The followers of Ganesha (my baby squirrel)

Published on August 29th, 2009

About 3 weeks ago this squirrel fell out of the neighbor’s tree. Actually he was one of 4 squirrels that fell and the only survivor. I’ve been feeding him dog milk and he’s just beginning to eat peanuts and peaches. I’ve built him a squirrel house out of 2 hanging baskets.

I’m not sure what I’m eventually going to do with him as he grows up. I rescued him again last night from the jaws of a cat. So I’m definitely his hero today. His name is Ganesha after the Hindu elephant god. I want him to have an important name. My complete collection of pictures can be found here.

49 users responded in " The followers of Ganesha (my baby squirrel) "

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# 1 Faxon said, on August 29th, 2009 at 4:18 pm

Good for you! Finally some good news on Dvorak.org/blog

# 2 Marc Perkel said, on August 29th, 2009 at 4:20 pm

I think I’m the only one here who writes original content.

# 3 Mark Derail said, on August 29th, 2009 at 4:27 pm

I think I’m the only one here who rides an original car.

# 4 pcsmith said, on August 29th, 2009 at 4:29 pm

I’m guessing you don’t have a vegetable garden.

# 5 Mark Derail said, on August 29th, 2009 at 4:36 pm

#4 I’m a Mark making fun of a Marc…

Only thing that grew well this year, in astounding numbers, are the cherry tomatoes.
(45th parallel)

# 6 Mark Derail said, on August 29th, 2009 at 4:37 pm

#4 I’m a Mark making fun of a Marc…

Only thing that grew well this year, in astounding numbers, are the cherry tomatoes.
(45th parallel)

The squirrels don’t eat them. They should.

# 7 Floyd said, on August 29th, 2009 at 4:43 pm

In at least some states, it’s illegal to keep a wild animal without a special permit. Better check into that with your local fish and game department or the equivalent.

Decades ago when I lived in the Midwest, I kept a male baby raccoon whose mother had died. Our family took care of the baby for 4 months, then gave it to a farmer we knew that had a big woodlot. According to the farmer he was seen a few months later with a lady raccoon, and apparently lived out his days in that woodlot.

# 8 Angel H. Wong said, on August 29th, 2009 at 4:45 pm

#5 Mark.

Next year try growing yardlong beans =3

# 9 Marc Perkel said, on August 29th, 2009 at 4:47 pm

We’ll see how it goes. He’s not yet ready for the wild and my yard as far as I’m concerned is the wild. He’s not going to be a house squirrel.

# 10 Mark Derail said, on August 29th, 2009 at 5:00 pm

Marc, you *so* have to submit some pics to icanhascheezburger.com

Thumbnails would be nice on an html page.

# 11 Mcosmi said, on August 29th, 2009 at 5:13 pm

I found a pink squirrel baby after a bad storm… Trouble is I live in NYC. I took him home, fed him goats milk for for 3 months and then nuts and fruit. Keep him ‘outside’ because they are absolutely insane when they grow up. He chewed on everything in my place. I had to let him go, and I tried to introduce him to the world slowly but I still think he prolly died cause he was used to being fed. At least he had a good few months tho. Good luck and do it right, they are extremely intelligent and loving little guys!

# 12 Marc Perkel said, on August 29th, 2009 at 5:18 pm

I’ve been letting him spend time in the peach tree so that he’s used to being outside. I don’t think he’s going to starve around here. Just need to get him old enough to fend off the cats.

# 13 chuck said, on August 29th, 2009 at 5:20 pm

If it was rat, you’d kill it. But it has a fluffy tail, so you feed it.

Let nature take it’s course: next week a dog (wolf, coyote, – depends where you live) will eat it.

# 14 Jägermeister said, on August 29th, 2009 at 5:26 pm

Nice pictures, Marc. Let us know how it goes.

# 15 Teugif said, on August 29th, 2009 at 5:30 pm

You know that squirrels are basically rats with fluffy tails, right?

# 16 wwyoud said, on August 29th, 2009 at 5:34 pm

We had a similar squirrel orphan years ago; my cat had just had a litter of kittens and agreed to raise “Morris”. They stayed inside until he began chewing, then the whole litter was moved outside to a shed. He grew up playing with his litter mates, avoiding other cats, and always friendly to us – his favorite trick was to leap on your head from a tree. We fed him nuts, and eventually he met another squirrel and began leaving for longer and longer times. One day he didn’t come back – and we were happy, because that tree thing was getting old!

I understand that they don’t do well at all in cages long-term…they start biting.

# 17 Sister Mary Hand Grenade of Quiet Reflection said, on August 29th, 2009 at 5:50 pm

Aw, that’s a cute little fucker.

# 18 Mark Derail said, on August 29th, 2009 at 5:53 pm

Hopefully you can train him.

