7 years and still acting like 7 weeks

[RamiS]

Depending on the way a balcony is made you could always add a curtain rod, whether a tension rod or one that was installed, and hang some inexpensive almost sheer curtains. HomeGoods is a good place to purchase something like this.

LOVE this idea. Thank you

Check this out, I love this. Which I can do this setup inside for him I know he would love it, I just wouldnt know where to start haha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YN7...el=ColinDavies

[Mel1959]

LOVE this idea. Thank you

Check this out, I love this. Which I can do this setup inside for him I know he would love it, I just wouldnt know where to start haha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YN7...el=ColinDavies

Well, where I’d start is by purchasing a sturdy outdoor umbrella and stand. Most outdoor umbrellas have a removable fabric umbrella portion. You could then use the type of rope he did and connect it to the umbrella arms and allow the rope to dangle down like he did. It looks like he just used some type of plastic container to put the nuts in and he has holes drilled in the bottom of them to allow water to run out which you wouldn’t need. You might even be able to collapse the umbrella when you aren’t using it. Sams club and Costco sell good quality aluminum outdoor umbrellas.

[RamiS]

Well, where I’d start is by purchasing a sturdy outdoor umbrella and stand. Most outdoor umbrellas have a removable fabric umbrella portion. You could then use the type of rope he did and connect it to the umbrella arms and allow the rope to dangle down like he did. It looks like he just used some type of plastic container to put the nuts in and he has holes drilled in the bottom of them to allow water to run out which you wouldn’t need. You might even be able to collapse the umbrella when you aren’t using it. Sams club and Costco sell good quality aluminum outdoor umbrellas.

Sounds like a smart idea, however no way I can do that indoor my apartment, that thing could take up half my living room HA! Any other way I thought of would require drilling to secure the ropes

[Rnowroo]

Oof I went through every single post in this thread.

I am so happy to hear you’ll have access to a balcony.

I was going to suggest a few things-

I also have no space, and my lil guy does endless circuits all day long.

1) I found cat wall furniture!
(on temu for a cheaper price), which I installed in my room, so he is able to run and jump and climb all day along the walls.

2) I don’t have a spare room for him, but I also can’t have him running free (roommates and they have dogs)
So his room is my bedroom. We co-nest, if you will. I covered my things with big blankets, and keep my closet closed, put things in closed drawers, and moved what I could in the main area.

3) there’s organic liquid valerian extract. I’ve heard ppl use that and some other holistic items to calm their squirrels before a teeth trim. I would look at the threads that talk about natural sedatives on here, they mention the valerian so I bet if you searched
The threads with just that as the search word, you’d find stuff other than the pet rescuer useless stuff. (Teddy needed trims but his
Maloclusion has gotten a lot better after the trims so I havent had to do it in a month or two. *knocks on wood*). The natural stuff is fine to use daily for people and children and dogs so I’m sure natural herbal anti-anxiety stuff for a squirrel daily at a low dose is fine if we are being honest and not getting into weird ethical areas that completely invalidate and deny the actual limitations and disadvantages of real life circumstances we all have to cater to as human beings living in society, am I right? Cbd takes time to build up even in humans (ppl don’t realize this ) but valerian does not. It’s effective the day of administration.

4) it’s also hilarious that his diet is exactly
The same as my baby’s. He is so picky.
It’s hard enough to get him to eat Henry blocks I have to make home made ones sometimes.
I will say, when he is full, and had a wide variety of things, he calms down more.
So now I put like a blueberry, and an organic carnation, and some pieces of rose hip, and sprinkle shredded coconut. And then even if he doesn’t eat it, and only shreds its, I still put the Belgian endive, different types of mushrooms from the store. romaine lettuce. Sometimes I take baby food and I mix it with the Henry block. It’s like he uses his food and taste buds as an experience , so then he gets calmer. In days he’s been able go kind of explore and adventure via his tastebuds lol if that makes sense.

5) I also found I installed one of those UVB lights ( a super long one for reptiles) and I turn it off at about 4 pm. And then I let the sun setting with the windows open be the only light in there, and it helps make the contrast of bright to dark bigger for him- so his circadian rhythm gets stronger.
I don’t turn the lights on really after that so he stays asleep - when the room
Is dark at around 8 pm, he’s sleeping- he cants even see in the dark well, so he just goes to one of his little wall nooks. And I night I might turn on a smaller light so he can see me, pee , and then I give him a tiny night time treat like a piece of coconut meat, or tiny cube of apple, or a single pumpkin seed, and I curl him up and bring him to sleep in my bed. Under my neck lol
Of course we play during the day, I use him as my work breaks lol.

If he’s in your room, and it’s got nothing plugged in, I legit leave him to play in there on his own with no worries.worst that can happen is he starts to pull at the dry wall WHICH SUCKS. But also tells me he needs new toys.
(See below)

However, if the window is open for sounds (weather permitting) then I check on him more bc I get paranoid he’ll try to chew through the window screen ( my released babies get through it like butter when they want to come inside bc I haven’t put nuts out for them 😂 )

Toys-
So just like food, I alternate toys , so he only has access to some at a time and cycle them to keep them fun.

One big success is getting some kind of clear container with small holes, and sticking tiny pieces of rodent block in there or rose hip pieces - and shredded coconut.
It’s jingles and he has to toss it around to get the treats inside. Like this one :
“Exotic Nutrition Rolling Forage Cylinder”

https://a.co/d/09VkQCk

Another is using a box and either putting dirt, or woodchips, or crinkle paper, or like small animal hay, as the medium for them to dig in.

Just leaving it for a day and then switching out the medium helps keep things novel , and then it’s also cheaper bc you can just recycle the stuff (other than the dirt) bc they don’t ”go bad” from what I’ve researched.

my lil guy doesn’t care about antlers or cuttlebone or Kleenex boxes, or branches anymore, so I have to get kind of experimental.

He couldn’t chew many things till about a 2 months ago so that also limited toy options.

I also hang things from the ceiling for him to jump on and use a little highways for running.
It’s also nice bc he’s running but you don’t hear the “horse” track sounds all day 😂😂😂 of him jumping on to the floor as often. Teddy prefers his sky highway

- ropes that connect walls and the cat-climbing-wall furniture + cat window perches that suction on to the windows, and the cat towers in different parts of the room.

He also likes to use the highways for “sky suprises” where he lands on my head.
I’ll try to put pictures of the stuff I’m talking about for reference !


I’m no expert and I am no where NEAR the time invested that you are, but I do have some constraints in common with you- like the endless running around, need for a natural but actually effective calming sedative that mellows him but not knock him out (albeit for him to be calm enough for a quick teeth trimming )
And the space constraints , and how little
He cares about toys other ppl’s squirrels love.

I don’t know if it helps at all, but I sure hope it does, bc I can’t imagine 8 years- and actually probably like since that was in 2020- it would be like 13 years now since it’s 2025 .

Also I mean I’d love an update cause he’s so cute and I’m invested now after all
These thread posts lol