# I'm excited - meet my latest orphans



## feorag

4 baby red squirrels, whose drey was blown out of its tree by the gales this morning. Unfortunately the people who found it picked it up and took it straight to the local vets instead of observing the cardinal rule of abandoned young wildlife and observing for a few hours to see if the mother came back to care for them.

I picked them up at 6:00 and it took me the best part of 2 hours to de-flea them cos they were crawling. I took about 15-18 fleas off each of them and then at least another 10 or more from inside the towels which we put in the bath. The blanket and remains of the drey went straight outside into the bin! :gasp:

So far only one is feeding well, the other 3 are fighting against the teat, preferring to put their teeth into my finger and grab my skin at the minute, but I'm sure they will adapt quickly and hoping that I can manage to keep them all alive, as they are a bit lethargic at the minute.

I estimate they are about 5-6 weeks, so still a few weeks before we can start weaning and that will take the pressure off a bit!

For the minute they're in a large cardboard box, to hopefully keep fleas inside (picked up another 4 just earlier!), however, they are burying under the vet bed, rather than lying on it and under a smaller sized piece, but that's up to them.

So this is their first photograph, taken when I settled them down at 9:00pm.










Then when we went upstairs to feed them at 10:00 Barry shouted to come and look at one of them, so I grabbed the camera and this is what I found.

Two at one end:











And two at the other:










This is one of the girls being toileted while half asleep!










And this is greedy guts, the only one who has grabbed the teat properly and sucked and taken nearly a full feed.

And if anyone is wondering why they have green claws, it's nail varnish to identify them for when I weigh them.


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## Big Red One

Oh wow,

Gotta love the Reds! Good luck with those and keep us updated on their progress!

Some day you may sleep again......
:lol2:


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## samurai

Wow those are stunning little things. Hope they all start to feed well for you. Will they be released into the wild if they reach adulthood?


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## BSL

good luck with them are you going to release them back into the wild when they are bigger if so i would phone the R.S.P.C.A as greys kill them


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## EVIEMAY

They are gorgeous Eileen.

Once they are able to be released will they go back to the same spot they are found?

I know many people instinctively pick up young animals that appear to be strays it must be difficult to decide.

They would have been vulnerable to other preditors if left though surely?

Sorry for all the questions.


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## starfox

They are such stunning little things! I hope they thrive for you


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## Slurm

wow so cute, the baby reds are simply beautifil, such a shame those nasty big greys are ousting them....


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## feorag

Big Red One said:


> Some day you may sleep again......
> :lol2:


Indeed! Fortunately these 4 are 3 weeks younger than Jake and Fidget - the last 2 I handreared, so I know the intensive care won't last as long this time!! :2thumb: 

This was Jake and Fidget 2 days after we got them. As you can see, not a lot of hair, ears and eyes still firmly closed and weighing 38g & 40g respectively.










Jake and Fidget were here for 5 months and then we moved them into a pen we had put in a garden regularly visited by red squirrels to over-winter. They were soft released from there in May.

Here they are not long before they left us











And this was release day! : victory: Fidget on top of the pen and Jake still inside, where he remained for about 3 days before getting up the nerve to enter the big wide world - but then he was never as outgoing and cheeky as fidget - who was named appropriately! :lol2:












samurai said:


> Wow those are stunning little things. Hope they all start to feed well for you. Will they be released into the wild if they reach adulthood?


Absolutely! :2thumb:



EVIEMAY said:


> Once they are able to be released will they go back to the same spot they are found?
> 
> I know many people instinctively pick up young animals that appear to be strays it must be difficult to decide.
> 
> They would have been vulnerable to other preditors if left though surely?
> 
> Sorry for all the questions.


We won't be able to release them back where they came from because they are too young to be released this year (they are extremely latebabies)as they won't have time to cache their winter larder. What we will do is find a release site in a suitable area and over-winter them there and then release them. unfortunately the people in whose garden we put the pen for Jake and fidget had their house up for sale a year or so ago, so I don't know if they still live there, as the pen is still in their garden, but I'll be chasing that up.

Failing which, because we no longer have our 2 grey squirrels at the wildlife sanctuary, we may release them from there.

They would have been vulnerable from predators, yes, but the golden rule with wildlife is to observe from a safe distance, so if a predator came about it would have been easy to chase it away. 



Slurm said:


> wow so cute, the baby reds are simply beautifil, such a shame those nasty big greys are ousting them....


I'm going to be controversial here, because i just love squirrels and don't care what colour they are.

Same old story, man interfering at the expense of our indigenous animals. The greys should never have been brought here, but someone brought them and they are just stronger and less nervous and shy than our reds and they breed larger litters and tend not to move out when humans move in, so our constant population of England has gradually pushed the red further and further north.

Anyway update on the squirrels. I just fed them at 10:00 and most of them have kept their weight on and 3 have added 1g or 2g, so that's good news. Still got a flea there that I cannot bloody catch! :bash: But I'll get the little b*gger eventually! :lol2:

So, so far so good, but of course it is still very early days to get too confident! :2thumb:


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## Big Red One

Superb,

keep up the good work !