# 19 Will Zappa said, on August 29th, 2009 at 6:06 pm

he is so cute… i think they should let people have pet squirrels! hehe

# 20 LibertyLover said, on August 29th, 2009 at 6:34 pm

Coolness.

# 21 Jägermeister said, on August 29th, 2009 at 6:38 pm

#18 – Mark Derail

Yeah, hopefully he’ll train hard… then Marc can quit the ungrateful job as dvorak.org/blog’s techie (especially after getting booed at after presenting a new design) and become full-time soccer manager…

# 22 Bud said, on August 29th, 2009 at 7:06 pm

Hey squirrels are a good eat!

# 23 amodedoma said, on August 29th, 2009 at 7:20 pm

Generous of you to offer this creature assistance, though I question your motives. Squirels don’t domesticate well, I wouldn’t recommend turning it into a pet. Keep it healthy, don’t play with it, feed it. The day will arrive that you could set it loose and with a little help it might have half a chance at survival. Sooner or later it’ll take off anyways.

BTW my cat agrees with bud, you could fatten him up good and serve him for dinner.

# 24 D said, on August 29th, 2009 at 7:53 pm

We rescued a baby flying squirrel when I was a teenager, and we bottle-fed and raised it into adulthood.
Unfortunately, there’s no releasing them into the wild. Once they’re tame, they’re tame for good. (Supposedly, if you release it, it will meet you back at your front door)
My mother built an enclosure in the backyard (about 10′ by 5′) for the squirrel, where she lived out her days. I’ll have to ask my mother, but I think she lived about 10-12 years.
Her name was Harold (probably should have changed it after we found out he was a she, but who cares?), and she stayed tame and able to be handled throughout her life.
Have fun!

# 25 LibertyLover said, on August 29th, 2009 at 8:26 pm

#24, Flying squirrels do make good pets. When I was growing up, I had a few friends who had them. The local Wal-Mart used to get them in from time to time and they would “fly” off the shelves.

# 26 mr. show said, on August 29th, 2009 at 8:32 pm

You’re a good man Marc Perkel. Like you and others, I have “saved” an animal in need. One stray cat more or less adopted me after I gave it some food and water. I’m a soft touch for sure but he was a good-natured cat who had seen better days (e.g., one ear was missing).

After about a year of stopping by and hanging out on the back porch, one day he showed up after being beaten up pretty badly by another cat. I knew he was in bad shape when he let me tend to his wounds without a fuss. I’ll never forget the vet at the animal hospital saying it looked touch and go (although the vet and her assistants admitted being fascinated by his gross condition which I thought was odd but then dealing with pathology was never an interest of mine).

Anyway, after a trip to the animal hospital (that was a first) and a much lighter wallet, I’m happy to report that he’s on the mend and staying in the garage. Oh yah, the garage is now air conditioned thanks to the window unit I installed (I justified it as upgrading my workshop, why not?).

I’m sure that all of this sounds excessive, particularly to those who aren’t fond of pets but so be it. You have to do what you think is right and be able to look yourself in the mirror at the end of the day.

Thanks for the good news Marc. I’d thought I’d share mine.

# 27 deowll said, on August 29th, 2009 at 8:33 pm

He’s cute.

He’s also a rodent and they have to chew on things to keep those teeth worn down. When it starts biting you are going to want to “free” it.

Having been nailed more than once by various cousins of your pet I can tell you in advance it will hurt but they seem to heal okay.

Personally I prefer ground squirrels as pets but they also bit. Been there and done that. Against the law anyway.

# 28 deowll said, on August 29th, 2009 at 8:34 pm

Oh, you do need to know that rodent fleas can carry the plague and some of them carry other fatal diseases.

# 29 PcMaster said, on August 29th, 2009 at 8:40 pm

#22 is right.

They make a tasty stew or just fry them like you would fried chicken. You can also use them like you would chicken in chicken and dumplings. They have a gamier taste than chicken but are perfectly fine on the dinner table.
Of course you’ll want to feed him well so he gets nice and fat. And if possible invite a few of his friends along to join in the fun cause one just isn’t enough.

# 30 Thomas said, on August 29th, 2009 at 8:58 pm

Not to piss on anyone’s Cheerios, but I’d have let the cat take the squirrel. Squirrels are like pidgins: an infestation. I’ve had too many packs ripped into by nazi squirrels to have any love of them. They do fly nicely when given the proper propulsion. He’s to hope that a clever chef finds a recipe that turns a squirrel into a delicacy.

# 31 Alfred1 said, on August 29th, 2009 at 9:12 pm

I don’t know how to break this to you…but your squirrel has a thing for trees…

# 32 pcsmith said, on August 29th, 2009 at 9:32 pm

#30 You don’t know much.

