Its time for a grey

[McCarthy]

I have been following this thread with great interest, and pondering the same as others. Your little "Cheeky Chops" is a wonder.

Does she or has she shown any interest in other people or vehicles there?

Wondering if she was dumped there.

Wondering if she's a wild that has seen so many humans she knows how to pick out the special ones.

Wondering if she would want to take a ride with you or if that might be too much.

Wondering what she would do if you didn't show up for a day or few. (Has that already happened?)

Have you ever closed the door with her inside? How does she react?

Wondering so many things. If only she could talk and tell you exactly what she's thinking.

Compared to all other squirrels in this park, she behaves completely different. The others almost always show up in groups of 2 to 4 or 5. She always shows up at my van solo, and chases every other squirrel away. A couple times another squirrel made it into my van, and she had them flying out within 2 seconds.

I have never seen her with anybody else, but that's also not easy to track.

I think she really bonded with me, and is very aggressively making that point.

Not sure if she was dumped. Then again, crawling under a t-shirt is only something they learn from an early age on IMO. My field mouse did the same.

I changed parking lots yesterday, one row over, with her in the van. She sat on top of the steering wheel and turn on the piggy tunes, probably confused with the other cars and people moving by.

Today I held her in hands for the very first time. She didn't move at all, I just picked her up with both hands. I could pet her and she just looked at me. Surreal!

[CritterMom]

I have to tell you, I think closing the door and trying to transport her would be a huge mistake. She trusts you completely, and she is the Queen of her domain there at the beach park. I think you would break that trust and it might never return. I would continue to visit her in HER territory, and continue your relationship with her, but don't overstep your bounds. You have a magical situation right now. I wouldn't chance destroying that.

You will find your squirrel. Your best bet will be starting with a young one that has no memory of the wild. I live with a boy like that and it is magic.

[McCarthy]

Alrighty, this was a wakeup call. I feel bad, but I will share the outcome here for other "beginners" to see, and maybe to learn from it.

Before I read the last comment from CritterMom, I was at the beach again. Needless to say, my new best friend was around again, and when the sun was down, she was still in my van. Usually she runs for the trees but not this time. So I thought to myself: well, if she likes me that much, lets give it a try, and I took her home.

That night was a busy night. I kept her in a bathroom with food and an improvised nest, she was doing fine so far, eating out of my hand and all.

I hurried to Home Depot at 9 PM, came back with a ton of plywood, 2 by 2s and hardware and built a mansion for, 8 feet tall and 5 feet wide. I didn't get any sleep that night. Early in the morning I was done and showed her her new palace. The first day went "normal", she explored everything, found her den and slept in it right away.

And that's when things started to turn. The next day she only came out of her den when I wasn't around. I could see it on a security cam, she was eating, drinking, jumping around, using the large Tupperware toilet. But every time I entered the room, she went hiding.

At the end of that day I decided to check on her and opened the roof of the den. At this point there was no handfeeding anymore, she started teeth chattering with a blank stare in her eyes. I let her be, and early this morning I got the same treatment.

Instead of making it harder on her, I decided to bring her back, and that's what I just did.

It's crazy how smart these wild squirrels are. When I opened the door from my camper, it only took her about a minute to smell her true "home" and to come "alive" again. She looked at me, her entire demeanor changed, and she left with the tail in the wind, flickering of joy. She was right back in her element hunting for food on the ground.

Later on she came back one time for an almond, which really surprised me. I thought she was going to hate my guts for at least a couple years or so.

--

So here is my conclusion: now I REALLY understand why the sentiment in this forum is not about treating them as pets, but wanting them to be in the wild, in freedom. As long as they can survive in the wild, they truly belong in nature, in their trees, and not in homes or cages.

I have to full agree with CritterMom's last post. When I read it, it was "too late" and I was in for it.

And this experience makes me appreciate what you all do for those cute critters.

I now have a HUGE squirrel mansion worth 500 bucks (lumber is still crazy expensive) in my living room. It will remain empty for now because I want to make sure that I adjust my expectations first, and if I ever accept a grey it will be one that depends on help - not one that is just fine being on their own.

So if any other newbies read this thread, and you too feel like you want one of these super cute WILD animals around in your home, better go to the park and watch them in their element instead. Once they have seen freedom, they won't like your house, or you, all that much.

