Well before you go, I was thinking about what might keeps a squirrel
mentally challenged and perhaps this would be sturdy enough. It keeps
dogs entertained.
http://www.alphadogtoys.com/twist_treat_rubber_dog_chew_toys.html
I haven't been to that web site before so I'm not endorsing it, just
the toy. Put some peanut butter, a few nuts, freeze and give the
creature something to occupy their time. Just a thought.
Kate
No kidding. But that hasn't stopped you from being a horse's a$$ to
Bob, about something you know nothing.
How about this line of thought "hmmm, here's a line of inquiry I know
nothing about. How about I shut up?" Does that ever go through your
head?
More conjecturing, or as I say in another post, more of your talking
out your a$$. You don't know jack about animal rescue, but you know
how someone should go about doing it.
He's asking about growing grass you moron! Is he going to ask "the
zoology dept. at a college, a biologist at a local high school, or
alt.med.veterinary" ABOUT GROWING GRASS?!?!
You've already said you know squat about animal rescue. Now, could
you tell us why that qualifies you to lecture/question Bob?
I know, I know, because you're a jerk with a keyboard. <sigh>
Here we could have have a nice little OT thread about animal
rescue, we could all have learned something, but instead we
have this pissing contest. I'm as guilty of that IN THIS
THREAD as you, but I waded in because this has become standard
behavior for you and you needed to be slapped.
You are a net minus for this newsgroup. Any positive stuff
you contribute are outweighed by the invective, the "I'm right
you're an idiot", and the willingness to argue (not discuss)
stuff you know nothing about. Like animal rescue.
That gave me a chuckle too. But you gotta admire his tenacity--he's
sticking to it: I should be asking zoologists and veterinarians about
growing grass. But lucky for me, Billy the Gardener knows all about
zoology. So it evens out. <g>
And it is a shame that this was turned into another usenet flame
thread by a couple self-centered loons. Most usenet groups have gone
that direction, as it only takes a couple of 'em.
If you want to see something hilarious, read through some threads on
science and physics groups sometime. They've got wackos who have
theories about quantum mechanics, but they "...don't know math, so
someone else has to write it down". Some funny stuff.
Lee was correct, you're not. And what's with the "Dr. Bob" thing? Are
you retarded? I said I volunteer my time and money, I took the time
to study and get licensing, I hire the best veterinary specialists
that I can find, and fund everything myself. That's all you need to
know.
[mercy snip]
Your thing started off tiresome and went downhill from there.
Hopefully you got the attention that you crave.
That would be correct.
Hallelujiah. Now go volunteer your own time and money so you can
figure out what's actually going on here.
That would be correct. There are only about 4 or 5 of us (in a large
city), and no funded organizations that deal with wildlife. That is,
aside from housing them overnight and usually euthanizing them within
a day or two.
The 'Billy's of the world should try volunteering their time rather
than telling everyone else how it should be done. That would lend
some perspective in a hurry.
BTW, my father (out of state) works with bats. Amazing creatures.
not NYC?
do you get any other of the fringe city dwellers, like oppossum,
raccoons, coyotes, foxes? or just the obvious, like squirrels? any
birds? raptors?
yes, they are. i'm so happy the government is giving emergency
funding for the study of white nose! can you imagine how awful the
mosquitoes would be without them? or a world without vanilla?
lee <bat conservation international. donate!!!>
I just mentioned WNS in another post, but obviously you already know
about it. Yeah, it's tough to stir up sympathy for bats (squirrels
are tough enough, and they're cute and fuzzy). I hear lots of "let
'em die" from the usual crowd, until they're informed of the possible
consequences. For some, it depends on which animal you hate worse, so
mentioning West Nile/Mosquitos usually elicits some sympathy for bats.
<g>
I've occasionaly 'rescued' birds, but that entailed just mainenance or
shuttling the worse injuries off to those more specialized. I've
actually seen a couple raccoons and oppossums wander into the city,
but I don't deal with them (my life is complicated as it is, and
there's a whole other level of licensing for possible rabies vectors).
One of the misperceptions about those mythological altruistic
city-funded "Wildlife Organizations": Someone called the city about an
oppossum who had wandered into a park. They captured and euthanized
the poor critter and its babies. Would have been easier to transport
her to a rural location, but that's "not their policy." The animal is
nocturnal--she wasn't bothering anyone. She was obviously just
displaced or lost.
