"Hello" Squirrel Lovers!

[dr3am]

Hello everyone!

I have visited this sight often for many years now. I am the mother of an Eastern Grey who just had his 7th birthday back on July 21st. I must say the information from all of you helped me to raise this sweet fellow, and I thank you so much for your knowledge and the care you share here. I will give you a brief history of how my story came to be.

My son called for me loudly one afternoon...
"Mommy, mommy!!! Come help me, I found something and it needs your help! Please, please mommy, you just have to save him."

I found him staring down at something that looked barely alive covered in sand and attracting ants. The right side of his head was dark purple and bruised... It was horrible. I had no idea what it was. A rat? A squirrel? or perhaps a opossum that was dropped from it's mother's back during the night? It still had an umbilical cord attached! But I couldn't leave it. So I scooped it up, cleaned it and ran to the store for pedialyte while my son dug out the heater he had for a lizard once. We tried laying it back outside for it's mom to find....day after day we did this while we watched from behind the door to make sure he was safe away from us. We finally decided it was time to call someone who could take over. I talked to a rehabilitator ...well her husband. I could never seem to call at a time that was convenient to catching her around the house and she was always at work both day and night. So...I decided to take on the chore myself. I stayed home all summer so that I was at this little creature's side with never a 2 hour span gone between us. I awoke through the night every 2 hours just like I did for my son for feedings, cleanings and care...you do what you have to do. I had committed myself now and his life depended on me. (you can imagine how happy I was once it was finally visible that it was a squirrel infant and not a rat pinkie perhaps from the garage...I had doubts for a while! Although I have no issues with rats, I'll just say I was very relieved.)

(This is Nemo after a few weeks of finding him...)


Anyways (sigh), I did the one thing I know you are not supposed to do. I fell in love. I tried so hard not to....I really did. So I forewarn anyone who goes through this: if you can't give it back to nature...hand him over to someone who can. I never wanted to cheat him of his life. I have tried hard to make sure that he has had an interesting, loving and cared for life....and he does. I have never loved an animal as much as I adore him. He is my lovebug.
What else can I say? I would never trade what I have learned and I have at least helped to convert many a local gardener from thinking of squirrels as nothing more than simply a pest. They deserve all the love we have to give.

growing...


and growing...


...and growing! (This was his baby cage from years ago.)


71/2 years old sleeping on the sofa.


He is sociable, lovable and wonderful! Always has been. I pray he stays with me for as long as he can.

[lennysmom]

Welcome to TSB!! What a wonderful, sweet story! And a great success story as well - you did a fantastic job raising this precious squirrel Nemo - I'm sure he is so thankful you found him!

[stepnstone]

to TSB!
Your story is as remarkable as his 7 1/2 years!
Obviously you researched to know what you were doing and did it right!
I wish there were more like you that take their lives as seriously as you did to
ensure his survival! You have my admiration!

[farrelli]

Welcome! I assume that because you are familiar with TSB you know what the proper diet is, but please let us know what you feed just in case.

It sounds like you give him an excellent life, so I don't think that you should feel bad for him not being wild. Several of us have commented that indoor squirrels are the only ones we ever see truly relaxed and playful. Personally, I think that the indoor ones are the lucky ones. Nature does offer some excellent things, but it's also a mean, nasty, unforgiving bitch. They have short little lives filled with fear, deprivation, searing heat, bitter cold, pain, disease, predators, parasites, hunger, etc. Virtually none of them die peacefully in their sleep. I think your little guy hit the lottery.

[SammysMom]

The pic of him sleeping on his back is priceless! You have done a wonderful job and should have no regrets!
And I must say Farrelli...as always you have such a way with words...

[squirrellove89]

awww looks like u did a great job with ur baby!!!!!! and I think he is very happy as a lil house squirrel!!!!

[dr3am]

Thanks guys for the credit, but it could never have happened without the info I have gained from TSB and the forums here.

This fellow has never had a health issue other than he lost a nail once that thankfully grew back in pretty quickly. He is older now, so I have dealt with some upper teeth issues that seem fine. I have dropped in hoping to find a bit of help here soon and hopefully be able to share any info I have gathered over time with members also learning along the way.
I need to post next in the 'Non Life Threatening'... and I hope not the 'Life Threatening' threads next.
My husband allowed Nemo to 'sip' some orange juice one afternoon 2 weeks ago. He developed what sounded like the rasp of an infant that has inhaled his formula along with what appeared to be a nasty cold. Lots of sneezing and a nose that needs wiping like a child's on a cold winter morning waiting at the corner bus top. I feared pneumonia onset and asked a kind vet under the table about Baytril. She only had the tablet form and gave me BIOMOX-amoxicillin (the pink stuff) which she also gave me a syringe and dosage amount for 0.1 ML at 2x daily until gone.It will be 2 weeks today he has been on it. I don't hear the chest rasp, but he still has the major 'cold' symptoms. So I am here to ask for any advice I can get to try and help him recover quickly. Please check the 'Non Life Threatening' threads soon when you get a chance if you have dealt with anything like this.

