Ash & Ambrose
Hi everyone!! Warning, the following post is HUGEEE. Relevant info is all the way at the bottom ^^'
Hi all, I'm Ash! I'm a university student who is a huge animal lover. Back at home there are 3 dogs (Mutt, German Shepard, and Walker-Treeing Coon Hound [or something like that ^^']), a cat, a duck, about a dozen box turtles, a green cheeked yellow sided conure, a bunch of fish, an escaped hog who still comes around, and finally, a grey squirrel. Of those, mine are the turtles (some of which I have had since I was a little girl - some were born in my own backyard and I was lucky enough to find them before they got squashed!), the conure, some of the fish, and the squirrel.
I've been raising squirrels for a few years now. I was never trained in anything, but when it comes to animals, pretty everything comes naturally - first aid, care, handling. I've been called Ace Venture & Dr. DoLittle for years now by my friends and family - a lot of them are convinced I can actually talk to the animals - all you have to do is understand them and they'll tell you exactly what they want! Here's a bit about my experiences.
The first baby squirrel I came in contact with was when my neighbor had an old, rotten pecan tree cut down. Someone realized there was a nest in there and somehow my father acquired it. Inside were 3 or 4 baby squirrels. I got to pick out one, fully aware that I would have to release it when it was old enough, and the rest were brought to the local vet. I don't even remember what I named the poor girl, but my father said she looked like a little flea, so Flea became her name. After a few months, it was time to release her, but she didn't want to go! After a few days of putting her ontop the fence posts the neighbors had built and running away only to have her chase me down, my father finally spotted another similarly aged squirrel. He (gently) tossed her into the neighbor's yard where she saw the other squirrel. They became best friends and they could be seen together for months after that (she had a patch of fur missing just below the end of her tail, so we knew who she was until that patch filled out).
The second baby squirrel we found, 2 years later, in the street, completely naked, covered in ant bites, being batted around by the neighbor's cat. I took her in, again, fully aware I would be releasing her. I named her Esme, due to the Twilight phase going around. I don't remember her release as clearly as I remember Flea's...
The third baby squirrel I acquired shortly before Hurricane Isaac. I was still living part-time with my parents and we had moved into a rural area 50 miles away. My father went to check on the old house and came home with something in his hand. He told me to open my hands and be careful to not drop it. He's mischievous, so I didn't trust him not to put a cockroach or something in my hands. He opened them to show this tiny tiny, yet furred baby squirrel. I immediately noticed something was off. She was dehydrated worse than I had seen with the other two squirrels (that I could remember - I had the others years and years ago) and every now and then she would twitch. I asked him how he got her and one of the neighbors was throwing her in the trash can because she was driving the dogs wild. She remembered I raised squirrels before so she flagged my father down and gave it to him. Due to the baby's horrible twitch, I named her Twitch, but I knew in my gut she wouldn't last. I was extremely surprised to find her alive when I went to feed her a few hours after I had gotten her hydrated. I was even more surprised to find she had lived through the night! The same routine had gone on for a week, until I had to leave for a few days for the beginning of yet another semester at the university. My mother had taken care of the babies I had before while I was in school during the day, so I trusted she knew what to do. I got a phone call the day after I left saying she had died. My mother felt responsible because I left her in her care, but I was surprised Twitch had lived that long.
The fourth baby I got was special. In multiple ways. The old neighborhood is in the parish that got hit the hardest with Hurricane Isaac. We went to check on the old house and was called over by the neighbors (same ones who were throwing the baby away). Turns out, they had 3 rather large, furred baby squirrels they didn't know what to do with! As it turns out, there were originally 6 that fell out of their tree - twice. They were replaced, yet the mother still cried for them all night I hear. They must have fallen again because 2 were found dead and 1 was missing - 3, however, were brought by the neighbor's pug to her owner! The pug's motherly instincts must have kicked in and she knew her owner could help the babies. The owner of the house begged me to take all three babies home, but it was too late, as her sister had just gotten back with the children from buying supplies. She convinced them to give one up and I picked the only female, who was also the largest and named her Amazonia, Zo for short. After a few weeks I figured out something wasn't right with Zo. She was cross-eyed and very slow (not physically). We believe she got brain damage from falling out of the tree. Regardless, I loved that little girl to pieces. I took her back and forth with me from university to home and my roommate loved her. After Zo wasn't so dependent on me, I started to leave her home. Eventually, she outgrew the cage she was in and I placed her in an extra birdcage we had from a cockatoo. She would stay on me as I walked to the neighbors and was a huge hit around the neighborhood. Everything was going great! Until I got a phone call at university one day. Zo had died. My mother was so upset about it that she couldn't tell me, she made my father tell me. She felt responsible again. A neighbor was in the room when they realized it and the first words that came out of my mother's mouth was "She's going to kill me. I killed another squirrel. She's going to hate me!" When I heard that, it took everything I had not to break down. I cried for hours after hearing it. They think she choked to death on a piece of food as she was found with her head down in her food dish, with her arms gripping the sides across from her.
So far, track record: Me 2, Reaper 2. Better than some people I suppose, but I'm not happy with it.
Remember those other 2 squirrels that had been Zo's brothers? One died, but one was still going strong. He lived inside during the night or during rainy days and outside in a large cage during the sunny days. I got a call from his owner one day asking if I would be able to adopt him, Tickles? I think they named him. As it turns out, he didn't care for his owner's latest man and would show this by constantly urinating on his head. She found it hilarious, but her man said to get rid of him. So we went over there and loaded his 6x6x4 cage onto a trailer and put him in a kitty carrier. I set him up when we got back and he was settled in in a week.
Fast forward to now. I renamed him Ambrose (as Tickles is definitely not my style, plus he didn't know his name) and he has been nicknamed Herpes (due to where he came from), Herp for short. I've had him for about a year. I'm so happy I got him when I did, as he hadn't gone through puberty yet, so it allowed the chance for him to bond to me! And bond he did! Below are some pictures.
He's an incredibly jealous creature. I get inside the cage and play with him, as neither his previous owner nor myself trust him enough to take him outside of his cage, even though she was able to walk around the old neighborhood with him. When I'm inside the cage, if I have my phone out, texting or trying to snap a picture of him, he'll attack it. Sometimes he's able to get it out of my hands and run away with it. If any of the other animals come near the cage while I'm in it, he'll tick at him and try to attack them through the chicken wire.
About a week ago, my brother adopted the hunting dog - which they placed right next to my squirrel. I told them months ago when they set up the pen that a hunting dog would not work next to a squirrel. It only took this long for it to actually sink in. So now, he's about to become a fully inside squirrel!
I joined this forum because I never had intentions on keeping a squirrel, let alone one inside, so I have no idea where to start!
I appreciate any advice - EXCEPT - to give my baby up. He is unreleasable as he cannot crack his own nuts and is waaay too socialized. Before he came into my care, he was given a measuring cup full of beer each day (which he drank happily) and all kinds of other nasties he shouldn't have. I've got him on a better track and now he's getting lots of fresh fruits and veggies each day with some nuts and seeds thrown in.
I'm happy to be here and I apologize for the long post ^^'
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