Monday, June 14, 2010

Speaking Of 'Wild' Animals

We ended up keeping this mischievous little rodent...


I did ask around to see if there were any wildlife rehabilitators and no one seemed to know of any, so we just kept taking care of him.

He's living like a king these days...


Oh yea...I sent My Honey and Megan to the pet store to get some puppy formula...as recommended on all of the 'how to raise a squirrel' info and they came home loaded to the gills.

The little rat (technically he is a Rock Squirrel and considered as much of a pest to local farmers as Prairie Dogs are) certainly keeps us entertained...
He loves his little ferret bed as he is able to stuff all of his extra food in the crack around the pillow. We about died laughing at him one day. When he was first starting to eat solid food, Megan would hand him walnuts, which he promptly stuffed into his cheeks until they could not hold any more. He then ran down each level of his palace looking for a place to hide them. When he got to the bottom he jumped into his bed and started stuffing the walnuts from his cheeks into the crack. He was very meticulous about it, moving them around this way and then that way. For the final coupe de gra, he started jumping up and down on the pillow.

Has everyone seen Ice Age? Oh yea...Our Scrat is j.u.s.t. like that.

Who me???


Now I don't know what we will do with him. Releasing him into the wild seems a little cruel at this point. He is very happy in his little home. He has his nest, his bed full of spare food, a hammock and his wheel. He loves to hand 'wrestle' with Megan and likes being stroked.

His only dislike is being picked up. Once you have him picked up he likes being held just fine. It's just the picking up part. Oh can that little sucker bite. Owwww!! Megan bought him a harness and has been working on getting him used to that. I guess having him is about like having a pet ferret.

Anyway, if it becomes apparent that he is not happy, he is still young enough to re-introduce to his natural habitat. Maybe this fall, as Rock Squirrels have a tendency to hibernate through much of the winter.

15 comments:

Leah said...

Whew... it has been awhile since I visited and I had some catching up to do.... that little squirrel looks to be quite the character... and the horse babies are all looking pretty sharp.. I'll be visiting again soon...

Sherry Sikstrom said...

He is cute ,and look at the front paws! they seem huge! I guess if he is happy its not hurting anyone, well except when he bites . He is a lucky little varmit that you guys found him

Paint Girl said...

He is the cutest thing!! He seems to be enjoying the new digs! That is one spoiled squirrel!
When my sister and I were really young, one of our cats got a hold of a chipmunk. We brought him in the house and rehabilitated him. I think we had him for years.

Unknown said...

SO CUTE!! Just don't give him beet pulp. They love almonds though.

Unknown said...

And sweet feed. We always get bags of it from the homestead thats sheep sweet feed so we cant feed it to the horses so we dump it in handfuls under the big tree in the yard. They fight over the stuff.

City girl turned Country Girl said...

OH boy...Your in for the long haul now LOL!! I imagine that he is very happy with his surroundings and being treated so well! It's still so amazing to me that they can adjust to such an environment change!

GoLightly said...

Awww, he's a cutie.
He will need a wife though, someday..

Anonymous said...

If I were a squirrel I would want to live with you. He is living in style.

Dena said...

This is me not snickering.*snort* This is me NOT saying I told you so. But I did.LOL He looks awesome great job ladies.

Melanie said...

OMG...he does look like he is off of Ice Age...lol!!! And I just took a looksee at the handsome Shooter down below. WOW!!! And is that Beretta in the top pic???

Oh, and thanks!!! It is good to be back. :)

Rising Rainbow said...

Ya, I'm thinking his lifestyle has definitely been ungraded living with you. LOL

prashant said...

They love almonds though.
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The Equestrian Vagabond said...

A friend of mine rescued a squirrel, nursed him back to health and tried to release - no sireee, that squirrel had it made in civilization, he wanted nothing to do with the wild anymore! She's had him about 5 years now.
And Sydney is right about the beet pulp. Read this hilarious story about a vet who rescued a squirrel who found some beet pulp she was experimenting with:
http://www.shady-acres.com/susan/squirrel.shtml
- The Equestrian Vagabond

Unknown said...

LOL, Merri sent you the story I was going to. Keep him, my gosh, he'll never have it better...

The wild is over-rated. :)

BrownEyed Cowgirl said...

That story was too hilarious. And sounds about like this household.

Thanks for sharing Merri.