Quote:
Originally Posted by mapuc
^^ I envy them.
Imagine having your house filled with animal, squirrel. cats, dogs and other animals.
(Cats has to learn squirrel is not food)
Markus
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Me too, but do not be mistaken, rehabbing young squirrels is a full time job and very time and power-consuming especially in the first weeks: they need to get fed, massaged and animated for excretion every two hours - DAY AND NIGHT. Your whole life runs in 100 minute intervalls - including sleeping, leaving the house...
I would do it, but my flat is not such to allow this. However, I have a full set of equipment and stuff and do have the knowledge, just in case of an emergency. Forn the first 4-5 weeks max I could rehab a bayb squirrel. In the garden, I just run a feeding station with food, nuts, water and polstering material. I have five regular guests since last summer, I brought them all over the winter, at least helped on their nutrition situation, and so all survived, all are well-fed and strong, although all were in their first year (80% of European red squirrels do not survive their first year).
Two things everybody can do with his garden, easily: make your rainwater ton squirrel-safe, put a net on it or put a ladder-kind of stick into it, so that an animal falling into it must not miserably drown, but can escape, or does not fall into it in the first. Do not use poisonous stuff in your garden (especially snail and slug bait, it snot just the target spoecies eating it). Second, have water bowls especially in freezing winter and in hot summer out there, for squirrels in elevated positions where they mst not go to the ground (cats), for other animals on the ground (hedghogs). I do not want to feed doves and other bigger birds and animals, but never under no circumstance do I chase an animals away fromt he water, even mice or rats can drink, thoguh not more than just drink. And then I make it clear that they are not welcomed beyond that, eat and stay and sh!t everywhere.
And you know what? They doves and that mouse seem to get it. I have a balcony in the roof (2nd floor), and there a bird feeder and water bowl additional to the squirrel buffett in the garden below. Beside little birds and especially many tomtits and sparrows there are a small mouse and two doves who do not even try to target the feeders anymore, but go straight for the water only, and immediately leave again. They tried to eat earlier, and learned that this means trouble with me (noise, things thrown at the window or through the door and such). Clever little things. Nobody must die of thirst here, its a nasty death, and it comes much easier and faster than starvation.