[nanacoon]

I've been "blessed" with a tiny baby gray squirrel that fits right in the palm of my hand. I got a call last night asking if I could please take on the responsibility of being a "Squirrel Mom".. and naturally I do not know how to say NO when asked to care for a helpless abandoned baby animal. He ... or she - haven't determined the sex yet - arrived last night in very poor condition - the baby was listless, weak, cold and dehydrated. A normal baby squirrel will curl up in a ball with its tail curled around it in the form of a soft - gray tennis ball. This baby was sprawled out flat with no movement. I mixed up a batch of formula - heated it and used a kitten nursing bottle to get a few drops of warm milk into its tummy. Mostly I just held it and massaged it to encourage some feeling and movement into it, also the baby needed to be warmed up. I put it to bed last night in a cage wrapped up in a warm towel on a bed of dry maple leaves and pine bedding - hoping that it would make it through the night. This morning I was happy to see that it had improved greatly ... it now had bright eyes and was curled in the normal healthy squirrel position, and was ready for another bottle. It will be starting solid foods in a day or two consisting of apples, fresh veggies, walnuts, sunflower seeds, berries, corn, grapes, tree buds, grains and insects. HEY.... that sounds a lot like the Rice Diet - if it's good for me, it's good for my squirrel. In just a matter of weeks it will be released outside back here in our woodsy area to live on its own - with lots of supplemental care provided by Nana-squirrel. Bonnie

[alo]

Nanacoon, Boy are you a good lady. My Mom was an animal lover and would take in birds and other animals found abandoned in our neighborhood. I hope the little guy all the best. You are a wonderful lady and may God bless you and your fur friends. By the way I have kept off the ten I lost. But it hasd been hard to go full speed ahead. Al O'Brien

[nanacoon]

Thank you Al for your nice words.... my fur friends thank you too. The baby squirrel is a male and is doing GREAT. I fixed him up a covered - cozy little den, using half a shoe box that I filled with the kind of natural bedding that he will be using when he gets back into the wilds ... and he just LOVES it. He is so content now and filling his fat little cheeks with all kinds of good squirrel food. My blessings to your Mom also for helping the wildlife - it's a hard job to do, but so rewarding.
I'm so glad you kept off the ten pounds you lost and YES I do realize just how hard it is to keep going on the diet when everyone around you is eating the forbidden foods that are so much easier to acquire. Just do the best you can and hopefully you will continue to keep losing pounds slow but sure. Take care. Bonnie

[alo]

Good MOrning Nanacoon,
How is the little guy doing this week? Bless you AL

[nanacoon]

Good Morning Al, Baby squirrel is doing GREAT - he's off the bottle and is drinking formula on his own - I keep a variety sample of fruits, veggies, grains and nuts in his pen scattered amongst his pine bedding for him to find. It keeps his mind active looking for them. His most favorite food of all right now is peanuts in the shell - unsalted of course. I buy them by the five pound bags for my "outside squirrels". When I'm working in the kitchen, I hear him sitting in his "ShoeBox Condo" crunching on peanut shells. He has pine cones, tree branches, hollow logs and rocks in his pen to get him acclimated to living in his kind of natural environment. Maybe I can get a picture of him later, I try to leave him alone so he doesn't get used to human company. Thanks for checking in on him. Bonnie

[nanacoon]

Here's an updated view of "FuzzyFace" that I took this morning, he's definitely growing up. Bonnie

[Leeney]

You are such a saint!!!

[sailgal]

Bonnie -

What a great looking guy!! How did you get him back into his condo after he finished decorating your mantel? I love squirrels - they are such acrobats and so much fun to watch. Since we feed the squirrels, all of the neighborhood squirrels congregate here - which makes my neighbors so happy!

How did the person who called you find the little guy?

Thank you for the great photos - you're the best!

Cindy

[nanacoon]

Hi Cindy, It's not a problem to move him around, he lets me pick him up and carry him. The girl that brought him here a week ago found him by the side of the road, in pretty rough condition. When we first bought this land and built here 15 years ago - there wasn't any gray squirrels in the area, but he's the ninth squirrel that I've raised and released here. We've got a nice family group going here now. The girl squirrels will be looking at him for husband material in the near future. On my way to the garden today, I walked under one of the big pine trees and heard a lot of baby coonie noises coming from it. I imagine all our coonie condos are now occupied with Mom and baby coons. Yahoo, I love it when the Mom coons bring their babies to the feeders, but that won't be for another month or so. Bonnie

[Melinda99]

I loved reading about the squirrel rescue! Thanks for the updates.

[nanacoon]

Good Morning Melinda, He's still here - happy and content. I will be starting his release very soon now, I'm just waiting for a good weather day that I can plan on being home all day to keep track of his progress. Hopefully I can get a picture or two, but when they're outside, it's not always possible. Bonnie

[alo]

Oh Boy Nana....that litle guy is getting big. I second that you are a saint. I'm doing well and am down 15 now. Hardest place is going out with friends. Any ideas what to order? Have a good one,Al

[sailgal]

Hi Al!

The biggest problems with going out is the high salt content of restaurant food and the portion sizes. It's hard to do much damage with a green salad with dressing on the side. Adding grilled shrimp or chicken will give you the protein without adding too much fat. Ordering a couple of appetizers often is a better choice than ordering an enormous entree. Drink lots of water and stay away from the bread basket and butter. And when all else fails, enjoy what you eat, don't beat yourself up too much, and do a detox day the next day.

Hang in there.

Cindy

[nanacoon]

Free at last - Free at last.... We released little FuzzyFace this morning into a big old Cedar tree right outside the kitchen door. We call his home - the Halfway House as it gives him protection from the weather and predators while he's learning to cope. I put some of his old bedding in the house to make sure it "smelled like home" and then we put his cage up into the branches with the door open so he would let himself loose when he wanted to leave. We make sure there's always food and water provided for the animals out in that area, so he doesn't have to worry about being hungry or thirsty until he learns how to take care of himself.
I think he likes his new home - when I went out to take this picture - he kept chattering at me and scolding... as he wanted me to back off and leave him alone. So I did. Bonnie

[lillywilliam]

He is so cute ,,,,,,, and i love him too nice pics man,,,,


drug rehab

[nanacoon]

Glad you like the pictures Lilly, I saw FuzzyFace on the ground and running around with some of the other gray squirrels on the lawn, so I guess that's a good sign that he's getting acclimated to his freedom. He still loves his little house and spends a lot of his time in there. Bonnie

[millicent]

I have enjoyed just reading through your squirrel posts and pics. Thank You for brightening my day!

I am recovering from surgery and need to get back to the rice diet and have been reading through the posts.

Just a thought have you thought of putting together a children's book with your story and the great pictures and rehab ( I am big into rehab now after the surgery!) area you have created for your animals. The importance of getting them back to normal animal life is the key to a great story here! Being a retired Children's Librarian this is of course what really caught my attention.

Looking forward to being back in the rice diet family.

[nanacoon]

Well thank you Millicent for your very nice words and book suggestion. I wouldn't know where to begin on that project... but it does give me an idea of opening up a New File just for photos and memories of the animals that I rehab and release. Thank you for the suggestion, and I'm hoping that you will get better soon from your recent surgery. Bonnie

[Leeney]

Quote

Just a thought have you thought of putting together a children's book with your story and the great pictures and rehab

Bonnie, you're so gifted! Just do what you do here...take cool pictures and caption them with your wonderful stories!

[Leeney]

Any Fuzzyface updates?