[CritterMom]

Keep going and seeing her. It sounds like maybe she will forgive your moment of madness. Perhaps you two can pretend this never happened.

You will find your baby. Everything is different when the first thing they see when their eyes open is a human. If they never live in the trees. It is unfortunate that many make their way to humans without a real ability to do that, from injury or birth defect or whatever, but if you can honor their squirreliness and not expect them to be like a dog or a cat or any other "pet" they can be simply wonderful. My mother thinks I am quite insane because I casually accept things like having the window frames in my bedroom destroyed or having to regularly repair chewed sheetrock. What she doesn't understand is that one day I will fix all of that damage and it will stay fixed and it will be the saddest day of my life. If you can get past the damage and being peed on and all the things most people simply wouldn't tolerate, you won't regret waiting until YOUR baby comes along.

There is a thread on here from one of our members about her frantically tearing the kitchen and living room apart looking for one of her "girls." And a couple pics of where she was found, head sticking out of the hole that had been excavated THROUGH the arm of the living room sofa, looking very pleased. THAT is living with a squirrel, and if you are daft enough, it is a simply wonderful ride!

[Mel1959]

Thank you for sharing your hard earned experience. . Let me know if you decide you want a grey that really DOES need you to care for it because it can’t survive in the wild. It might love your $500 mansion!

[Chirps]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Hoping like CritterMom that you can mend the fence and she will have the same relationship as before.


Or maybe you should just take that lumber and build yourself a treehouse so you can live with her in her world.

[McCarthy]

Keep going and seeing her. It sounds like maybe she will forgive your moment of madness. Perhaps you two can pretend this never happened.

You will find your baby. Everything is different when the first thing they see when their eyes open is a human. If they never live in the trees. It is unfortunate that many make their way to humans without a real ability to do that, from injury or birth defect or whatever, but if you can honor their squirreliness and not expect them to be like a dog or a cat or any other "pet" they can be simply wonderful. My mother thinks I am quite insane because I casually accept things like having the window frames in my bedroom destroyed or having to regularly repair chewed sheetrock. What she doesn't understand is that one day I will fix all of that damage and it will stay fixed and it will be the saddest day of my life. If you can get past the damage and being peed on and all the things most people simply wouldn't tolerate, you won't regret waiting until YOUR baby comes along.

There is a thread on here from one of our members about her frantically tearing the kitchen and living room apart looking for one of her "girls." And a couple pics of where she was found, head sticking out of the hole that had been excavated THROUGH the arm of the living room sofa, looking very pleased. THAT is living with a squirrel, and if you are daft enough, it is a simply wonderful ride!

I was more worried about her wellbeing and not so much if she is going to forgive me. I saw her again today and she was back in my van for a short moment. That section of the beach park had its weekly beach market going on and I had to park further North. I think the entire squirrel community moves out of the way when this market unfolds with countless booths and people. At one point I was surrounded by 6 of them. I swear, they all said "Gimme dat!" to me when they saw my trail mix!

I know what to expect, they are messy and destructive, I have been peed on by many rodents in the past and can deal with chewed up things and shredded wall paper etc. I have been living solo for 10 years now, in a perfect house, and that is sad indeed. I don't trust another relationship with a human being, but count animals as our true blessings.

[McCarthy]

Thank you for sharing your hard earned experience. . Let me know if you decide you want a grey that really DOES need you to care for it because it can’t survive in the wild. It might love your $500 mansion!

I'm thinking about this option, but will need more time after this experience. I really have to adjust my expectations first, in order to bring in the needed patience.

I just realized that I didn't post a photo of said mansion, so here it is:

[McCarthy]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Hoping like CritterMom that you can mend the fence and she will have the same relationship as before.


Or maybe you should just take that lumber and build yourself a treehouse so you can live with her in her world.

I'd REALLY love to do that. I'm so sick and tired of the current (human) world we live in. For 2 years we went through hell with this covid crap, things started to get better and just now the news hit that Russia is invading the Ukraine. Only humans manage to created so much conflict, hate, negative impact on nature, all while wasting our resources. So yes, living in a tree house at the beach with a bunch of squirrels sounds like heaven to me!

I was swimming in the ocean today. Water temp was at 64 F, which is rather cold for my neck of the woods. February average is 71 F.

