OK, I know many people are not that fond of red squirrels; they make a lot of noise in the woods and can create havoc if they get into your house. They clean out bird feeders pretty quick, too. But when a neighbor found a nest of them in his birdhouse and threatened to throw them in the river, I offered to take the four tiny fur babies home. They were adorable. I ran to Walmart and bought kitten milk in a box in the pet department (who knew?) and fed them with an eyedropper. They were adorable. I put them in a little birdcage with lots of soft cloth and towels. They slept a lot in a warm furry tangle of limbs, and over the next few days I tried to get them to eat different things. They seemed to like bananas. My dog seemed to like them. She watched with a bit more than idle curiosity, so I made sure I didn't turn my back on them. Our house is never super warm, and looking back, I suppose I should have provided a light bulb for heat, like they do with chicks. The next morning when I looked to see how they were doing, I saw four little wet bodies laying in different places in the cage. They're dying, I thought! I picked one up and it seemed lethargic. What do I do? CPR? I had no idea. Frantically, I went online and miraculously, found a squirrel rehabilitator, not too far away. Amazing. Nothing here is "not too far away". A squirrel rehab? I sadly made arrangements to give them up, and in the car we went to the squirrel ER. In the warm car, with the sun shining through the windshield, they began to come back to life. I realized it was the wet banana I left in the cage overnight (did they roll in it?) combined with the cool house that had caused them to become "hypothermic". I imagine the rehabilitator raised them right (unlike me), and they are out in the woods somewhere, chattering noisily at a passer by.
Σχόλια