Comments on: Squirrels-For-You.com

Squirrels-For-You.com

Gator — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 06:10:27 -0800

How To Have A Ton Of Fun Raising Baby Squirrels. Husband and wife document their adventures raising these little spazz-monsters with many photos and some Flash movies. Via Cute Overload.

By: Gator

Gator — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 06:10:40 -0800

One of their other sites, Nature-For-You.com, also features some nice critter photography. Mmmmmm, gators. Much more squirrelly goodness previously seen on MetaFilter.

By: Wolfdog

Wolfdog — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 06:32:39 -0800

Read and heed: the beet pulp story. I grew up in a squirrely house. Pick up a guitar to play? Rattle, rattle, rattle... it has a nut stashed in it. Looking for your chocolate bar? Try behind the books in the library. Shake the curtains? Cover your head for the hail of nuts.

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 07:12:46 -0800

I rescued a squirrel as a kid too. It wasn't the hail of nuts so much as the squirrel launching himself from the top of the wardrobe to your bare shoulder at mach 5. Totally cute though, if you can stand the accidental claw marks.

By: Citizen Premier

Citizen Premier — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 07:48:52 -0800

Not to make anyone sad, but after being released do these guys stand any chance in the wild? I rescued a baby bird once, but after looking it up discovered the best course of action was to take it to a baby-bird shelter. I was kinda sad, I was hoping for a companion like the falcon in My Side of the Mountain.

By: HuronBob

HuronBob — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 07:57:04 -0800

The key to releasing raised animals is to release them someplace where occassional romps into somone's lap isn't a problem. My neighbor did rehab, I got used to birds landing on my head and squirrels that would take nuts out of my hands. Eventually they go wild again... and, it is better than the alternative.....

By: Atreides

Atreides — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 08:00:31 -0800

My sister rescued and raised a baby squirrel once. She let it go into the wilds in a half-way-house type of deal. Once it was old enough, she started leaving the cage open on our porch and it could choose to hang out there or go outside and play with the other squirrels. It gradually chose the latter as time progressed, lived long enough to mate, do other squirrel things, and then probably died a bit after. Statistically, squirrels don't exactly have long lives after all. I was the only one it ever bit. Felt like getting a nasty shot at the doctor.

By: Dr. Wu

Dr. Wu — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 08:03:43 -0800

Anyone have any links for the fun one can have braising baby squirrels?

By: photoslob

photoslob — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 08:07:11 -0800

Sure they're cute but those little buggers are just going to grow up to destroy my garden and bird feeders. Not to mention the port-o-let section of their nests have this nasty habit of blowing out of the tree and onto the sidewalk right in front of my door.

By: rough ashlar

rough ashlar — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 08:08:46 -0800

Not to make anyone sad, but after being released do these guys stand any chance in the wild? Yes. Tree Rat - raised to adulthood, put outside due to inside destructive nature. Spend year in outside house made for him, left after a year, would on rare occations show up to take a nut from hand 2 years later. Due to banding, was seen 3 years later, then never again. Mouring Dove - Broken wing, set then released. Cooked-flying bird seen for 6 months. Bunny off of bridge - Moved to wild, took up residence in out building. Seen for 5 years, then 3 years after last sighting, pile of bones found with band. Crow - Fallen out of tree in storm, raised to flying stage. For 2 years he would visit for worm/meat handouts. Last year, only during dead of winter. Other Crow calls while taking food from humans musta been too much. A critter in the wild won't have the lifespan of the same citter in a cage....assuming you can keep it healthy.

By: dabitch

dabitch — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 08:22:12 -0800

pile of bones with band...?

By: found missing

found missing — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 08:28:22 -0800

pile of bones with band... What is Keith Richards?

By: CunningLinguist

CunningLinguist — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 08:48:38 -0800

I really wish there were a "fantastic comment" section for the blue....

By: QuestionableSwami

QuestionableSwami — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 08:50:51 -0800

pile of bones with band... What is Keith Richards? (wiping spewed coffee from monitor) Absolute...best...post...ever.

By: QuestionableSwami

QuestionableSwami — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 08:57:49 -0800

They may be cute, but watch your back.

