House for a squirrel: how to tame an animal?
Muscovite Ksenia Shostko accidentally picked up a baby squirrel.
It turned out that it is very difficult to remove a wild animal; specialists in rodents are a rarity in Moscow. But the girl coped with all the difficulties.
Now the squirrel Shishka is settling into the apartment of his savior. A World of News correspondent talked to Ksenia about Shishka’s miraculous rescue.
MILK FORMULA FOR CHILDREN, HEATING BATH AND MASSAGE
Caring for a small squirrel, or a sick squirrel in general, is very difficult. Ksenia’s first experience with a ratologist—that’s what rodent specialists are called—was negative: “The doctor gave the wrong advice, incorrectly determined the age of the squirrel, and said that we shouldn’t touch it for now, that we could become infected with rabies. While we were waiting, the baby squirrel almost died. I scoured the entire Internet, went to the forum of squirrel experts and found Anna, who became, as we call her, our pet’s godmother. Anna has extensive experience in caring for and treating squirrels, and she literally saved Shishka.”
Under the leadership and supervision of Anna, Ksenia and Dmitry had to master unusual manipulations. “At first we were even afraid to touch him. We thought that he might bite us. But the little squirrel was so exhausted and weak, he did not resist,” continues Ksenia. “I, of course, had experience treating animals, for example our cats, who also came to us from the street, albeit as adults. But this was my first time encountering a baby squirrel. It turned out, for example, that at this age he should not be given solid food. My husband rushed to the veterinary pharmacy to get formula - it turns out there is a special formula for kittens, puppies and even baby squirrels! We used it to nurse Shishka. I also had to massage his tummy. We did this around the clock for several days, replacing each other. It’s literally like being with a baby.”
Thanks to the persistence and care of Ksenia and Dmitry, the little squirrel Shishka survived and began to recover.
How to make a house for squirrels
1. Using glue and nails, join two pieces of plywood together. Place the larger one on a flat surface. Attach the smaller one to it at a 90-degree angle so that their short sides touch. Apply a little wood glue to the joint, align the edges and knock down the walls with nails.
2. Select a suitable large tree, place a stepladder next to it, on which you could hang the workpiece at a height of 5-6 meters. To make the house warmer, it is better to place it on the south side of the trunk. This way, domestic squirrels will not suffer from gusts of cold wind.
3. Using nails and a hammer, attach the workpiece to the wood. The short wall should be adjacent to the trunk, and the long wall should be perpendicular to it and parallel to the ground. To secure, use a minimum of 6 nails (one in each corner of the smaller wall and two in the center). Check whether the workpiece is securely fastened. If it's wobbly, hammer in a few more nails. The house now has a porch.
4. Place an old car tire on the “floor” of the porch. Use nails to secure it to the tree. Drive several nails into the top and bottom of the tire where it meets the trunk. Drive in additional nails if necessary. If desired, you can use self-tapping screws, in which case you need to have a screwdriver on hand.
5. Place dry leaves inside the tire, which will serve as a kind of insulation. You can use dry corn cob wrappers. When cold weather sets in, it is advisable to increase the layer of bedding to make the squirrels warmer and more comfortable at home.
6. Place dry corn on the porch of the house.
At the end of summer, clean the inside of the house. This will eliminate bacteria that can cause unpleasant odors and illnesses in squirrels at home. Remove and throw away the old “insulation” and replace it with new one. When cleaning the squirrel house, be sure to use rubber gloves to prevent contact with harmful microorganisms.
By the way, if you prefer dogs as animals on your property, we recommend that you read our material “How to build a kennel.”
What can you feed squirrels in the park?
Visitors are advised to offer the squirrels walnuts, pine nuts and in-shell hazelnuts as treats. You can also treat them to unroasted pumpkin seeds, bananas, dried or fresh apples, carrots or pears.
Interesting materials:
How to properly dry red hot peppers? How to dry raspberries correctly? How to properly dry mint for the winter? How to dry your nails correctly? How to dry chili peppers correctly? How to properly dry peppers in a dryer? How to properly dry rosemary? How to properly dry strawberries for tea? How to properly heat a sauna using black? How to properly heat a sauna with a metal stove?
