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. 

One day my son came from his basement bedroom and told me there were baby squirrels at his window.  I went down to have a look and there were two little toddlers moving around his window.  Our neighbor had 6 cats and I figured these little guys didn't stand a chance.  Mike went out with some gloves to gather them up.  He found two little ones, so we  put them in the dog kennel while Mike went off to get a hamster cage.  I went back outside about 10 minutes later to find another baby on our deck, so I picked him up and put him with the others.  I went out to ensure there were no more and I found one curled up in the sun on the ground beside the deck, fetched her up and got all four together.

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.

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.

The fun had just begun.  The more these little ones moved around the bathroom the more ludicrous places they turned up.  Mikes shaving bag was another favorite place to hide.  He wasn't bothered he never used it.  

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.

These little squirrels started to take on some personalities.  We had one that used the wheel constantly and for that reason we called her Ironman, we understood the need to exercise constantly.

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 cuteness continued.  They needed trees to climb, they found ways to get everywhere in the bathroom.  We started to build a chicken coop to move them into as they were getting closer to creating some damage I didn't really want to have to fix.

It was at this time they discovered our visits were like learning about trees.  They began climbing us and chasing each other around our legs and torsos.  We learned to wear loose clothing for these visits to avoid the nail marks.  It also let them dig in and really get up some speed.  This was the best Covid therapy room I could imagine.  We would drop in for a visit and they would just go crazy.

The day Carol Baskins got her name we were only a couple rainy days away from completing the squirrel  mansion.  We wanted to make sure it was predator proof and gave them ways to entertain themselves.

This cute picture is one of many we have on the facebook page we started for them called  The Squirrel King we have endless video of them doing the crazy dash around the humans.  Honestly everyone needs to have lived through raising squirrels.

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!!!

I built some rope ladders with pieces of wood for rungs.  This allowed them to cross from one side to the other without having to use the cage wire.  We had logs on the inside of the shelter and in their house so that they could climb trees as well.  The guinea pig cage was put inside the house and the hamster wheel was always going.  They had 4 more weeks before they were of age to move out.

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.

I built them a small squirrel house for in the tree so that they could hide from birds if they got out and wanted to set up in the tree.  It took two hours for them to investigate the large willow and the few tall columnar aspens we had in our backyard.  When they started to venture off they made a quick trip across the neighbors yard into a large stand of spruce trees.  It was a sad day for me.  I was happy for them but sad for me as they kind of made my days brighter.

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.