:notworthy::no1:


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## MP reptiles

Very nice i have never seen a red squirell in the wild(in the uk) only in photos. Keep up the great work!


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## Whosthedaddy

Good work, but the green nail vanish on the syringe fed one?


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## rmac

Whosthedaddy said:


> Good work, but the green nail vanish on the syringe fed one?



I thought this?? LOL


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## feorag

Whosthedaddy said:


> Good work, but the green nail vanish on the syringe fed one?


Identification!

There is 1 boy and 3 girls, so one of the girls has no nail varnish, one has it on her right front paw and the other on her left front paw, so that when I weigh them to check they aren't losing weight, I know how to tell the 3 girls apart.

I've always used nail varnish to identify my feline kittens, usually I use bright red as it's easy to see, but the green was all I had to hand at 12:00 last night!


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## Amalthea

Truly beautiful babies, Eileen!! Good luck!!!


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## feorag

A couple of photos taken this morning

Little boy, full, fat and happy 








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And one of the girls on the scales.








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And a quick video of me making a hash of feeding one of the girls :lol2:

Baby Red Squirrel being hand fed - YouTube


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## Salazare Slytherin

They are beautiful, I have never seen pics of these up close before.
Best of luck with them x: victory:


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## corvid2e1

You too! I had one brought to me yesterday (Grey, all we get here), same age, also covered in fleas, found sitting in the middle of the road. Only the second one this season, and the first was months ago, realy early. Thought I had got away with it! The people did try leaving her on the side of the road for mother to collect but she kept running back into the middle. when they got her in she had blood around the nose so was a good thing they didn't leave her. not sure if she had been clipped but does not seem to be any major damage and is doing well. fed perfectly first feed, both paws on the siringe straght away!


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## NickBenger

Wow you're reds are super-cute, out of interest how did you get into this wildlife rehabilitation?


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## feorag

corvid2e1 said:


> You too! I had one brought to me yesterday (Grey, all we get here), same age, also covered in fleas, found sitting in the middle of the road. Only the second one this season, and the first was months ago, realy early. Thought I had got away with it! The people did try leaving her on the side of the road for mother to collect but she kept running back into the middle. when they got her in she had blood around the nose so was a good thing they didn't leave her. not sure if she had been clipped but does not seem to be any major damage and is doing well. fed perfectly first feed, both paws on the siringe straght away!


Hi David, we've had a few quiet years for squirrels, but were thankful for that, because we got into so much trouble because of our 2 rescued greys and my bosses were told by Natural England that once they'd got the licence for the 2 they already had, they could not take in any more! And we've had no reds brought in since the 2 I handreared in 2007.

However, our 2 greys have now died, so we took in these reds when the vet rang, but I've brought them home with me for the intensive rearing part.

I hope your wee squirrel makes it! The last one I had brought here (adult female) who'd been hit by a car, survived a couple of days, but the shock got to her in the end. :sad:



TheDogMan said:


> Wow you're reds are super-cute, out of interest how did you get into this wildlife rehabilitation?


I volunteered at my local wildlife sanctuary!


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## EVIEMAY

corvid2e1 said:


> You too! I had one brought to me yesterday (Grey, all we get here), same age, also covered in fleas, found sitting in the middle of the road. Only the second one this season, and the first was months ago, realy early. Thought I had got away with it! The people did try leaving her on the side of the road for mother to collect but she kept running back into the middle. when they got her in she had blood around the nose so was a good thing they didn't leave her. not sure if she had been clipped but does not seem to be any major damage and is doing well. fed perfectly first feed, both paws on the siringe straght away!


 
Good luck with your little one...

You all do a fabulous job and I admire your dedication.

It takes special people to do what you all do :notworthy:


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## feorag

A couple of little update vids of them getting active.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j0RBLHyVeY 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQdL9wKnHfo


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## EVIEMAY

So beautiful Eileen - they must bring a smile to your face :flrt:

I think you are going to have your hands full there.


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## feorag

I've got them full already! :lol2:

Now they have seen the outside world, they want to live it!! No longer will they sit quietly in the scales to be weighed, they jump straight out and start running all over the little table where I put the tray with their milk etc on, so they're getting more and more active! :roll: He he! :flrt:


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## feorag

A couple of updated photographs taken yesterday when they'd all crashed out after eating.

The Boy











No. 1 girl on the left and No. 2 girl on the right.










Same 2 girls after having been jumped on by the boy who wanted them to get up and play with him!!










And No.3 girl:












See how brave and adventurous they have become in 6 days. When I first got them they would spit and put their feet out to 'chase me away'.

Handreared red squirrels now venturing out the nest. - YouTube


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## Amalthea

They;'re so beautiful!!!


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## Testudo Man

Fantastic photos, and what a privilege for you to nurture these special little guys. You must get a great feeling, when you release them back into the wild.


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## Big Red One

Just seen these little guys on BBC News!

Superb to see them as they develop, gotta love the Reds!


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## feorag

Thanks everyone for your kind comments. Everyone appears to have jumped onto this feelgood story - red squirrels just seem to engender such an "Aah" feeling - shame about the not so pretty wildlife we have.

