Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Empty Nest

It has come time to say goodbye to all of the babies. The reason for breeding our Russian Red Tree Squirrels this year was to allow the Philadelphia Zoo the opportunity to have this spectacular species in their animal collection. Before the babies were even born, they had agreed to get up to three squirrels from us depending on the size of the litter. Since there were 5 of them, we began asking other zoos if they would like the other 2 squirrels from the litter. We were able to find homes for them right away. The Bramble Park Zoo in Watertown, South Dakota agreed to take the two boys, Oliver and Owen. We drove them down the end of June along with another one of the older male squirrels we had at the zoo.


Then it came time for the girls to leave. They were able to stick around a little longer than the boys since we had to wait for the right temperature for them to fly to Philly. Finally, the day arrived. Although it was very sad to see them go, I knew they would be going to a great zoo. The staff at the Philadelphia zoo is thrilled to have them! Here are a few of the final pictures of the girls before they left. My how fast they grew!












As an exciting side note...

It was to my surprise that ~ 10 days after these 5 babies were born, the parents reproduced again. On May 25, 3 more babies were born to "Peanut." They were also hand raised and are doing great! She had two girls, "Willow" and "Ruby" and one boy "Axel." The two girls can now be seen on exhibit with the baby girls from last year "Jewel" and "Greta."

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Let's Paint!!

Who knew we had a couple Picasso's and Van Gogh's on our hands?!?! The babies are 7 weeks old now. They had a busy day last Thursday the 22nd. They got up bright and early to be on the SAD morning radio show with Scotch and DUI on Rock102. They got to freak out all the dj's as they ran up and down DUI's arms. I never realized how scared people can get from cute baby squirrels. I think it just had to do with the fact that squirrels generally are not in a radio station. After that, the babies went back to the zoo and did an art project. The paintings were done to show them off at our "Creature Creations" event at the zoo coming up in July. They will be available for purchase if anyone is interested. Below are pictures of the babies and their paintings.





"Oliver"



"Owen"



"Grace"



"Tawny"



"Liberty"

Mastered the Art of Playing

Now that they have figured out what their feet are used for, they have began to play non-stop! At 6 weeks old they are still able to be handled, but very carefully. Their little toenails are getting very sharp and they can cling to anything! They have even gotten enough confidence in themselves to start leaping from place to place. One evening "Oliver" was sitting on my legs as I was feeding the other babies and he jumped from them onto my shoulder! Very impressive! I think he even surprised himself on what he could accomplish! Right now they are still eating every 4 hours and have worked up to eating 8-9 mL of formula at each feeding. They have also started nibbling on some rodent chow and yams. Here are their pics at 6 weeks old...





"Oliver"



"Owen"



"Grace"



"Tawny"



"Liberty"

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Eyes Opened!

The babies have their eyes open!! They are now able to see the world!! At about 4 1/2 weeks old their eyes finally opened. They are at such a fun age right now. They are trying to figure out what their feet are used for. Its fun to watch them hop around and trying to walk, they are quite awkward! Here are some updated photos of them. I finally named all of them as well. So instead of numbers, they have names. Enjoy!



"Oliver" weight = 128 grams

"Owen" weight = 128 grams
"Grace" = 114 grams


"Tawny" weight = 114 grams (named after my friends dog who passed away recently - she LOVED squirrels)
"Liberty" weight = 116 grams

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Babies are 4 weeks old!

Hard to believe how time is flying by and how fast the babies are growing. They are all doing amazing! At 4 weeks old they weigh around 100 grams. Now they are eating between 3-4 mL of formula every 2-3 hours. The babies also made their media debut. On May 1st, they were on live TV with Valley News Live. It was a big moment for them and for the zoo.

Here are pictures of them...



Male #1 108 grams


Male #2 112 grams


Female #1 98 grams


Female #2 102 grams


Female #3 96 grams Her eyes are open!!!

News clip

Monday, April 21, 2008

Bringing babies home

The babies have arrived. I brought the babies home last night to begin hand raising them. There are 2 boys and 3 girls in the litter and are all very healthy. Their weights range from 54 grams to 62 grams. I will be feeding them every two hours and helping them urinate after they eat. I will be their mom until they are about 8 weeks old and weaned off of formula. At 18 days old their eyes and ears are closed but they sure do have a voice! They let you know when they are hungry! I will keep weekly photos and weight updates as they grow up. Here are their pics...





Male #1 60 grams Male #2 62 grams




Female #1 60 grams Female #2 58 grams





Female #3 54 grams
Size comparison to a pen

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Introduction

This blog is going to be all about squirrels. The Red River Zoo is home to Russian Red Tree Squirrels (Scirius vulgaris), the only zoo in the United States that breeds them. This year our pair had 5 babies. Three of the youngens will be going to the Philidelphia Zoo after they are weaned and eating solid food. This blog will give all the updates on how the babies are growing. They were born on April 2nd naked and about the size of my thumb. When they are 2 1/2 weeks old I will begin hand raising them. Squirrels can get stressed out very easily in captivity. By hand raising them, we reduce the stress that could occur with being in close contact with humans. They will be fed every two hours out of a syringe with a special formula. If any of you readers have specific questions for me as the babies grow, I would love to answer them. Can't wait to get to know all their different personalities and I hope you all will get to know them with me!



Below are pictures of the proud parents. Mom is on the top and Dad is on the bottom...




And here are the babies at just a couple days old...