Nanna Siggi News: To the Rescue!

To The Rescue!

This morning daughter Hollis called! Not a big deal other than, as a 5th grade teacher she is usually in class & definitely not making social calls at 8:30ish in the morning!!! Soooo..... she asked what was I up to and then......said....

A friend & fellow teacher had rescued a baby squirrel from their above ground pool where it had been clinging to a pool noodle and was half drown. The baby had been fed some "breast milk" donated by a lactating mother friend and "Miracle" was in dire need of a home to recuperate in, since her friend could not keep it. ..... was I ????? interested????? would I??????
maybe she thought of me because .....
I was a "person of experience"..?...?...?. I had splinted (with dental floss & toothpicks) a newborn baby squirrel's broken leg and eyedroppered kitten replacement milk every 2-4hrs. to save it because, a then 4yr old grandson JD informed me "Nana you can save it!"( After I had repeatedly try to put it
back up in the tree from which it had fallen!) That little mite grew up and lived a little over 9 years.

Tryon -- in 2010 he is 9 yrs old

Succumbing just a few years ago, when he was old & gray, but had lived a pretty good life even tho in captivity. We did not feel he was ever able to be released into the wild as he had become friendly with both our cats & dogs ... not being afraid of them would have gotten Tryon killed for sure in the wild.

Where...ever....whatever.... why...ever.... I agreed .... (You really don't want to know what Walt had to say about it!) .........so I got myself ready and drove the 32 miles to Pembroke to acquire a baby squirrel.....

22 squirrels have been scooped out of this pool - all adults and none had survived, but this baby, though almost drowned, had survived by hanging on to a pool noodle! So they brought out a cat carrier and they showed me "Miracle". He is so cute! I had expected an eastern gray squirrel, like Tryon, but what they had is a southern flying squirrel.... very similar to a sugar glider. Nor is he a baby, but a late stage adolescent.... mostly weaned..... I went & got him some meal worms and crickets, and he has already eaten some meal worms .... they also eat berries & lichen and nuts.... The sad part..... it is against GA law to keep them as pets. :( I would love to keep him! And if I could justify that he had been domesticated because of required long term care (like Tryon) I would probably break the law and keep him ...... But other than keeping him just long enough to make sure he has no ill effects from the "swim"..... I will be releasing him.
Some additional interesting info: (from wikipedia)

Both in the wild and in captivity they can produce two litters each year (with 2-7 young per litter). The gestation period is approximately 40 days. Young are born without fur or any capabilities of its own. Their ears open at 2 to 6 days old, and fur grows in by 7 days. Their eyes don't open until they are 24–30 days old. Parents leave their young 65 days after they are born. The young then become fully independent at around 120 days of age. .Flying squirrels are not capable of powered flight like birds or bats; instead, they glide between trees. They are capable of obtaining lift within the course of these flights, with flights recorded to 90 meters (295 ft).^[2]^[3] The direction and speed of the animal in midair is varied by changing the positions of its two arms and legs, largely controlled by small cartilaginous wrist bones.^[4] This changes the tautness of the patagium, a furry parachute-like membrane that stretches from wrist to ankle.^[4] It has a fluffy tail that stabilizes in flight. The tail acts as an adjunct airfoil, working as an air brake before landing on a tree trunk.^[5]

eastern flying squirrel

Miracle

I call him Cal.....

So I will have to be satisfied with my cats, Snubbins & Slicker, my bunnies, Shadow, Trudeau, CocoPuff, Thunder, Jackson & FooFoo, the chickens and Walt's deaf bulldog, Patch.

Here, you can enjoy some pictures of them too.