Hello I'm new here

[Icemouse]

Well, actually...

The Teklad are also lab blocks. While they don't have what would pass for a good life but they do get good food. The lab diet is designed to provide all nutrition providing nothing but that diet plus water is provided to the animal. Any other food fed will throw that off. It is part of why the Henry's are more heavily supplemented - they are not supposed to be free fed and they are meant to be fed with a reasonable diet of healthy veggies and fruit.

In other words, this would likely be fine to feed in addition to the Henry's blocks.

In a past life one of my jobs had me working with Jackson Labs, which is one of the biggest producers and suppliers of mice for lab work. I know. My business had nothing to do with the mice. They created the covid 19 mice. They want them to be in tip top condition except for whatever they are testing them on so that they aren't wasting time chasing down existing mouse ailments when they are trying to work on one specific bacteria or virus.

Thanks CritterMom. I didn't waste any time trying to find a replacement for the teklads. Unfortunately the rat food on the market here is mostly some kind of dried grains and flaky looking veg... containing plenty of dried corn and peas....looks more like cereal. Not suitable for Hamys diet. Hamy doesn't get seeds or grains or stuff like corn or peas. I'm really strict with the food he gets. Never ever do I want Hamy to get ill again. It won't kill Hamy not to get avocados, corn, seeds etc. But if I do feed it he'd be dead in a few weeks. I have seen MBD first hand. I'm still shaken like a leaf just thinking back how very poorly my lovely wee friend was. I'm so lucky that Hamy survived thanks to you and Jamie.
Thanks for your answer CritterMom. I'll have Hamy try his new blocks today. Hopefully he likes it. Well in the worst case scenario I have to eat one so Hamy wants to try it as well... whatever I have Hamy wants to try... every time I drink something Hamy needs to put his nose in to check if he would like it as well 😂

[Icemouse]

Who knew?! I defer to CM!

Pure curiosity - why a prohibition on Teklad branded and an OK on the non-branded? Especially since (do I have this right?) the two are the same product from the same company?

Jamie

The teklads are branded food for lab rats. Which makes it commercial food. But Henry's blocks are branded as pet food. No specification for what kind of pets. I think that's the only reason why we can still import it here.
We did get an extra bill before the Henry's got delivered. We had to pay an additional $75 to customs to get the blocks delivered. So we ended up paying $295 to get 10 bags of Henry's blocks.
To be honest as we got the letter from FedEx my heart stopped. I first thought customs confiscated my shipment. I had to sit down before I could open the letter....but lucky us they just wanted more money.
That's why I want to order 10 more bags of vitamins. Just to play it safe. There are new brexit laws coming in to force in January. That brexit is a "gift" it won't stopping "giving".

[Icemouse]

