Hello Everyone From Hermione and Ginny and "Mom"!
Hello all! I came over from thepetsquirrelboard since it's disappeared sadly, (Both my girls had their own growth threads there to progress them growing up and it's sad to lose them, especially with all the interaction with other squirrel moms and dads there). I tried making an account on squirrelnation but for some reason whenever I tried to write a post my tablet went crazy and auto-closed the page on me all the time. So, I thought I'd try this place to interact with other squirrel people.
Well, my name is Ami and I am the caregiver to two very special eastern gray squirrels named Hermione and Ginny. Hermione is about three weeks older than Ginny and they are from different areas of my city, rescued at different ages. Hermione was rescued at three weeks old after falling from a high nest onto a back deck porch and suffered a head injury at the time. One side of head was swollen and bruised. She has some residual mental damage today that's apparent in her balance and depth-perception issues. Ginny came to me at four or five weeks, furry with eyes barely opened, after her family's dray was destroyed and siblings and mother killed by teens with bb guns. She was so high in a tree in the remainder of the nest that the people who brought her to me could not reach her, only listen to her cry and hope that she fell out eventually. She was stuck up there alone for five days so you can imagine her state when they finally brought her to me; dehydrated, lethargic, dirty and flea-infested. But, with determination and hard work she came around and she had a very good fighting spirit. Hermione was introduced to Ginny almost at once and they bonded instantly. They sleep together in fleece pouches and play together too. Ginny has some problems, too, due to her rough start but they seem to help each other as they go along.
Today my girls are almost two years old and are the joy of my life. They have a very large cage in the living room next to the big window, (they also have a sun lamp), which is opened every day for about two or three hours for them to come out and run around. They love to chase each other around the house and play 'tag', often running to me as the 'safe zone' and sitting on my head for a bit before running off again. I never have to force or trick them back into their cage. For one, they are too smart for that and if they want to stay out, they'll stay out, and two, they just go on in on their own when they get hungry or tired so I just let them have their fun and go to bed when they want. Sometimes Hermione will want to stay out later than Ginny and cuddle on my arm but if I flip the overhead light out she knows that means bedtime and will head for the cage and her pouch.
Everyday, it seems, I'm surprised by something they do. They are such smart little things with very good memories. For instance they both know that their treats are kept in the fridge and will perk up in their cage or come running to me if they hear the fridge opening. They know what the words 'nut', 'munchie' and 'treat' mean and well as the phrase 'wanna come out' mean. They are very good girls outside the cage and while awake but they are very territorial and hate being woken up so I have to distract them whenever it's cage-cleaning time. They were growling at my boyfriend one day while in their cage and he goes, "So, I guess you girls don't want a nut?" and they instantly hushed and just looked at him like, "Did you say nut? Where's this nut you speak of?"
They aren't at all aggressive towards me or my boyfriend outside of the cage, in fact, they are very polite. For instance if we're eating something they won't run up and grab a bit but sit there and wait to see if it's something that can be shared. I'm normally very careful about their diet but I don't think a little treat now and then does any lasting harm. One of my favorite recent memories is of me sitting in an armchair enjoying a peanutbutter and jam sandwich when all of a sudden Hermione climbs up and sits on the armrest. She looks at me, at me sandwich and then pulls an almond she's had stashed away from inside her mouth and just begins to nibble on it so there we were each enjoying our food side by side like old friends. She was curious about my sandwich but she just sniffed all around it, licked a bit of peanutbutter, wiped her face on my arm and ran off. The only time one of them got grabby was when my boyfriend was making himself a plate of chicken nuggets and Ginny climbed up his leg, to his shoulder, snatched a nugget off his plate and ran off. But, she only ate a little of the breading before dropping it and forgetting about it.
Their daily diet consists of two squirrel blocks from Henry's Healthy Pets. and a variety of fresh veggies and fruit with the occasional nut as a treat. Though I do not allow them to have acorns because I've read bad things about squirrels getting sick from a fungi in the acorn, especially wild acorns so I just don't risk it at all. Anyway, sorry this intro post is so long, geez, what's wrong with me? Lol.
Love,
Ami and Hermione and Ginny
The images: 1. My girls and I. 2. Ginny's good morning peeking out from the hole she'd made in the side of her new pouch. 3. Hermione and her favorite stuffies. 4. Hermione and her mini edible pumpkin Halloween 2013. 5. The pumpkin after the girls 'carved' it for me. Each of them chewed out an eyehole and one of them did a little 'nose' or 'mouth'. I did not coach them to do this by the way, I was very surprised at it and now this picture is one of my favorite things. 6. The girls cuddling together on top of their cage.
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Hi Ms. Ami, and 
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