By: Gator

Gator — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 09:01:30 -0800

Anyone have any links for the fun one can have braising baby squirrels? Ask and ye shall receive, Doc. What is Keith Richards? Crap. I was all set to say Rod Stewart.

By: squirrel

squirrel — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 09:10:17 -0800

Lewd.

By: Frank Grimes

Frank Grimes — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 09:52:41 -0800

Squirrel Boner. Now that's what I call raising squirrels!

By: drstein

drstein — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 10:16:50 -0800

Dream come true, or nightmare? "One of first misadventures unfolded when baby Ripley and Big Girl, our female squirrels, realized that Oakley's um, manhood, bore a remarkable resemblance to a squirrel moma's breasts. So they began nursing on that part of him, which caused so much swelling that Oakley no longer needed to read those Internet emails about enhancing your anatomy etc. So Oakley had to be separated from the girls for a week or two. The side effect was that we spent a lot more time with Oakley as a consolation, and he began his career as sort of our runt favorite of the litter. " Poor Oakley. Heh.

By: MrBaliHai

MrBaliHai — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 10:41:30 -0800

By: A189Nut

A189Nut — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 11:48:36 -0800

OT, but does "Spazz" here mean Spastic? As a child we used such a term - "Spazza" - to describe other kids who we didn't like, without realising - or caring much - about its derivation from the medical sufferers from cerebral palsy. There was a charity called the Spastic's Society too, I understand that now it is very un PC, at least in the UK and the charity has changed its name too, to Scope

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 12:43:27 -0800

I pray that there's an anti-Phil-and-Kathy, killing squirrels quicker than those two can save them.

By: squirrel

squirrel — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 12:57:13 -0800

Et tu, five fresh fish?

By: chundo

chundo — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 13:02:32 -0800

fff - There is. She's a small retriever named Pumpkin and I own her.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 13:08:08 -0800

Sorry, Squirrel! Exception made in your particular circumstance only!

By: Gator

Gator — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 13:29:51 -0800

OT, but does "Spazz" here mean Spastic? In this case, I meant it in reference to "spazz out." As a child, and still today, I've always heard anyone called a "spazz" as someone who would, well, spazz out, freak out, act all crazy-like (usually due to an overindulgence in caffeine or emotion rather than due to any sort of palsy). I've never actually heard anyone use it in a derogatory way towards someone with palsy, though I'm sure that does happen. ("Spastic" mainly seems to be defined as "of, relating to, or characterized by spasms," not necessarily cerebral palsy.)

By: squirrel

squirrel — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 15:00:06 -0800

I think that the idiom "spaz" almost certainly comes directly from spastic, and that it originally referred one behaving like a person having spasms, CP or otherwise. As a PC no-no, it's a tough call, though, because it has been used as a non-derogatory chide in polite company for so long. See also "bugger", as in "cute little bugger". The term derives from "one who commits buggery" but has been used in various other innocuous ways for so long that the association has become loose. Thanks for the reprieve, fff, but what do you have against my fluffy-tailed rodent cousins? Prized crop nibbled to nubs? Early childhood trauma?

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 16:00:38 -0800

The latter, squirrel. Having a squirrel in your house is the same as having a mouse or rat in your house: not good, not fun, very destructive. I can't imagine anyone is out there saving rats and mice from death, and I can't imagine why anyone out there would wish to save a squirrel from death. Ugh.

By: enamon

enamon — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 16:42:58 -0800

Yeah, yeah, yeah - but how do they taste?

By: beth

beth — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 17:09:26 -0800

Having a squirrel in your house is the same as having a mouse or rat in your house: not good, not fun, very destructive. You do realize that rats are very popular as pets, right?

