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Thread: I'm new; any help appreciated

  1. #141
    Join Date
    Aug 2024
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    Default Re: I'm new; any help appreciated

    I had a quick concern. Tyrant seems fine now, but while we were playing and he was jumping to the chair, he began squeaking as he ran around to the chair's back. I didn't want to move him in case he was injured. I took a quick video so I could post it here. He stopped squeaking shortly after and I carefully removed his claws from the chair, placing him back in his cage.

    He didn't display any unusual behavior and seems fine now. He's back on me now, though I'm going to let the jumping rest for tonight. Hoping to get some information on what caused it.

    https://youtube.com/shorts/MPn0AgxOp...G7GS2H0XmbvVlv

  2. #142
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
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    Northern Wisconsin
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    Default Re: I'm new; any help appreciated

    Hi Craig - sorry for the late reply. It has been crazy around here - getting all the outdoor stuff finished (as much as possible) and buttoned up before the snow flies. The Tomahawk Flyers colony is starting to show up in their winter digs in our flyer room. Some old faces, some new - glad to have them all. They are wild and free to come and go, but as it gets really cold they mostly come and not so much go. Block production will increase!

    Tyrant is not squeaking. He is chirping. It is a way for flyers to alert their colony mates that there is something new there or happening and everyone needs to know about it to be safe. Gliding is so new to Tyrant, and he is undoubtedly having a great time and pleased with himself over this new activity, that his "wild" got tickled and he chirped. Absolutely normal. No harm done.

    Thanks so much for the previous videos. We are so delighted to be able to be part of Tyrant's growing up and into his deep, deep relationship with you. If you think about it, your relationship with Tyrant is a small and ever-so-real taste of what it is to be a father with a son who means everything to you. We could hear it in your voice when you were worried that Tyrant had hurt himself.

    Nothing on the 2025 Gathering yet. We usually hear something after the new year.

    Keep at it, Craig. You are a natural!

    Jamie
    "some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence

  3. #143
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    Aug 2024
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    Default Re: I'm new; any help appreciated

    That is a relief! I showed one of my friends the video and he said he thought Tyrant was vocalizing excitement. Glad to know it's normal and not of concern. No worries about any late replies! I completely understand being busy or not being able to get around to it.

    If you don't mind me asking, are all of your flyers free to come and go? I was under the impression you had some flyers completely in your care. I was just curious as I enjoy telling my parents about you guys.

    I think you're right about having Tyrant being a small taste of fatherhood. I recall explaining to my friend one time how I felt responsible for caring for Tyrant and was anxious to see him do well, worried about any suffering he might endure if I failed. He responded and said that it seemed as if my paternal instinct was kicking in.

    As far as diet goes, I want to ensure I'm using the proper amounts. If blocks are 40% diet, would that be calculated by weight? Should I pick an assortment of vegetables and weigh them to be the other 60% of diet or more-or-less offer vegetables to Tyrant throughout the day as well as leave some in his cage at night? He's mostly just eaten block and lettuce so far; he doesn't seem to want celery. I've given him two crumb-sized bits of apple but don't really know how much or often fruits can be given to flyers.

  4. #144
    Join Date
    Jan 2020
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    Northern Wisconsin
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    Default Re: I'm new; any help appreciated

    What a glorious thing it is to have a joyful little friend!

    Regarding coming and going as they please, we have three groups of flyers, plus one mouse.
    • Group 1 includes our three non-release kids. Ollie is a rescued cat-caught who has been so terrified of anything that moves that we've kept her indoors where she can learn that something like the cat trauma will never happen again. That has worked well, since she is becoming less timid and will actually approach us and jump on us when she gets the chance, She has become "domesticated" and would not survive in the wild. Jet is a rescue from a hurricane in Florida. The family that found him (an astoundingly loving and large family) kept him safe until he had grown out of infancy. They were going to hand him off to a rehabber. We were concerned that he had been around humans for awhile, had a LOT of interactions with parents and 10(!) kids. He was likely to scurry over to a hawk in the wild to make friends and become lunch. We flew down to get him and we drove back in a rental car that was far too nice for what we paid. Franky came rushing in to the house from the attic one day a few months ago. Something had to have been chasing him - he cowered in a corner in the bathroom for several hours. We eventually tried to pick him up and he let us. That is unheard of in a wild flyer. He was literally frozen in fear. We quarantined him, fed and watered him, and then let him interact with Jet. Those two have become inseparable partners in crime, so we have made room for Franky. Mys, our mouse, was a tiny, eyes-still-closed baby when we found him on our basement stairs. I picked him up, raised him on the baby squirrel protocol, and now he is the healthiest and luckiest mouse in Wisconsin. He lives in a mansion, interacts marginally with us, and eats a diet that should give him life well beyond that given most little guys like him. Each of these kids is a full member of our family.
    • Groups 2 and 3 include our "Attic" and backyard/lake Squirrels. Early in the construction of this house, we checked on some rustling in the batt insulation in the attic and discovered that a colony of 18 had made their home up there. The DNR told us the flyers would freeze to death if we removed them and looked away while we overwintered them that winter. We kept them in a four story Critter Nation cage, and 18 became 26. In the spring, I drilled a hole in the outside wall of an upstairs porch room and placed a PVC pipe from the cage, through the wall, and into an outdoor nest box on the side of the house. we opened that tube in the spring and some of the kids left to become group 3 and some circled back to the attic. Most have come and gone as they please, and the females make full use of the "maternity wards" built into the giant cage to carry, give birth to, and raise their babies while protecting them from male flyers. When we closed up the soffits that spring, we left a small hole for any flyers who wanted to come and go through the attic. That has become a well-traveled route and we provide food and water every night where they come down into the house from the attic. We love our little creatures, and we think the feeling is returned. No animal is ever turned away from here, or turned out if they choose to stay. At present, the total count including the non-release crew is between ten and twelve. We experience new generations every spring and fall. It is a gift like no other and the experience has profoundly affected our lives.


    Regarding diet, I wouldn't worry so much about percentages as I would about adhering to the shape of the triangle. Mostly block, then somewhat less vegetables, then somewhat less protein and very carefully picked over food from the wild (no acorns, ever!) and then treats like fruit and nuts. No junk food. He'll eventually try to guilt you into sharing a bite of candy or a chip - don't succumb. Sugar and salt are really hard on his tiny body. A good rule of thumb for fruit/nut treats is to provide them after the block and vegetables have been consumed. He'll enjoy the treat, but only eat until he is full. He'll leave some of the treat behind or try to stash it. Take it away when he has finished eating it.

    Thanks for keeping us in the loop on your journey with Tyrant. It is a bright spot every time we hear from you.

    Jamie
    "some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence

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