And, as it turns out, I love the news I have to report about where two of the wild things are that I care about: the first is the sweet female squirrel with the errant incisor growing out of her face - a squirrel who has been visiting us almost daily. Her photo can be seen in this blog's post of May 8, where I also report about a juvenile female squirrel in my care, one who came in with balance issues and extra toes.
I worried that the adult female would need trapping and her incisor clipped at some point because it would overgrow to the point of distress, infection - or both. I wrestled with ethical and emotional issues over this and, as it turns out, none of this is necessary. She is thriving! The tooth has not only failed to over, it does not seem to get in her way at all. The rest of her teeth seem perfectly functional and she is as healthy and bright-eyed as the first day I s
aw her.My decision to leave her, where the wild things are, turned out to be a good call.
The slightly neurologic female juvenile squirrel, the one I named Massa, is meanwhile fully and happily accepted by her adoptive brother and sister in their temporary caging, where she climbs with the agility any squirrel would envy, where she eats and plays and yes, even engages in lively wrestling matches.
My decision that she may indeed be releasable after all is one I am feeling more comfortable with day by day.
They will both be living where the wild things are and living what I hope will be long, full lives.
The sound you hear in the background is me, sighing a deep sigh of relief.
6 comments:
I'm glad to hear your two squirrels have such good prognoses!
The Mama Squirrel
Thanks for giving us the good news on your two squirrel friends.
Just want to let you know, I've been following your blog ever since I found it on Blogs of Note. Now I have it linked in my favorite blogs list. I hope that's okay with you. Peace.
Ah, wise decisions and now a happy result. Thanks for the good news.
Nice when it all goes right, isn't it?
We tried peppermint oil (on cotton pads) with our rat - and he did go away for awhile. I guess he couldn't resist the roasted (you read that right) peanuts I got on sale and put in the Enterprise.
Any suggestions, oh Wise One?
Kat
Sorry I failed to give good advice the first time around (or any advice, for that matter). I would have definitely suggested the peppermint oil since it is a good trick, and a humane one, to use with mice.
However, the bad news here, dear Poetikat, is that the word "rat" does not exist (no more than the word "cookie" exists). What I mean to say is that the word exists only in the plural form. If you have ONE, there are bound to be many (if not many many) more.
You may have to halt feeding temporarily on the Starship Enterprise (which is, by the way, subject of my very next posting, so stay tuned)....and in the interim offer the peppermint solution and perhaps couple that with some humane traps - these are the windup kind that they will go into, and it will simply move the chamber forward after they have gone in.
My only advice there - do monitor the traps because they are only humane if the critter is relocated within a few hours of entrapment. For rats that would mean, check first thing in the morning, as the beasties are nocturnal.
glad to hear they are doing well
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