I do have a funny story about Hamys newest shenanigans as well...
Hamy comes up with new games every few days. Did you see the image I posted yeaterday with Hamy holding on to the ear of his yellow ball? Yes he has a baby toy which is a yellow soft ball with ears...
So far we just had playfights with the ball and off course my hands. But now Hamy found a new use for the ball. He holds the ball with his teeth and hops along the bed like a goat towards the edge of the bed. He then throws himself and the ball off the edge doing various combat rolls. I'm supposed to catch him mid-air and lift him back up on the bed. He then readjusts holding his ball and starts legging it to the edge off the bed again. His combat rolls get more adventurous every time he jumps. Off course he needs cuddles and kisses when he gets lifted back up on the bed. You all have no idea how fast Hamy is. We play that game for at least 30 mins every day. I'm completely out off breath by the time Hamy had enough.... he sure is enjoying every jump...
Beginning of the summer Hamy started to use only white 2-ply napkins for his bed. As we came home from work one evening Hamy had kicked out all his eves wool bedding. His house was completely empty... you should have seen the state of his cage... eves wool everywhere. Our routine is when we come home we change clothes and get Hamys dinner ready. We then open his cage and Hamy has his freetime. As soon as he came out this day we had our cuddles as usual but instead of starting to play Hamy grabbed 2 napkins went back in his cage with it and shoved it in his house. After that he started playing and enjoying his freetime as always. Hamy walks in to his cage on his own when he had enough. The big finale every day is getting cuddled and caressed. It's a routine he started after puberty. But this day he didn't go to sleep he only went in his house and looked out the front hole of his bed. I thought he might need more napkins. So I rolled one more up and shoved it through the wiremash towards his wee nose. Hamy happily grabbed it and shoved it in his house. He then looked out on one of the side holes of his house. I shoved another rolled up napkin towards him. He took 14 more napkins till he thought it was comfy enough for the night. He closed up all holes of his bed and went to sleep.
From that day on he cleaned out some of the napkins every day to just replace them every evening with me handing in as many napkins as he likes.
Now the other day as Hamy came out for his freetime he was all sticky on one side of his body. That's highly unusual for Hamy. He hates having sticky or dirty hands and feet... not speaking of his coat..... I had given Hamy some bits of oranges that day. Unfortunately he must have decided to take one bit of orange in to his bed but instead of eating it he fell asleep on it. I had to clean out his hole bed because the orange juice was on all of his bedding. Usually when I replace his bedding I always keep one sheet to put back in so the bed still has his scent. But that wasn't possible this time. So freetime went as every day. We had great fun. As he went back in his cage he realised instantly that his bedding was changed. He was not happy. He was very suspicious. I think he thought he got robbed. He sure acted that way. He ran through his cage like a mad man. He looked in his house pushed out every bit of bedding. He would not settle down till I turned his light off. He started to calm down a bit. He was really angry about it..... then he tried to lay on different boards in his cage but found every board uncomfortable to sleep on....I felt so very bad... after a wee while and trying the different boards again he ran 3 times through various openings of his house. Since nothing bad happened to him he decided to make the best of it. He walked in to his house looking out one opening for me to hand him napkins. He took 34 napkins till he had restored the comfort of his bed again.
Good thing I wore gloves as I cleaned out his bed. At least Hamy had no proof/scent that I was the culprit who emtied out his cosy bed.... for 3 days Hamy went back in to his cage to check if everything was still where he left it during his freetime... by the way he washed off the sticky orange juice on his coat with my camomile tea... he splashed around like mad. My hole entire nightstand was flooded. He dried up his hands and face on my sleeves... as you can see life with Hamy never gets boring

[TomahawkFlyers]

Ice, I think you probably qualify for an award for "Most Indulgent and Most Loving Mom." You guys are so lucky to have found each other.

Jamie

[Icemouse]

Ice, I think you probably qualify for an award for "Most Indulgent and Most Loving Mom." You guys are so lucky to have found each other.

Jamie

Oh Jamie our life with Hamy is most beautiful. Every day I'm looking forward to my time with Hamy. He's really adventurous as can be. We know each other well. Hamy knows that I would never ever hurt him. He's so very relaxed around me and really gentle. We are really lucky that we found each other. Hamy has the heart of a lion

[island rehabber]

I enjoyed that whole scene so much, it was like watching a movie in my head of your adorable squirrel!

[olorin19]

As for the hands….some members have purchased special hand gloves that cover the back of the hands and extend up the arms, but allow the fingers to be free.

I just buy cheap cotton gloves (typically in 3 packs) then cut off the fingertips. These work great, as they can easily perch on back of hand or palm, while you get far fewer scratches.

[Icemouse]

I enjoyed that whole scene so much, it was like watching a movie in my head of your adorable squirrel!

Oh I could write endlessly about my wee pal and our adventures. Hamy amazes me every day. He's such a happy camper. I really love him to bits.

[Charley Chuckles]

LOVES THAT HAMY 😁❤️
Ya know I have gloves with the cutout fingers which if I actually remembered to use them my hands wouldn't look like I've been trimming rose bushes all day 🙄😹
Thanks for reminding me 😂

[olorin19]

LOVES THAT HAMY 😁❤️
Ya know I have gloves with the cutout fingers which if I actually remembered to use them my hands wouldn't look like I've been trimming rose bushes all day 🙄😹
Thanks for reminding me 😂

When I overwinter, once they get to about 5 months I make sure to wear a long sleeve t-shirt under my hoodie and either long johns or extra sweatpants under my sweatpants, as otherwise I end up covered in micro punctures from their claws when they fly around on me.

