did not see this squirrel, Claire, when she was there yesterday. It was in the midst of frequent lightning and thunder, and most of the creatures were in safe places. She is going to try today to find her and photograph her alongside some object of known size so all of you can get a better idea of her size. I will post the photos if she is successful. Thanks again!

[Mel1959]

Do we have any members with a dwarf foxer?
I would assume even a foxer dwarf would be bigger then our greys. :dono

I thought there was a little one that was suspected to be a dwarf named Jessie and was possibly a fox squirrel, but I can't seem to find the thread.

There was definitely one fox dwarf on TSB.

[Chickenlegs]

Look under specific ailment/downs syndrome/ Little Jesse. That's the other little fox dwarf. Claire looks very different from Jesse but then every squirrel looks different from every other squirrel.