“SHISHKA LOVES IT WHEN I SING SONGS TO HIM”
Shishka has been living with Ksenia for 2.5 months. “The first days it occupied my palm if it was fully straightened. And now it doesn’t fit on my two hands. It grows very quickly. They can grow tassels overnight. Now he has already started puberty, 4 months, he started singing,” Ksenia smiles.
The lump is still being treated, but he is already eating solid food. Loves carrots, apples, zucchini.
Squirrel has become quite comfortable in the apartment, and Ksenia lets Shishka roam freely around the premises. Squirrels sleep at night, but are very active during the day; they need movement. “Our squirrel, although a rodent, doesn’t chew on anything except food,” says the owner. — He has a soft toy, a pink pig, he sometimes plays with it. There are salt pebbles that he gnaws on, an acorn. Sometimes he likes to chew on the cap of a plastic bottle. He doesn’t bite - sometimes he can bite his hands, but it’s a game.”
Shishka became completely tame. He gets bored alone and loves to communicate. “If he is sitting in a cage and we pass by, he shows with his whole appearance that he wants to play. Makes funny grumbling sounds while playing. And when cats run past, he clicks at them, hits them with his tail and paws - he defends himself,” says Ksenia. One of the cats calmly reacts to the squirrel, but the second one shows a hunting instinct, so Shishka walks around the room when there are no cats in it.
As Ksenia explains, you need to communicate with the squirrel all the time so that it is tame. Once you start leaving the animal alone for a long time, it runs wild. For the same reason, on the advice of the protein breeders, Ksenia did not make a nest box for Shishka. He lives in a spacious enclosure, and inside the rodent has a house made of a basket and warm blankets. “I can always check how he feels, take him out when he’s sleepy and carry out some manipulations, give him an injection or give him medicine,” explains Ksenia.
Shishka even mastered some words. He knows his name, responds to the call: “Come to me,” immediately runs to the call: “Na-na-na,” knows the word “dacha.”
“We tell him: “Dacha, dacha,” when we go to the dacha, so that he gets used to traveling by car and does not get nervous, and I also sing songs to him on the road and he likes it. I also teach him the word “vacuum cleaner”; before I start cleaning, I say this word so that Shishka is prepared and does not get stressed by the noise. At first, we thought that we would cure the squirrel and give it away. But while we were caring for Shishka, we became so attached to him that we decided to leave him,” says Ksenia. — True, we often go on business trips, and traveling with a squirrel is not easy. Unless by car or on planes, squirrels are not allowed, and veterinary certificates are not given for them. But he can no longer be released. But it’s difficult to give it to someone: this is a specific animal and requires special care. From a squirrel, for example, it is difficult to tell whether it is sick or healthy. Often this happens literally in minutes: he just seems to be jumping - and suddenly falls on his side. Diseases manifest themselves sharply. And you need to be able to care for a squirrel. We have already called all nurseries and zoos, but the conditions there are unsuitable.”
Ksenia recommends: if you find a squirrel, immediately contact experienced squirrel breeders on the Internet or urgently consult a veterinarian, because delay is dangerous - you may be late in rescuing the animal. “Now on the squirrel breeding forum I found two more people in my area who also have small squirrels. These people picked them up during the squirrel fall in the summer,” Ksenia rejoices. “This is great, we will be able to communicate and support each other, because urgent help is very necessary.”
How to feed squirrels?
What do squirrels eat and not eat?
The squirrel's body does not absorb fiber! The main part of their diet is vegetation rich in proteins and fats.
In nature it is:
nuts, seeds, berries, mushrooms, fruits, acorns, tree buds. In addition to plant foods, squirrels eat insects, frogs, beetles, lizards, eggs and chicks of various birds. Animal food predominates in the squirrel's diet in the spring, when it is difficult to find plant food, or it cannot find its way to your site, where you carefully feed it. Usually, squirrels make provisions for the winter. Cones, nuts, and acorns are buried in the ground or hidden in hollows and nests, of which one squirrel always has several. They are often forgotten and found by chance, thanks to their sense of smell. When it’s cold, squirrels eat little, and wait out severe frosts in hollows or nests, falling into half-asleep, using their reserves. The hungriest time is the end of winter, early spring. Lack of food in winter, as well as infectious diseases, kill up to 85% of young squirrels.