I usually wear a beanie, since they often perch on top of my head. And depending on the squirrel, I often drape a towel across the back of my neck and sometimes even wear safety glasses, as I have been inadvertently scratched quite close to the eyes.

[Jenna]

I'm just catching up on this, and Hamy sounds like a delight! And quite entertaining. XD

I'm in the US, but in a similar situation as yours re: legality of squirrels and them being killed because they're an invasive species.

Our Rocky (Almost 4 months) also only bites when he gets playing too hard, and also tries to grab our hands with his mouth and fling them during play, or hang on them as you describe! Never breaking skin. I've been blowing on his face when he gets too rough (which has worked well without scaring him), but I've wondered if squeaking would work, too. Yelping works with young puppies when they start to play too rough, after all!

I'm glad to meet another squirrel parent! I could tell stories and listen to stories all day. <3

J & R

[olorin19]

In my experience raising young squirrels, they adapt quickly to the feedback we give them.

While most scratches are inadvertent and largely preventable by us with proper gear, when a youngster is a bit too rough with their teeth, I tell them so quite literally “Ow! That was too hard.”

Most squirrels will quickly learn to be more gentle. Some will even respond with a gentle test bite to show they understood.

They are very clever and quick learners.

[Icemouse]

Happy New Year guys!!!
Here we are again. Hamy was doing great so far. He's in mating mode since beginning of December. He's at the peak for the last 3 days where he doesn't want anything to do with me. It took about 3 weeks to get to this point. Hamy shows severe food aggression and he's in full attack mode. I realised yesterday that he's calming down... very slowly but I guess in 3 weeks time the hormones will be back to normal. All this is not my problem.
BUT.... Hamy drank 125ml of water in 24 hours... that is way too much... usually he drinks about 20 - 30 ml a day at the most.
Hamys food intake at the moment is:
- 2 walnut Henry's blocks in the morning, 1 hazelnut Henry's block in the evening (Hamy is a messy eater... of 2 blocks he eats about 1½ and of the 1 hazelnut Henry's he eats at the most ⅔.... the rest is lost in crumbs)
- Rodentblocks for lab rats similar ingredients to teklad (we can't import teklad anymore)
- Butternut squash, sweet potato, cavallo nero, watercress, lamb's lettuce
- 5 calcium balls made of calcium citrate and a mix of almondbutter and hazelnut butter with a few drops of baby apple/strawberry fruit jar spread over the day
- a few small bits of papaya and 1 paperthin slice of apple, cut in half and hidden in a paper roll he has to find in his cage.
Hamy drinks from a hamster water bottle.
Hamy is still growing in length. He's about 27cm from nose to beginning of his tail. He is 777g. His wintercoat is much longer and thicker than his summer coat. His tail is bushy and about as long as the rest of him.
He urinates a wee bit more than usual. Hamy only urinates in his pyrex dish in his cage. He does not pee anywhere else except when his hormones flair up. Then he marks my husband and me once right when he gets out of his cage for playtime...
Hamy recently overcame MBD. That's why he still gets calcium citrate. His stool is light brown.
Hamy is usually very playful and soft hearted. We get along really well. The only time Hamy shows aggressions is during mating season. It always starts with food aggression. But he snaps out of it as fast as it came. Once his hormones are back to normal his testicles shrink back to a much smaller size and he's back to the peaceful kid he always is.
I'm writing every detail I can think off as I'm really troubled with the high amount of water Hamy drank yesterday. It was 120ml in 24 hours... I refilled his waterbottle yesterday evening and its half empty by now... that's 20 hours now since I had refilled his bottle...
What's going on with Hamy? I'm worried out of my skull.... I can't really judge if there is anything showing in his behaviour as he's in mating season. He doesn't want anything to do with me for the last few days. He's not even coming out to play. So far that's how it was last time as he was in mating season. Hamy doesn't allow me to touch him in that state. The only thing I noticed is that his wee hands and feet are awfully pale for the last 3 days... usually his hands and feet are rosy pinkish. Now they are pale pink almost white-ish... I can only decribe it as going from bright pink to pale pork pink... does that make sense?
Please help I really don't know if there's something wrong with my beloved Hamy....