Apparently it's now on the internet in Australia :gasp: and already people are sending donations, which is wonderful for us, because, obviously the squirrels' future is assured as they will be able to be released. However our concern is with the 100+ animals that we have which can't be released (such as the brain damaged young fox who was found buried in rubble who came in this spring, and Sam the fox whose face was shattered in a car accident and who could never fend for himself in the wild, and the 1 footed kestrel, who would struggle to feed himself and all the old and threadbare goats that nobody wants etc etc etc) and there just isn't any money left in the bank, courtesy of the recession and an unsympathetic bank manager. :bash:

I've just done a telephone interview with BBC Coventry who have very kindly let me tell them on air about our plight and how we are struggling financially, so hopefully that might help too!

And Channel 5 news want to come to see them tomorrow, so all this publicity might just get us over the winter - hopefully!!


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## Shellsfeathers&fur

I saw these mentioned yesterday within the main headlines on BBC1 8am, and thought they must be the ones you are caring for.:no1:

They are lovely. :flrt:


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## feorag

I'm off now to be interviewed for Channel 5 News - I just can't believe how much interest these 2 have caused!! The last 2 didn't get half as much publicity as these 4 - but then maybe the world is in a worse place now than it was 4 years ago, what with the recession etc so maybe everyone wants to hear a feelgood story???


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## feorag

Well the interview went very well and the squiggles were brilliant. Totally interactive with the presenter and the photographer and were fascinated by his cameras. He put a small camera inside the cat carrier to record them and they took great delight in chewing on it! :lol:

Then he put his big camera on the table and they were on it straight away so I got out my own camera and videod it.

Red Squirrels being interviewed for Channel 5 News!!! - YouTube


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## Tarron

Congratulations on helping such beautiful creatures.

Do you know when they will run the story on ch5?


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## feorag

They ran it last night on the 5:00pm news and repeated it on the 7:00pm news.

Our local paper ran this story yesterday We

And they could very well end up on Countryfile and Autumn Watch because I've spoken to both production offices this morning.

Autumn Watch asked if there was any possibility of me taking them to the studeos for the "Autumn Watch Unsprung" follow on programme. I asked which studio and she told me BRISTOL!! I thought FFS! Like I'm going to travel them all the way down there, stay overnight somewhere etc etc - that would do them a lot of good - NOT!!! So I'm waiting to hear back from them cos when I refused they started to talk about maybe doing a Skype interview.


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## snakewhisperer

I'd just like to say:2thumb::no1::2thumb::no1::2thumb::no1: That is all x


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## feorag

:lol2: Thank you!

You know, of course, that it's a labour of love and I'm enjoying every minute of it, even though I'm totally cream crackered!

Weaning has begun, so now dog walking takes in picking blackberries, rose hips (what is left cos they're nearly finished now) and hawthorn berries which are in abundance. And from now on there will be a pair of secateurs in my car so if I'm driving along a country lane I can cut off a branch of hawthorn berries to hang in their cage.

The hawthorn berries are a huge success, as are the blackberries so far. Mushrooms and strawberries have been nibbled on too, but the blueberries, they're not eating yet.

Here's the first photo of the first weaning of one of the girls tucking into a hawthorn berry taken yesterday.



















And a couple of videos taken yesterday - sorry about the lighting on the second one, but the bed is in between the window and the pen, so the floor is quite dark and when the light isn't good the quality of the video isn't good either, so it's a bit blurred.

Red Squirrels playing in their pen - YouTube

Red Squirrel kitten eating a hawthorn berry - YouTube


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## Junior13reptilez

VERY VERY cute, I love their ears! It must be very hard for you to part with them.


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## feorag

Because it's autumnm they have ear tufts, whereas my last ones, being born earlier didn't get their tufts until they were in their winter pen!

I miss them so much when they go, but it's what's right. In 2007 I handreared 2 red squirrels and in 2008 I handreared a stoat, who was an absolute delight! After that I so missed a little cuddly critter I went out and bought 2 rats! :lol2:

It's a bittersweet day when they go, but the whole scenario is hugely rewarding.


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## Lucky Eddie

Just seen them on Beakfast TV.

AAAAAAAaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

You must be so proud! :notworthy::notworthy::notworthy:


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## feorag

My God! :gasp: Are they still on the news!! I didn't think it would last more than a couple of days, never mind a week! :gasp:


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## Lucky Eddie

feorag said:


> My God! :gasp: Are they still on the news!! I didn't think it would last more than a couple of days, never mind a week! :gasp:


Yep..............I'm sure I wasn't still running on Sky+ from last week!!!!!!!!! :roll2:


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## feorag

*Squirrels explore the kitchen*

Another little update video of the squirrels' first visit to the kitchen - lots of interesting things to explore and they are very inquisitive.

Baby red squirrel kittens explore the kitchen - YouTube

I got an e-mail from the guy who runs Meon Valley Squirrel Rescue in the south of England, who I make squirrel pouches and hammocks for as a donation whenever I'm sewing some for me and where I'm on their list as a foster mother to the dreaded greys. They've just taken in this beautiful albino grey

Albino squirrel rescued from Southsea


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