Posted on 11/16/2018 8:56:04 PM PST by backspace
Been feeding the cute little squirrel out back..... I named him "Scratchie"
We have a squirrel we are feeding with pumpkins right now! He isn’t that tame yet but the relationship is developing. He can carry a pretty big small pumpkin and he can rip to shreds a big one. Sometimes we jut give him the seeds.
Safer to give them peanuts in the shell
Looks like you came up with the name Scratchie based on all of those Band-Aids on your fingers and wrist.
I hand raised a baby squirrel. When it was a bit bigger it would climb all over me like I was a tee shirt clad tree, round and round my trunk, zipping top to bottom.
I looked like a road map...
I have one that I call Chewy, he’s missing an ear.
That bastard eats my bird seed along with the 500 others around here.
I don’t really care too much about it, they are entertaining the way they chase each other all the time.
I have a weak BB pistol that I practice lobbing BB’s at them just for the challenge.
I could probably kill 10 a day with my .22 if I wanted to.
That’s why I have Owls and Hawks too, I love all my little fur and feather friends but, everyone has to eat.
“LOL, hilarious (when you start foaming at the mouth, it might be something by called rabies).”
I had a coon that would dance around on my back porch in the afternoon. I named him Foamy.
Search Foamy the Squirrel. Hilarious cartoons!
“Squirrels are almost never found to be infected with the rabies virus . Squirrels also have not been known to cause rabies in humans within the United States. Bites from a squirrel are not considered a risk for rabies unless the animal was sick or behaving in an unusual manner, and rabies is widespread in the area. “
I had checked into this previously because of all the squirrels we have around.
We had a baby squirrel we raised when I was a kid. They are so much fun and personable as pets. When he got grown enough he was taken to a city park and released. Didn’t want him to get shot by hunters.
After you get tired of him, get a squirrel launcher — very entertaining.
To prove to the squirrels 🐿 that it could be done.
Don’t pay any attention to the talk about rabies. You’ll be fine. Avoid being bitten or scratched, though, and promptly wash hands and/or disinfect scratches. A glove might be a good idea, or maybe consider tossing the food to them instead of handing it to them.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/pets/index.html
“Small mammals such as squirrels, rats, mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils, chipmunks, rabbits, and hares are almost never found to be infected with rabies and have not been known to cause rabies among humans in the United States. Bites by these animals are usually not considered a risk of rabies unless the animal was sick or behaving in any unusual manner and rabies is widespread in your area.”
Prince Charles was recently in the news for carrying nuts in his pocket and letting squirrels in the house. Heh. Thought that was pretty funny.
I have a skunk. I named him Stinky.
I can still remember the owner of an antique store near Danbury CT, who sat near a stove wrapped in an IMMENSE fur coat. She told a wonderful story of having raised 3 baby squirrels, and had used the coat to save her body from your bandaids.
I’m currently dealing with a hole in the ceiling of the enclosed back porch thru which a squirrel has dropped twice and sat on the back of my recliner, catching its breath from freaking out. If it hadn’t snowed, we would have made the first attempt to force it to find a new, not-as-warm home.
I’ve noticed that more and more squirrels have learned to use the telephone wires to cross streets.....
your squirrel story is similar to mine;)
Our 3 dogs, Great Dane, toy poodle and beagle mutt were sniffing at something on the lawn. It was a newborn squirrel that had fallen out of a tree.
I scooped it up and fed it an evaporated milk formula by eyedropper. It flourished on dog food etc., He would grab onto my bath robe and climb up the drapes. Months later, we released it up the same tree it fell out of. He found his squirrel family - but he would hang around the windows watching us and begging to come inside.
Loved that little guy;)
There has never been a documented case of a squirrel carrying rabies. Rodentia are naturally protected. They could carry other things though.
https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/pets/index.html
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.