Since you're up on WNS, do you happen to know if there's been any news
re profiling it or its spread?
well, the "squirrels are cute" line doesn't really work so well
when they're mauling my garden & making off with my hickory nut
crop ;) i do like squirrels though, mostly because of their most
annoying trait: figuring things out. how *do* you keep a squirrel
in a pen?
and bats are cute and fuzzy too!
it's surprising how many people *hate* possums, i guess because
they look like rats. i wouldn't mess with an adult if i didn't need
to, because they can be pretty nasty, but they don't go out of
their way to attack.
i have barn cats, who have a heated bed in the winter. one night i
went out to shut the chickens in (they free range) & feed the cats,
and there was a possum curled up in the cat's bed sound asleep. not
exactly what i want in my chicken barn... it was persuaded to
leave, & hasn't returned, but that was weird.
i also have a couple skunks that eat with the cats. they don't
bother the chickens, but they do get a few eggs. <shrug> they eat
ground nesting yellow jackets, so i'll let them have a couple eggs.
it's a good tradeoff.
this is the latest:
http://www.fws.gov/northeast/white_nose.html
lee
Where I was the squirrels were in cages. I wasn't very good at keeping
them in when I was feeding and cleaning. On seveal occasions, one
would run up my arm, over my back and was free! (I wan't good at
catching them either - the squirrels no doubt enjoyed my being there.)
What I enjoy most about squirrels is how much they like having fun -
as soon as their eyes are open they're wrestling with each other. As
Cindy Lauper might have sung, Squirrels Just Wanna Have Fun.
We had a possum that would hiss and make threatening gestures towards
everyone. I discovered he was a sucker for vanilla wafers and I would
lure him out of his cage and let him roam the room while I cleaned and
then I'd lure him back in when I was done.
I came upon a raccoon in a cat's bed once. The cat didn't seem to mind
so I left it to it's snoring.
What's with cats and skunks? I came home one day to find 2 cats and 2
skunks chasing each other in the backyard. I backed up and parked in
the front.
looking evil can keep one out of fights. opposums have that down
to an artform :)
i just wish they had more road smarts... looking evil at a car
doesn't work.
i had a pair of baby raccoons once. the cats were a bit unsure at
first, but once they were getting weaned & moving around, the cats
explained the use of litterboxes to them.
my barn cats are black & white. maybe they figure the skunks are
smelly, near-sighted cats? the smaller skunk is a lot twitchier
than our old skunk (he was around for nearly 6 years, so i think
age caught up with him). i think it's fairly young. we have to be
sure that one knows we're about to go into the barn, & it'll leave.
the mostly white one is almost as laid back as the old skunk...
good thing because we found it sleeping in our basement when we
moved a board. oops. he didn't even stamp though, so no problem. we
put the board back & left the door open. it left.
have you ever seen red & white skunks?
lee
You weren't worried about Raccoon Roundworm (Baylisascaris)?
http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12150_12220-27261--,00.htm
l
Clinical and Pathological Signs
In humans, pathological lesions observed consist of skin irritations
(cutaneous larval migrans) and eye and brain tissue damage (visceral
larval migrans) due to the random migration of the larvae. The affected
individuals may experience nausea, a lethargic feeling, incoordination
and loss of eyesight.
--
- Billy
There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading. The few who
no. i have a vet that used to be a zoo vet. she's quite up on care &
treatment of "exotics" (which is any non-domestic animal, although
she specializes in reptiles & birds). raccoons can be given
anthelmintics with no problem. besides, internal parasites like
roundworms aren't passed prenatally. these guys were less than 24
hours old when i got them from a guy who shot the mother, and was too
much a wuss to deal with the babies.
i had permission from Fish & Game to keep them, on the condition
they not be caged.
lee
Apparently, they can come from contact with environment contaminated by
the adults, firewood for example, and possibly nests. All's well, what
ends well. We had a young squirrel for a couple of months. Tried to
leave it in an apple tree but it started screaming when we left it.
We ran a curtain rod from our bedroom out to a tree, and the squirrel
came and went as it pleased until mating season. We went to the local
vet to get it a rabies shot.
--
- Billy
There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading. The few who
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