Hey all ! I apologize ahead for the long introduction !
My name is Milysa or you can call me Minx. Whichever you'd like.
I found this board back in February when I reading more about squirrels & their nutrition, etc. My boyfriend has 3 he rescued from when they were newborns/2 weeks old, but he said they were unsuitable to be released into the wild. They range in age from 3 years old to 1 year old. (He's rescued & taken cared of & released countless squirrels over the years, because they are either found orphaned or hurt. People brought them to him. He's never actually found one funnily enough.) So that makes me their step squirrel mom lolll. I met them in December. & I have to say this squirrel board has been the best find ever !
I say new-ish squirrel mom because I am currently taking care of 3 baby girls that were orphaned from 3 weeks old, that my boyfriend's friend found right before quarantine was mandated & everyone was scared of getting Covid (I'm in NY.) It was daunting to me at first & there were many sleepless & crying nights I encountered in the beginning, because I was so worried for them. (I took care of them by myself.) Anyway, I am happy to say they are now just about 12 weeks old & they are so happy & thriving & I couldn't be more proud of myself ! Aiko is the bravest & has the fluffiest tail, Persephone is the most vocal since before her eyes even opened, & Kistune (nickname Kitty) is the most skittish one but she'll follow her sisters around.
Aiko makes these purring noises when she sits on my shoulders & flicks her tail. She made a literal barking noise 2 days ago. They all make this weird barking noise sometimes though. At first, I thought it was the puppy upstairs, but nope... it was them lolll.
They also like to bury their food in my hair & hoodie lol.
They are still on formula (Fox Valley 20/50 Formula - they LOVE LOVE this stuff ! They always know when it's feeding time & they all crawl on me & try to steal the nipples when I try to put them on syringes lmao) but I've caught them stealing sips of my tea sometimes, when I walk away. So weird they like it ! (I drink tea every day & night.) They haven't found a likeness for water yet. (I have a water bottle for them, but I was thinking should I leave a water bowl out, as well ?) I give them Henry's Healthy Blocks (Hi-protein ones) & the regular ones to the older squirrels. I got the Hazelnut Stix as treats too.
My babies love eating red apples, (they don't like green ones), radishes (sometimes), baby carrots, avocado, sweet potatoes (their favorite so far), bananas, blueberries (they love love those) & grapes (I peel the skins but they'll only eat grapes if that's the last fruit left over from the bowl I give them.) I gave them mushroom a couple times (baby bella) but I only ever gave that once a week. So I wound up eating them myself. They tried broccoli but they didn't like it much so I saved the broccoli to eat myself as well lol. They don't like lettuce either... They are such picky eaters ! haha. I try not to feed them too much fruit though, because I don't want them to become diabetic. I feed them more veggies than anything.
I just got them a huge congo cage & they're all still adjusting, since they were roaming the house freely & used to sleep either with me or under the bed in a box with clothes, they seemed as sleeping quarters or they would sleep in the living room in the pillows & giant stuffed animals. But they're so messy & every 5 minutes I found myself cleaning up after them especially after earing nuts. (They just opened their first hazelnut & walnuts last week!) I give them nuts as "treats." I didn't mind, since I clean the house everyday, but it's definitely a work load with 3 little ones. I feel like I have 3 mini human toddlers lol ! & even though I have scratches all over my hands & arms & legs.. I love them so so much. & when the time comes to release them, I'm definitely going to cry like a baby lol.
My bf & I are going to build a little enclosure for outside so they can all get sun because usually I'll just bring their carrier out with me & get sun that way. But I was thinking of even getting a playpen for them, I saw on Exotic Nutrition, so they have more room. I've been quarantined at his house & he doesn't have a big yard so I'm still trying to figure out where to put the enclosure.
So yea... that's me in a walnut shell lmao. It's very nice to meet you all !