The Squirrel King
The stories of 2020 were mostly depressing and morose. Our family kept introducing some new element into our lives through 2020 to have a positive focus that kept the mind looking forward to something in nature, not something on the news. Being in lockdown was difficult for us all at first, then we began to thrive in other areas which I believe a lot of families did.
We as a family watched the Tiger King on Netflix and thought is was quite the story filled with weird characters and some bizarre needs to have the big cats.
I quickly phoned Mike and told him to upgrade to a Guinea pig cage as it would have more room. Wish I knew how wide the bars were on that cage because they walked in and out of that cage from the moment we got it. We got some Puppy formula and a syringe and started around the clock feeding. I did the day time and Mike got the late night shift as he was up then anyway.
There were three girls and one boy. The little one hardly ate and struggled a lot. The other three were all over the place. I had a knitted toque and some sheep fiber that I would normally spin but we filled the toque with it and they slept there at night.
There were three girls and one boy. The little one hardly ate and struggled a lot. The other three were all over the place. I had a knitted toque and some sheep fiber that I would normally spin but we filled the toque with it and they slept there at night.
At first my rodent radar was up as I likened them to mice it was pretty hard at first to have them in the house. I had to use some dog flea killer on them, just one drop on their neck each and those little fleas were gone.
In the guinea pig cage was a wheel and a platform and a dish. Once it was filled with some cedar chips it was a place for them to hide and play when we weren't around.
It didn't take long before we were included in the play. One morning I went into the bathroom and all but one was missing. The little one was in the toque and all three others were no where to be found. Then I found them in the kleenex box where they had made themselves a new nest.
We followed a guide on squirrels and what to feed them and when to start feeding real food. Well we tried a few things and let's just say they ate better than we did.
We put in some lettuce, some cabbage, some grains and berries. The fruit was a favorite and the cucumber would just sit and go limp.
Then we had one who would just sleep through everything and be the last to get up, we called her sleepy.
The male sat in the dish feet sticking up and his belly just sitting between his legs go the nick name chub chubs.
Lastly, I forget what we started calling the runt of the litter. It was a sweet name until once day we brought in pine cones and spruce cones. They went nuts for these and she lost her mind and started to screech at the others and bite at them until no one was safe in the bathroom. We new right then her new name was Carol Baskins. I figure if she had a husband he would be missing right about then.
The home got finished and we moved Carol first. We had to buy a hamster cage to put her in so the others could eat. I was worried she would never forgive me. She ended up in solitary confinement for two days and two nights before she was the first to move to the Squirrel Mansion.
This Chicken Coop plan was found in Home and Garden Chicken Coop Plans Like most plans we made some modifications. We moved the remaining squirrels out after Carol had a few hours to decompress. We were worried the fight would ensue when they got back together, but I think her cooling off period was just enough. When all four were reunited we once again had peace, or should I say a PARTY!!!
We wanted to make sure that they had the full squirrel experience even though we would love to have kept them I believe they just needed to have a life full of trees and squirrels and things that mattered. I have to say that while they gave us great joy, we still knew they wanted freedom.
The weeks ticked by and in no time it was time to open up a ladder to freedom.
On the last day we planned a time where I could just hang with them when they got out. I was hoping they would use the shelter after they got outside, but only one of them really went back into the shelter the day I let them out.
Carol Baskins came back a week later and spent the weekend entertaining us before she too left us for good.
We talked to a neighbor weeks later and they mentioned they had a squirrel problem. The squirrels were eating their lawn furniture, so her husband was trapping them and setting them free in the Strathcona Wilderness Center. That was about 4 miles away. I have to think they are having a squirrels life.
Since they left a new squirrel has moved into their treehouse. We call her lucky. The squirrel king on facebook still posts to the squirrel Lucky now whenever she sticks her head out the door during the winter months. Looking forward to seeing if she uses the squirrel house for her babies in the spring. Stay tuned.
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