[Charley Chuckles]

Oh my I'm sorry and not sure if anything is going on 😕
I know I've had squirrels who drank a lot, that's when I had a bottle.... it's hard to tell with water in a bowl bc of evaporation.
I'm sure others will be here to help 👍
What time of year did Hamy last get aggressive, wonder if there is a connection?
Praying for a happy new year for us all 🙏

[Icemouse]

Oh my I'm sorry and not sure if anything is going on 😕
I know I've had squirrels who drank a lot, that's when I had a bottle.... it's hard to tell with water in a bowl bc of evaporation.
I'm sure others will be here to help 👍
What time of year did Hamy last get aggressive, wonder if there is a connection?
Praying for a happy new year for us all 🙏

Thanks for your kind reply.
Hamy had a challenging year. Beginning of the year he went through puberty. Then he started getting a sweet body odour the last week of May. He always has a sweet smell when his hormones change. He was just beginning to go in mating season as he all of a sudden got lethargic and sleepy. He had developed MBD. That cut the mating season short for him. Hamy got better again. He was a healthy happy still growing wee squirrel. About 3 weeks ago Hamy started to show aggressions towards my hubby again. I knew he's going in to mating season soon. Then he got a bit moody with me as well. After that he showed food aggression. The last 3 days Hamy became a hermit. He doesn't want anything to do with me. For 1 day I couldn't even pass his cage without him threatening me severely. He went for me as I wanted to open his cage. Since yesterday the aggression is getting less again. Hamy allows me to put food in his cage and exchange the napkins in his toilet. He still doesn't want me near him.
Usually in November Hamy starts to eat a bit more. But he doesn't get really fat. He also grew between August and October in length and weight. He was 750g before he had MBD. Then went down to 665g but now weighs 777g. He also grew about 2 - 3cm in length.
I don't know if I hear fleas cough but it's my fault Hamy developed MBD. He was in so much pain and in such bad shape, I can't risk making another mistake. Afterall Hamy has to pay the price for my ignorance and stupidity.
I do remember that Hamys waterbottle was empty within a day some time ago, beginning of 2024. But I thought the bottle was defect. I just ditched the bottle and got a new one. Thinking about it it happened at the end of puberty...
I really don't wanna sound like a crazy over protective mom but Hamy is my first squirrel. I can only ask you guys for help. Other than that Hamy, my hubby and I are on our own. And to be frank MBD scared the living daylights out of me.

[CritterMom]