[Mel1959]

I'm thinking about this option, but will need more time after this experience. I really have to adjust my expectations first, in order to bring in the needed patience.

I just realized that I didn't post a photo of said mansion, so here it is:

Your mansion looks lovely! May I make a suggestion? Your solid wood choice for two walls is a very good way to keep your walls from being splattered with all types of debris, but it will be near impossible for a squirrel to climb. I repurposed a TV armoire and turned it into a cage and created a 1/4”x1” thin frame and covered it with 1/2” hardware cloth then secured the frame to the inside of the cabinet. The 1/4” frame space that sits out from the cage wall allows their little toenails to grab the wire and be able to climb. Just a thought.

I like the tree limb. I put those in my cages, too.

[Mel1959]

I'd REALLY love to do that. I'm so sick and tired of the current (human) world we live in. For 2 years we went through hell with this covid crap, things started to get better and just now the news hit that Russia is invading the Ukraine. Only humans manage to created so much conflict, hate, negative impact on nature, all while wasting our resources. So yes, living in a tree house at the beach with a bunch of squirrels sounds like heaven to me!

I was swimming in the ocean today. Water temp was at 64 F, which is rather cold for my neck of the woods. February average is 71 F.

You are a brave soul….64 degree water temp is about 25 degrees too cold for me to set foot in the water! I’m a Florida girl through and through! The water temp has to be near 90!!

[CritterMom]

Your mansion looks lovely! May I make a suggestion? Your solid wood choice for two walls is a very good way to keep your walls from being splattered with all types of debris, but it will be near impossible for a squirrel to climb. I repurposed a TV armoire and turned it into a cage and created a 1/4”x1” thin frame and covered it with 1/2” hardware cloth then secured the frame to the inside of the cabinet. The 1/4” frame space that sits out from the cage wall allows their little toenails to grab the wire and be able to climb. Just a thought.

I like the tree limb. I put those in my cages, too.

No offense, Mel, may I suggest something easier? I use it in ALL of my cages.

Get one of these: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Foss-Unb...J1VH/202800194

It has no backing, so you can cut it with a razor knife or even scissors. It is made of chewed up plastic bottles but you would never know it - it is quite soft. Best of all, it is made much like felt is made - no loops to catch their claws and pull them out, and it is wonderfully climbable. It looks like you have used sheets of underlayment for the cage sides - the carpeting is only about a quarter inch thick, so you can easily staple it into place with 1/4" staples and they won't even go all the way through the wood. If you get gray, like I have, you can do like me and stare impotently into the cage looking for your squirrel and not see him until he finally decides to throw you a bone and move!

I will give you other ideas later - I am a cage building fool. No, you can't stop me...

[Mel1959]

No offense at all, CM. What a great idea! I NEVER would have thought of that. Two questions, though. Don’t they pee on it? What do you do if it gets smelly?

[CritterMom]

Zeke doesn't at all. Mister P had one spot that he liked to pee on... I have one of those little portable Bissel cleaners for upholstery and for spot cleaning carpets (a Little Green Machine!) and I could easily clean it while it was still attached to the back wall of the cafe. Plus, at around $20 for a 6x8 piece, if it gets too nasty or I just don't want to bother, it is easy to yank it off and replace it with new. I replaced P's once and he was in his cage for almost 10 years.

I stapled a couple of fleece lap throws on top of the rugs on the back of Zeke's cage - one staple in one corner and a couple more here and there so it is bunched up and hanging down and he LOVES to romp around behind it and dive through the folds. And yes, because of all the gray in his cage, I DO spend more time looking for him while he sits someplace, still as the Sphinx, watching me. Sometimes I find him because I catch him rolling his eyes...little turd.

[McCarthy]

Thanks for the ideas on the cage. It's not done yet, it was all I could build that night. The den isn't even in the picture.

On another note, around what time of the year do greys have babies in central / South Florida?

[Mel1959]

I have a released female that has set up a nest in my garage and had babies about 2 weeks ago….so baby season has already started here. I’m in Central Florida.

[McCarthy]

One of these lice dispensers left me a gift behind.

[CritterMom]

Is that your girl?

[McCarthy]

Is that your girl?

Nope, this is..

[CritterMom]

So basically ALL the beach squirrels crawl all over you? Who the hell ARE you? The Squirrel Whisperer?