There is a Book of Rations: basic standards for feeding animals of the Moscow Zoo / [compiled by: V.N. Gorval]
The optimal diet for squirrels outside of nature:
Daily: wheat bread – 10 g; hazelnuts – 10 g each; pine nuts – 10 g each; ground nuts – 10 g each; sunflower seeds – 10 g; pumpkin seeds – 10 g; fruits, berries – 2 g each; dried fruits – 2 g each; hemp – 2 g each; dry mushrooms – 2 g each; salad – 2 g each; cottage cheese – 2 g each; milk – 2 g each; butter - 2 g; salt – 2 g each; mealworm – 2 g each; fish – 2 g each; grass, branches - in unlimited quantities; cones - in unlimited quantities; needles - in unlimited quantities.
To feed squirrels in your own area, everything is much simpler:
dried fruits, mixtures of nuts, seeds. They love corn very much.
What do zoologists categorically not recommend feeding squirrels?
Poison for squirrels: Almonds, cherry pits, cherries, apricots, peach, crackers, chips, chocolate, rye, cookies, oyster mushrooms and champignons! Belochka sweets are not produced for them either. By the way, these delicacies are also not suitable for birds.
Do you feed squirrels in parks or on your garden plots?
The animals are funny, active and very popular with children and adults. I really want to hand feed him and have time to pet him. When communicating with an animal, a person believes that stroking the head and back gives pleasure. We do this with such love! Yes, it does, but only to humans. An animal is a boorish and selfish creature. And don't try to give him feelings of shame, love, care and gratitude. No, you, of course, can create such an illusion for yourself. But it is advisable to impart these traits to small and toothless creatures. The larger the animal, the more you need to restrain yourself from wanting to feed it by hand. But the squirrel is so small and cute. Can such an animal be evil? Maybe! And this is the basis of survival in the wild. The animal must be careful and not allow itself to be touched. In addition, in search of food, they get into quite brutal fights. They have no delicacy, and intelligent squirrels die in their nests, saying to their brothers and sisters: “Thank you, I'm not hungry, take my nut!” Of course, if you feed a squirrel for many months, then it gets used to you and does not see a threat. You can take a risk and pet it. But still take the risk! A wild animal will never become a domestic animal. It is enough that in the neighboring yard, a person at the time of feeding, flicks her on the nose. There are many inadequate people, and one such inadequate person is enough to erase established relationships. He clicked, and you were bitten on your nut. Now about the squirrel bite! I really liked how they calmed down a girl who had been bitten by a squirrel on one forum: “It’s okay, go to bed, everything will be fine :) Good luck!” Russian people are unique. He doesn't believe in condoms (especially the USSR), doesn't believe in viruses, rabies, etc. He doesn't really believe in death either. And after the bite he looks at the rabies statistics.
"Food for squirrels"
If there are only a few rabid squirrels, then you can take the risk and not go to the doctor. Logical and desperate! In my understanding, feeding a squirrel from your hand is like feeding a homeless person on a crosswalk. Giving him money or food is a moot point. A homeless person is not as playful and funny as a squirrel. Yes, I chose this life myself. But putting a nut in his mouth with your hands smacks of madness. And the presence of diseases, incurable ones at that, in all homeless people cannot be ruled out. That’s why the question is: “Is the pleasure of scratching a squirrel’s crown worth a rabies vaccination, a trip to the doctor, or the self-confident expectation of death?” When there are a lot of squirrels, they get excited and compete for food. Especially in winter! At such moments they are especially aggressive. And don’t be surprised when they first jump on your head like baboons, and then gnaw your manicure right down to the cuticle. Squirrels in nature suffer from many dangerous diseases, one of the most common is tularemia. wikipedia.org/wiki/Tularemia." Almost all of them have worms and mites.
Take care of your health! Restrain the impulses of love and cuteness! Watch, feed, photograph, laugh and be amazed at these pranksters. Create squirrel attractions from boxes, plastic pipes and ropes. They love these fun things. To enjoy nature, you don't have to touch it!