Happy New Year guys!!!
Here we are again. Hamy was doing great so far. He's in mating mode since beginning of December. He's at the peak for the last 3 days where he doesn't want anything to do with me. It took about 3 weeks to get to this point. Hamy shows severe food aggression and he's in full attack mode. I realised yesterday that he's calming down... very slowly but I guess in 3 weeks time the hormones will be back to normal. All this is not my problem.
BUT.... Hamy drank 125ml of water in 24 hours... that is way too much... usually he drinks about 20 - 30 ml a day at the most.
Hamys food intake at the moment is:
- 2 walnut Henry's blocks in the morning, 1 hazelnut Henry's block in the evening (Hamy is a messy eater... of 2 blocks he eats about 1½ and of the 1 hazelnut Henry's he eats at the most ⅔.... the rest is lost in crumbs)
- Rodentblocks for lab rats similar ingredients to teklad (we can't import teklad anymore)
- Butternut squash, sweet potato, cavallo nero, watercress, lamb's lettuce
- 5 calcium balls made of calcium citrate and a mix of almondbutter and hazelnut butter with a few drops of baby apple/strawberry fruit jar spread over the day
- a few small bits of papaya and 1 paperthin slice of apple, cut in half and hidden in a paper roll he has to find in his cage.
Hamy drinks from a hamster water bottle.
Hamy is still growing in length. He's about 27cm from nose to beginning of his tail. He is 777g. His wintercoat is much longer and thicker than his summer coat. His tail is bushy and about as long as the rest of him.
He urinates a wee bit more than usual. Hamy only urinates in his pyrex dish in his cage. He does not pee anywhere else except when his hormones flair up. Then he marks my husband and me once right when he gets out of his cage for playtime...
Hamy recently overcame MBD. That's why he still gets calcium citrate. His stool is light brown.
Hamy is usually very playful and soft hearted. We get along really well. The only time Hamy shows aggressions is during mating season. It always starts with food aggression. But he snaps out of it as fast as it came. Once his hormones are back to normal his testicles shrink back to a much smaller size and he's back to the peaceful kid he always is.
I'm writing every detail I can think off as I'm really troubled with the high amount of water Hamy drank yesterday. It was 120ml in 24 hours... I refilled his waterbottle yesterday evening and its half empty by now... that's 20 hours now since I had refilled his bottle...
What's going on with Hamy? I'm worried out of my skull.... I can't really judge if there is anything showing in his behaviour as he's in mating season. He doesn't want anything to do with me for the last few days. He's not even coming out to play. So far that's how it was last time as he was in mating season. Hamy doesn't allow me to touch him in that state. The only thing I noticed is that his wee hands and feet are awfully pale for the last 3 days... usually his hands and feet are rosy pinkish. Now they are pale pink almost white-ish... I can only decribe it as going from bright pink to pale pork pink... does that make sense?
Please help I really don't know if there's something wrong with my beloved Hamy....

I have a few observations.

First, I really think you need to knock off the additional calcium, or drop it down to a few of those calcium balls a week, not a day. Too much calcium can be problematic in a number of areas and could actually be the reason for this. You mentioned in your other correspondence to me that his poops had gotten very dark so you increased the calcium. The poops are supposed to be dark brown - like the nastiest dark chocolate you have ever tasted! When you see the lightness in the poops it is caused by excess calcium that has not been absorbed by the body. Unabsorbed calcium can get itself into all sorts of problems. THAT is a sign to back down on the amount of calcium you are giving. Once he got through MBD, the Henry's blocks he is eating should supply him with all of the calcium he needs.

Squirrels can get through MBD and be just fine after, but their humans are scarred for life. When I first started here, MBD was little known, there weren't other sites like ours, and we were BURIED under MBD cases since high levels of phosphorus like in NUTS is normally what actually causes it. I remember one of our members who is no longer with us unfortunately (Nancy in New York ) sending me a PM one night saying that she was having to physically restrain herself from shoving calcium into her squirrel "just in case." The idea is to hit the right amount of calcium and the Henry's were designed with this specifically in mind. Henry was a squirrel, who got MBD, and his mama is now "Henry's."

So step one will be to STOP the additional calcium over and above what the Henrys provides.

The other is an observation that oddly I have now made two days in a row. Boy squirrels territory mark (girls probably do too but I have never lived with one). That isn't a normal pee. They want to mark MANY places so they dribble - literally a couple drops her, a couple there, and if you aren't specifically watching every second it is easy to miss a couple drops of pee. When I washed all the sheets I drape over everything to try to catch the pee, my old boy Mister P (aptly named) would work himself into a frazzle trying to get all the good pee smell back where it belonged, and would run to the water dish several times to refill. Given that Hamy is in season, is that a possibility?

Absolutely no waterer leaks, right?

[olorin19]

As far as territory marking by pee - I have seen it with both males and females. i tend to wear the same hoodie and sweats whether when taking overwintering squirrels out for play time or when outside interacting with previous releases. With everyone climbing around on me, the territory being marked is often me. And if I have just had another squirrel on me, the next squirrel often goes right to that spot.