England has developed good squirrel recipes as they try to get rid of American gray squirrels.

Among the recipes: Colonial Squirrel Kebab, and Squirrel and Leek Fricasee. Search USA Today.

Also, anyone who uses the word Nazi (unless they are talking about 1930-40’s Germany) is .either ignorant or a Kaucasian Kracker Konservative.

# 33 Thomas said, on August 29th, 2009 at 9:57 pm

#32
Granted, I’m not aware of the squirrel’s politics but then I never ask either. The best squirrel recipe is of course a lead eclair but there are people that are not fond of the injection process.

And for the record, someone can label a person as a “national socialist” without being from 1930 or Germany. Not knowing what a “nazi” really means would be a sign of ignorance.

# 34 denacron said, on August 29th, 2009 at 10:06 pm

I have had several red squirrels as pets over the years. When its near the time for them to make a go of it on their own, try going outside with it on your shoulder, it makes all the wild squirrels consider you harmless.

# 35 bobbo, why do we relate to animals said, on August 29th, 2009 at 10:13 pm

Rodents have fleas. They are traded back and forth with hoomans. I don’t think you can get swine flu from rodents, but surely our government is working on it.

You do know that rats are just squirrels without the squishy tail?

I have had just about every pet a normal person can have. Pretty much they are all like people==cute as kiddies and pets, dangerous over breeders when mature.

# 36 charliehorse43 said, on August 30th, 2009 at 3:03 am

My dad raised a squirrel from a baby like this little guy. A tree had been taken down and his mother was killed. He lived in the house but dad took him out every day and when he was a year old he never came back in.
Found him self a girl friend and lived the wild life from then on.

# 37 Daniel said, on August 30th, 2009 at 3:50 am

My partner and I spend about as much money on cheap cat food every week as I d on myself for food. we keep a sherbet container outside with food all the time for about 5 or so neighborhood strays. some are the sweetes cats in the world and a couple are super skiddish. We have one boy hat’s been coming ’round for a couple of years, one girl we know has another “home that we haven’t seen in months.. and there’s been a couple other regulars that have dropped off the face of the earth over the last few years. We did the same thing at our apartment.. luckily racoons aren’t as much of a problem here as they wre there so the caps pretty much get free reign of the food. I grew up with cats so I can’t let a cat passby without having food/water out for them

# 38 Naked Patriot said, on August 30th, 2009 at 4:24 am

I think the name of your squirrel is very, very cute. I think it will stay with you as an adult. I have seen squirrels as pets.

Good luck with Ganesha!

# 39 Mr Diesel said, on August 30th, 2009 at 6:39 am

Good job Marc. It’s nice to read a good story on here once in a while.

We have a soft spot for cats and after a camping trip a few months ago we are now up to five.

# 40 pfkad said, on August 30th, 2009 at 6:42 am

Dog milk? Does that come in cans?

# 41 Jeff said, on August 30th, 2009 at 6:52 am

I got bitten by a baby squirrel once. I was seven at the time. For some reason I believe picking up one by my bare hands was a good idea. I wanted one as a pet. My grandfather saw this. He was not happy to say the least. I got one hell of a lecture.

Interesting story BTW…

# 42 Marc Perkel said, on August 30th, 2009 at 3:16 pm

Yeah – you can buy dog milk in cans at pet stores.

# 43 Javageek said, on August 30th, 2009 at 5:19 pm

Be careful Feeding peanuts to your squirrel they can be harmful and may cause seizures. Stick with fresh vegetables and the occasional pecan.

# 44 fulanoche said, on August 30th, 2009 at 5:58 pm

#40

Dog milk!!!
That was my first question, too.

It comes in cans!!???
You’re shtting me!!

# 45 jstokey said, on August 30th, 2009 at 7:59 pm

Here’s someone else who has had great success raising a squirrel: http://www.underthesonfarm.com/scooby.html

# 46 888 said, on September 1st, 2009 at 12:00 pm

Either you are disturbing the evolution process (weaker/dumber shall die…) or you were disturbing the God ALmighty’s finger (his will the creature fell of the tree), I don’t know which one is it But both are no good options

# 47 pegothejerk said, on September 3rd, 2009 at 6:57 am

# 48 pegothejerk said, on September 3rd, 2009 at 7:03 am

sorry about that last one. no embedded images, I guess. here’s a little photoshopping I did with one of yer photos of ganesha. – http://imgur.com/avGkf.jpg

# 49 kaitlyn said, on September 6th, 2009 at 10:39 am

hi i have two little girl squrells there about 9-10 wks i read your supost to let them go at 12..but i let them play out on my tree an they climbed up and im not goin up the tree to get them will they be okay??..i wanna make sure they will surviove on there own if there ready..plz help…=[

email= kaitlynbebexoxo@aim.com

thnx

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