Also...Nemo's diet basically follows what I have learned from on here with an occasional potato chip or pretzel bite (his favorite snack to ever get when he is lucky). He has always had bottled water with vitamins for rodents and daily calcium rich greens of fresh spinach, baby salad greens and kale along with antlers and bones for chewing on....sweet potatoes,mushrooms, tomatoes, green beans and garden peas, fresh corn, walnuts, pecans, unsalted sunflower seeds for morning treat (I call it busy food. But he isn't a huge fan of peanuts or sunflowers ...he likes macadamias and pecans!) I keep the rodent biscuits always on hand in his area. He has a wide variety of fresh fruits and veggies daily, he loves oatmeal and pasta cooked. High grain breads , etc...Raspberries and bananas are his favorite fruits along with pears and apples. His diet is always fresh and a pretty large variety. He has always been vigorous and healthy. I just keep him away from snack type foods, although he suckers me for a nibble here and there.

Thanks again everyone....I'm off to see if I can't get this cold issue treated correctly. I can't bear thinking anything bad could ever happen to him!
*(also...what life expectancy have you all seen. I feel like he is still very young and spry. I have seen many different answers from 2 years in the wild up to 20 years in captivity. What is realistic?)

[SammysMom]

The Baytril tablets are FINE as long as you get the proper dosing. We can definitely help with that. You mix it withe a specific amount of water and then dose with a syringe by her weight.

[CritterMom]

Yes. Call your vet and get the tablet. Find out the size in milligrams of what she gives you, and the weight of your sweet squirrel in grams and then come back and tell - one of the members will help you with diluting and dosage. The human antibiotic Cipro is also fine for this, so if you have any of that kicking around the house, the same holds true. They are nearly identical drugs (animals can have cipro or baytril; but humans should NOT have baytril, only cipro)

[dr3am]

I can have Cipro by tomorrow, and I ordered some enrofloxacin (for birds though)....to be delivered asap. I'll have the Cipro tomorrow evening. I can stop by vet in the morn and get the Baytril I hope...I'm in NC, but she was sweet before so I'm sure she will let me have it. Thank you. He seems to be okay, but really starting to show some signs of stress with the cold like symptoms...mostly at night. I have stayed up with him in a blanket just to make sure he is warm enough, and he seems to sleep better that way right now. He is having to breathe more through his mouth which seems to make him tired. But he is still playful for the most part...he's been sleeping in the sun during the day, but ready for me to hold him all night.

Fingers crossed.

[farrelli]

What kind of rodent blocks? I hope that you're not giving much in the way of corn, pasta, and bread, or even spinach because it's high in oxalates.

I've seen macadamias on the avoid list, but I don't know why.

Baytril and Cipro are basically the same thing, so you just need one or the other.

[dr3am]

Just fresh corn in the summer when we are fixing it for ourselves and I give him small wedges of it...say 6 wedges come from an ear...spinach, he does eat a few times a week, blended in with fresh baby greens that are organic and mixed...and he likes the top of a slice of whole grain bread that has the oats on top of it with a few pecan nuggets mixed in. Pasta...just once in a while. maybe 3-4 times in a month perhaps. I laugh and say he and I share the same diet sometimes...It makes me eat better. I have a salad every evening with dinner and he shares what vegetables I am having. Sometimes carrots and cucumber, sometimes tomatoes and green peas. I try and keep it pretty rounded and not too routine so he doesn't get particular for only a few varieties of produce.
I have heard back and forth on the macadamia nuts. They are a costly treat, so not an everyday expense. Come winter, I eat more pistachios...so Nemo does too. I do not let him have salted varieties and don't give him cashews. I heard they were not good for him. And I had an issue with chestnuts last year...I picked a bucket full...and then wasn't sure if they were good for him or not. There are two varieties (Horse chestnuts and Sweet Chestnuts) and I couldn't vouch for which they were. He nibbled one and I had to take it away. I should have found out first before gathering them. But...so we learn.

oh...the biscuits were the monkey biscuits I saw from on here....not actual rat biscuits. My error. I have seen a better brand discussed here that I want to try . He has never been a huge fan of them...but I saw that some mix them with juice for better appeal. Perhaps that's the way to go.

[SammysMom]

To be honest, the way to go with the blocks once you figure out this respiratory issue is tough love. Put the blocks in and when he is hungry without other stuff to eat, he will eat them. I suggest Henry's Healthy Blocks from henryspets.com
They have far more taste to them than other brands.