By: tkchrist

tkchrist — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 17:29:17 -0800

I can't imagine anyone is out there saving rats and mice from death, and I can't imagine why anyone out there would wish to save a squirrel from death. Ugh. I had a roommate once that was bitten by a squirrel. Damndest thing. He was sitting on some park grass, stretching after a bike ride. The thing ran full tilt straight to him and bit him on the arm. Nasty deep little bite. Then the little rat skawkered off. Only to return moments later - full tilt - while my roommate was attempting to mount his bike to make a getaway. The thing chased my old roomie down the bike path a dozen yards or so. People laughed as he sped away not seeing the bite... just the cartoon chase of 2lb squirrel vanquishing 200lb man. He went to the campus clinic and they immediately sent him to a hospital ER for.. yeah... the full rabies series injections. Not sure if you know how fucked up that is but Guantanamo couldn't do better. Big needles. Stuck in your stomach. 5 times over 28 days. Talk about a guy with a vendetta against squirrels.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 17:38:11 -0800

The ones you keep as pets, beth, are not the same as the ones that are running around wild outside. You want a passle of nasty rodent germs, grabbing yourself a wormy, hanta-laden squirrel is probably a heckuva good plan.

By: snsranch

snsranch — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 18:30:20 -0800

Squirrels taste like rabbit. My grandpa cooked one for me when I was 4 or 5. It was gross. Oh, and my dad raised a few when he was a kid, he said that they are fun to watch but will completely fuck up your house.

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 19:30:35 -0800

Having a squirrel in your house is the same as having a mouse or rat in your house: not good, not fun, very destructive. I hate fucking squirrels. Not the huge cat-sized grey squirrels... they're OK, because they get along with the other animals and live in trees. But those nasty fucking red squirrels are nothing more than rats with bushy tails. They've moved into my garage for the winter, but I'm slowly offing them one at a time with rat traps. They scurry around in the walls at night. Yes, I know this sounds like the ravings of a madman, and I fully accept it may not be the most appropriate thing to say given the oh-so-cutesy nature of the post, but once you have to deal with the destructive side of nature, all the warm and cuddly aspects quickly fall by the wayside.

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Tue, 03 Jan 2006 00:24:03 -0800

Note: my experiences have all been with red squirrels. This may explain my loathing of squirrels.

By: slimepuppy

slimepuppy — Tue, 03 Jan 2006 03:38:51 -0800

I prefer my squirrels on crack.

By: squidlarkin

squidlarkin — Tue, 03 Jan 2006 06:10:05 -0800

I hate fucking squirrels. Well, uh, maybe you should stop.

By: Devils Slide

Devils Slide — Tue, 03 Jan 2006 08:32:50 -0800

Hey,the wild grey ones can easily be tamed. I've fed them thousands of times and I've been bitten (actually lightly tested/tasted) about five times. Only once did one accidentally draw blood. The black ones, contrary to their reputation, are even more timid than the greys. The red ones? Haven't had any experience with them, so I guess you can go ahead and wipe them off the planet. Who knew there was such a militant red squirrel hating cadre at Metafilter?

By: leftcoastbob

leftcoastbob — Tue, 03 Jan 2006 12:30:05 -0800

My uncle used to feed the grey squirrels that lived in his yard by keeping peanuts in his shirt pocket. The damned squirrels would climb his pantleg, scurry up his shirt to sit on his shoulder, then take the peanuts (in the shell) from his pocket. The thing about squirrels is that they either can't tell the difference between one person and another or they just don't care. Anyone who would tarry in my uncle's yard long enough to be seen by the damn squirrels was fair game to them. Much to my uncle's surprise, a lot of people take exception to being surprised by a rodent running up their leg and pawing at their chest. The neighbors were used to screaming and cursing coming from his yard.

By: Gator

Gator — Tue, 03 Jan 2006 12:49:21 -0800

The red ones? Haven't had any experience with them, so I guess you can go ahead and wipe them off the planet. Who knew there was such a militant red squirrel hating cadre at Metafilter? I've never had an encounter with this apparent Red Menace either. I've known quite a few people who've had the grey ones getting into the house through previously unknown holes, though. It seems to be a question of finding all the gaps and sealing them off. Also, apparently squirrels are not a great risk for transmitting rabies in the U.S. Of course, "not a great risk" doesn't mean "go ahead and offer up your veins to the nearest bug-eyed rodent." On a side note, I love that the Centers for Disease Control feels the need to point out that "People cannot get rabies just from seeing a bat in an attic, in a cave, or at a distance."

By: MiltonRandKalman

MiltonRandKalman — Tue, 03 Jan 2006 18:10:27 -0800

Squirrels are fine, as long as they don't smoke pot.