There seems to be a range/spectrum of severity among the phenotype we call “dwarfism” or “Downs” in squirrels. Those who are clearly Dwarfs on the more severe end of the spectrum have phenotypic issues (fine and gross motor cordination, small stature, issues with climbing ability, temperature regulation, shortened lifespans, dysmorphic features sometimes with facial midline congenital anomolies etc, etc ). Despite these issues,
they retain that wonderful squirrel magic, that combination of stubborness, spirit and will to live that squirrels are blessed with. I have been lucky enough to have met several of these wonderful little fuzzbutts and once you have seen them in person, they stand out instantly as different from your typical squirrel.
However, less focus has been placed on squirrels that are on the higher functioning end of the Dwarf phenotypic spectrum. Those “Pseudo-Dwarf” squirrels that have some of the features seen in full-blown dwarfs but can almost pass for normal?
I had a little squirrel (Mia) that I released last fall who I think fits in this “Pseudo-Dwarf” catagory. Anyone who has seen a true Dwarf squirrel who sees Mia as an adult would recognize some similarities. As an adult, Mia is small, timid, seems to prefer the ground over trees, was slow to self release and to leave the release cage (7 months) and
sort of clumsy (she has a distinctive, head down, waddling walk). She is a sweetheart and visits us regularly but I worry a lot about her being outside and wonder if that was a wise decision?
Here is Mia and her brother Mick’s thread:
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...3-Mick-and-Mia
What is interesting in hindsite, in the controlled environment of an indoor cage, her condition did not clearly stand out. She seemed at times a little slower or slightly less cordinated but nothing that screamed “different”. However, as the soft release process occured, it became more apparent that she has some issues. For example, in a double level CN cage, her walk did not really appear off but once you see her walking across the lawn you realize she moves different than a typical squirrel.
I remember when I first opened the portal. Her brother was out and gone but Mia just did not want to go outside. And once she was out (lured out with treats), she spent a lot of time on the ground. If she appeared frightened she would not run up a nearby tree, she would run over to the release cage and hide under it on the ground. Her walk and a slightly clumsy climbing style also became apparent. She looks younger than she actually is, her face reminds me of a 12-14 week old squirrel and she is smaller than most of the other squirrels out there.
Mia did spend days outside but continued to use the nest box in her relase cage for almost 7 months. Just last week I noticed that she has not been returning at night but this might in part be because she was evicted. Two weeks ago, I heard a terrible whining, crying sound that was clearly from an animal (bird fighting?) but that I did not immediatly recognize as a squirrel sound. I walked back and found that two, much larger squirrels, were terrorizing Mia in her nest box (one squirrel was inside the relase cage trying to get in to Mia’s nest box and one squirrel was on top of the release cage. The awful sound I heard was Mia in her nest box trying to stand her ground. I chased the two intruders off several times but clearly Mia’s days in the release cage were numbered. I also started to see other squirrels going into the release cage to get the breakfast or dinner booballs that we had continued to supply to Mia. So Mia was probably not getting this food anymore.
Mia has showed up several times since then and looks healthy and uninjured. She stays away from all the other yard squirrels and in some ways they almost seem to ignore her a bit. They might chase her off but it is usually a half-hearted chase (although not always, I have seen Mia get furiously chased out of my yard). I worry that she has built some sort of nest on the ground somewhere (like under my neighbors shed?) and I very much worry about her in some future mating season.
But she seems reasonably happy and I don’t think she qualifies as a NR? She has enough abilities to survive out there although I wonder if she will not last as long because I think she has some deficiencies. I would like to hear from anyone else who has had a slow developer,
or a squirrel that just seems a little off, a little too dependent etc that makes you question their fitness to be out in the wild. Please post up your observations/experiences and lets see if we can flush out the condition I think of as Pseudo-Dwarfism.
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