Imprinting

[BuckeyeSqrl]

I thought I would toss this one out to everyone for advice.

The good news, the girl (the one with maggotsl) that my neighbor brought me last week is doing very well. She's up to 90 grams and will open her eyes any day now. She was found on the sidewalk alone with no siblings.

The problem is that she was born at a very strange time here in Ohio and I don't have any other squirrels right now (I just released my spring babies last Sunday). No one at Ohio Wildlife Center has any squirrels that are still indoors this time of year either.

Does anyone have any ideas about what to do to keep her from imprinting when she opens her eyes? I have plenty of squirrels running around my yard all of the time, but I don't think seeing them will do the trick.

Thanks!

Kristi

[thundersquirrel]

oooo, tough one.

welllllll definitely keep asking around for a sibling, but if you can't find one, then you'll have to be very careful.

sock buddies are a good idea. make them squirrel sized, lol. start out with that. you'll need to avoid cuddling early on, and this will be made doubly hard, because the squirrel will probably get lonely and WANT to cuddle. some people insist that kittens make good foster siblings, but i've always had a bad feeling about a squirrel getting comfortable with a future predator.

you'll either have to be very strict about minimal contact and plenty of outdoor time, or you'll find a sibling. i'd prefer that latter, obviously, hehehe.

how close are you to michigan? i can drive to the ohio border in about an hour. friends of wildlife has a network of rehabbers, and maybe i could find a sibling for you. lemme know if that's a plausible idea. we could meet halfway. only thing is, if you don't have a permit then i might not be able to.

[BuckeyeSqrl]

Thanks Thunder.

She already has a sock/rice buddy. I limit contact with her to feeding times only. Then, it is feed, stimulate, and back in the carrier.

I totally agree on the kitten thing! They should never be comfortable with cats! I don't have any kittens anyways...

I do have a permit under the Ohio Wildlife Center. I'm in a suburb of Columbus, so a drive to the Ohio border would be about 3 hours for me....

I just got a call that maybe I could hook up with someone in Cinci, OH. Hopefully, that comes through!

[thundersquirrel]

hey, that's wonderful!

yeah, a four hour drive is a little impractical. we could use it as a last resort.

i don't think you have to be totally cut-off from the squirrel, at least not yet. that's good that you're so dedicated though, a cute squirrel is hard to resist!

i'm kinda repeating myself, but you should put her outside at an early age. i'd say six weeks old would be a good time.....by putting her outside, i mean take her outside in her cage/enclosure and just let her smell the air, hear the noises, feel the sun, etc. etc. for like twenty minutes. kinda to remind her of where she came from, ya know?

the ohio wildlife center, that's cool! you and i have a similar rehabilitation experience; my mother and i work under Friends of Wildlife's permit, and we mostly do orphaned babies.

lol, my cat is at my feet. she's looking up at me right now as if to say, do you need me to cuddle some squirrels? i'll gladly cuddle them.....with my claws......

:nono she's a bad kitty. :D

[nutz4squirls]

Hi Kristi, if your contact doesn't come through in Cincinnati than let me know, I have allot of friends and customers out that way that may have a squirrel the same age. I would try to get her in with another squirrel as soon as possible or she's not gonna know she's a squirrel. As far imprinting that usually isn't as much an issue but she does need another baby so develop social skills and the older they get the harder it is to adapt them to other squirrels. Nutz

[thundersquirrel]

what kind of squirrel is she?

i just got two fox squirrels in tonight, they're about six weeks old though. how old would you say your squirrel is?

[BuckeyeSqrl]

Thunder,
She's a gray that I would say is about four weeks old. She weighs 95 grams. I think her eyes will open either today or tomorrow.

Chris,
I didn't hear back on the Cinci contact. I would love to get her with other squirrels ASAP! I know how important this is and would appreciate any help you can give me!

Thanks all!

Kristi