Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hiya,

I thought I was making a trip to drop off the 3 siblings I have. Ended up keeping them and taking two more home. You know how that goes. Two little females who's eyes just opened. I have had great success with the siblings they are all fat and very active. I am also going to take some grays when my mentor gets them in. Hope all is going well with you guys.

Aundrea

Sorry, stupid question time (regional differences I am sure!) Do you mean FOX's?? Like 4 legged, look like a dog, or are there fox squirrels??? I think foxes would be cool, but very time consuming! We are pretty much done for the season with gray squirrels. We have had 2 hard freezes now, so any orphans that weren't found have most likely expired, and all mine are back at the shelter in big cages, growing up (or trying too, they are small, but all eating on their own!) I do have a flying squirrel now, he will need to be wintered over before release in the spring, along with 2 oppossum babies that are at the shelter. It has been a curious year for wildlife from what I have heard, and now it is so cold for those that had late litters.

Joker

Hiya,

Nope Fox Squirrels would be what I just receieved. One has pneumonia the other has Giardia. Since they were housed together before the Giardia was apparent the pneumonia baby known as "Tickety" is now taking both TMS for pneumonia and Flagyl for the Giardia luckily she can take both safely. It looks like we might be at the end of the Fox Squirrel season or so my mentor is hoping I really was hoping for some greys but we'll see.

I still have the 3 older siblings that are now in a cage running around being cute little devils. I really want to try a new animal maybe an opossum but they usually come in larger numbers when orphaned babies. I have chosen to wait to rehab injured adults until I have taken the course in November Mammals First Aid. The baby season for them is over already though. This next weekend the WCA Wildlife Care ASsociation of Sacramento who I rehab through is having an Aviary meeting. I have taken it a few years ago but will attend again. Possibly come home with a pigeon or something to learn tube feeding. Raccoons sound awfully cute drinking out of a baby bottle but we'll see. Luckily I am surrounded by rehabbers that are dying for people like me to share info with and give some animals to.

Time to go play with my lap dog(guinea pig).

Take it easy,
Aundrea

Hehe, that is what I started with, was raccoons. This is my first year, and I end up with anything needing bottle or syringe feeding. I hosted 3 seperate groups of raccoons, 6, 4, and 6. The first 2 groups were here together, the last group on its own. I can tell you that by far, raccoons are my favorite. They are incredibly amusing, and not as "snooty" as squirrels. HOWEVER they are far more messy (and smelly!) We released the last of them about a month ago, the middle group was released near my own property, so I see them on occasion and put out food for them to keep them "safe" until they learn to scavenge on their own. Currently I am down to a lone flying squirrel, and just started treating him tonite for an upper respiratory infection, I understand that sometimes they pull thru, sometimes not, but am hoping and praying for him. He is sweet too, and honestly I prefer him to the grays, but such is life, they all need help and I can't be picky! Let me know if you get a bird, have done a bit with those (stick more to furrys tho), but will help out how I can and would love to learn more as well!! By the way, how did you find out about the giardia?? I am not sure anyone here runs fecals on wildlife, but it is a needed service certainly!!

Joker

Me again, have the pics of the raccoon babies saved under my play name, but am too lazy to move them! Hehe, will clip one here, if you want to see the others look in the gallery under this name!

Joker/Midas

I would love to work with raccoons but have to wait till next May/June for the babies. I don't want to muck with the adults I hear after 3(sexual maturity) they get pretty gnarly.

As for the giardia the way my mentor found out is rather morbid but seeing as this is the Rehabilitation forum and not the "Squirrel" forum I will go ahead and say. A fellow rehabber under my mentor called in with a squirrel who was bleeding from the rectum after a serious bout of diarreah. It eventually pooped itself out which means its anus inverted All the lady could do was hold it and try to comfort it while it died because it was late and she didn't have access to a vet to euthenize it. That was a first clue. Then the smell. That is a dead giveaway. Squirrel poop doesn't really have a rank smell. But when they get giardia it is liquid poo that REEKS! There is no mistaking it. When my mentor first called me in the middle of the night asking me if I was the one who took the diarreah squirrels the other night cause she believed them to have giardia and wanted to wiegh them and start them on Flagyl immediately. I didn't have the diarreah squirrels but luckily was on the look out at that point and as soon as one of them pooped a stinker I knew. It also becomes grainy instead of the smoother regular poop. Ah, the conversations of rehabbing poop and more poop. lol.

Also Tickety the one with pnuemonia began to do what my mentor has said is the first signs of pnuemonia which is gagging on the nipple. Then she threw up. This was the same feeding when I noticed the ticking noises it was her first feeding with me. She is also on Flagyl cause of her cagemate but luckily is still having semi-solid poo.

Here are the siblings that will be moving into a larger home today but unfortunatly will be leaving my care

Cute, what are they eating???? Mine don't get whatever it is, but I am betting they would like it since yours do! My kids get grapes first, then apples, nuts, seed mix, and more grapes, then eventually just going to seed. I know what you mean by the ticking, the flying squirrel was ticking prior to starting him on Amoxidrops (supplement with yogurt for stomach). First time I have had anything that doesn't tell time tick, but is very distinctive. You are right about raccoons, wait until spring, don't mess with the big guys! The babies are amazingly sweet tho, and I am looking forward to them again (even tho the flying squirrel will barely be released by then due to wintering over!) Time to start rethinking my infant coon set up, it works, but there must be an easier way, and I have all winter to prepare! Yippee (and brrr!)
Joker

Hi,

It is also better than the applesauce cause I don't end up with glazed squirrels. And they look so natural sitting up eating the watermelon like that. They also like banana hunks. Oh and cantaloupe. I am not allowed to give them any kind of nut product because my mentor had a really bad year where squirrels were falling and breaking legs and backs because of lacking calcium. She figured it was leaching the strength from their bones. I'm not sure about this myself but need to follow her rules. She knows way more than I do