Two other types of territory marking I have also seen in females - When out for play time and running around near me, they go out of their way to run over my feet as they pass by. They just bounce on top of my foot then keep going. As they hit puberty and beyond, the females will also scent mark me by dragging their genitalia on me, usually on my arm.

[TomahawkFlyers]

Happy New Year, Icemouse. The information you've been given is right on the money. The extra calcium was to get Hamy past the MBD. He's more than healthy now, so you can stop with that. Henry's blocks really do give Hamy all he needs to stay away from MBD - you are not feeding him anything that in enough quantity to upset the calcium/phosphorus that is critical for him. Mating season. Males. Marking. It is what it is - no way around it. Lots of marking = lots of water intake. Same as last year.

Our three kids are in season - Franky has obscenely large testicles - not just "man pillows," but more like a pair of furry beach balls. He's nipping. Jet is just insane with lust and he is lunging and biting. They are drinking noticeably more water. Ollie is just her normal sweet self - but the scents she is giving off are driving the boys insane. I mention this to remind you that you are not alone in your drama with Hamy. To quote William Jefferson Clinton, "I feel your pain!" Hang in there, this will pass.

Jamie

[Icemouse]

Morning guys
Thank you so very much for your great replies. I'm already at work so I will write back later when I'm back home.

[Icemouse]

I have a few observations.

First, I really think you need to knock off the additional calcium, or drop it down to a few of those calcium balls a week, not a day. Too much calcium can be problematic in a number of areas and could actually be the reason for this. You mentioned in your other correspondence to me that his poops had gotten very dark so you increased the calcium. The poops are supposed to be dark brown - like the nastiest dark chocolate you have ever tasted! When you see the lightness in the poops it is caused by excess calcium that has not been absorbed by the body. Unabsorbed calcium can get itself into all sorts of problems. THAT is a sign to back down on the amount of calcium you are giving. Once he got through MBD, the Henry's blocks he is eating should supply him with all of the calcium he needs.

Squirrels can get through MBD and be just fine after, but their humans are scarred for life. When I first started here, MBD was little known, there weren't other sites like ours, and we were BURIED under MBD cases since high levels of phosphorus like in NUTS is normally what actually causes it. I remember one of our members who is no longer with us unfortunately (Nancy in New York ) sending me a PM one night saying that she was having to physically restrain herself from shoving calcium into her squirrel "just in case." The idea is to hit the right amount of calcium and the Henry's were designed with this specifically in mind. Henry was a squirrel, who got MBD, and his mama is now "Henry's."

So step one will be to STOP the additional calcium over and above what the Henrys provides.

The other is an observation that oddly I have now made two days in a row. Boy squirrels territory mark (girls probably do too but I have never lived with one). That isn't a normal pee. They want to mark MANY places so they dribble - literally a couple drops her, a couple there, and if you aren't specifically watching every second it is easy to miss a couple drops of pee. When I washed all the sheets I drape over everything to try to catch the pee, my old boy Mister P (aptly named) would work himself into a frazzle trying to get all the good pee smell back where it belonged, and would run to the water dish several times to refill. Given that Hamy is in season, is that a possibility?

Absolutely no waterer leaks, right?

I stopped the calcium balls this morning already. You're right about humans being scarred for life. I still have nightmares about it.... I really need to snap out of my panic mode. Afterall Hamy is a healthy boy now. And I will defo make sure it stays that way. He loves the Henry's to the max. Big Thanks to Henry's mom.
Hamy is much calmer today. He drank a lot less as well. No leaking at all. I would have paniced about it..... Regarding the marking... come to think of it Hamy does mark his territory. Every time I've wiped over the shelves in the kitchen he "dribbles" on each shelf again when he's out. But that's the only time I saw him doing it.
Other than that Hamy goes back to his wee toilet in his cage if needs must.
He still doesn't like to get his hands and feet dirty... it's hillarious... he seriously runs or jumps on the closest bit of material/cloth to wipe it off...