Early Start

The 2012 spring nesting season began early as the weather was unusually warm this winter into spring.  By early April, we already had 3 baby squirrels in our care.   The first we named Timmy.  Here's a picture of Timmy on his release box.

Then we quickly added two more babies who were close enough in age that they were raised together as adopted litter mates.  Here's a pic of them being fed.  The one on the left is Tiny.  He was rescued from the street by a kind lady in Cadiz.  Tiny is shy, but that is a good instinct for a squirrel.  On the right is Miss Piggy, named for her voracious appetite.  These two were both released in early May.  

"More Food?"  ~Miss Piggy

9 more opossums

This litter of 9 opossums was brought to me by the Humane Society. Three of them were seriously injured and did not make it. The healthy six are doing well.

Fawn

This is Bambi, the first fawn to join Nutkin's Nursery. Bambi is a male, about two weeks old. He takes goat milk replacer four times a day and nibbles on greens and sweet- feed.

Opossums released

Well, the opossum is a very interesting creature...
I decided to leave their cage open one night (they are nocturnal) to see if they would forage on their own and then return. They high-tailed it out of there and never came back! I guess they were ready. They were a little bigger than they are in these pics.

Update on Twiggy

Twiggy is a full-grown squirrel now and making quite a nuisance of himself. We moved his nestbox to a tree in the yard and continue to give him food when he comes around. He spends most of his time in the "wild" with the other squirrels in our large yard, but about once a day, he shows up on the doorstep and begs for snacks. Yesterday he gave us quite a scare. I was washing windows, and had the kitchen screen removed and the window open when suddenly Twiggy jumped through the window into the room. My little girls both screamed! But Twiggy is still affectionate with me and will let me pet and "groom" him, which is good, because he has been picking up ticks.

Raising Possums

We have three orphaned possums! They are doing well. They have a flannel "pouch" to snuggle in, and they have been licking up food on their own. Speaking of food, apparently the diet of the opossum is complex. If anyone reading this has experience with possums please contact me; I could use the advice.

Twiggy

This is our new patient, Twiggy. He came to us at 5 weeks of age. Within a few days, his eyes opened. He is a timid little guy.

Also, an update: The possums in the last post did not make it. They all died within 24 hours. Squeaks, the vole, was successfully released back into the wild.