The World's Most Expensive "Tree Rats"

A year ago, I started rehabbing squirrels. I had planned to take in the year's very last squirrels, which have to be kept in the house until next spring because they have lost their mothers.

In summer, I am usually so busy rehabilitating birds that in the middle of the season I start to lose weight and ask myself why I do this anyway. But as soon as I have released the last bird I miss them all very much. Don't tell a psychologist: he would probably come up with all kinds of not very flattering explanations. How nice it could be if I had only a handful of birds to care for. Then I would have time to watch their development more closely. I love to watch animals grow up, or get better if they are sick.

To have just one group of squirrels over winter seemed the perfect solution for me. Then I could watch them closely from the time when they are tiny blind babies until they have become strong and adventurous juveniles who cannot wait to be free. And at the same time I could help somebody to take a break from "squirreling".

It was last September when someone cut down a tree and found four blind squirrel babies cuddled together in their nest. Of course one would wish in the first place that the people would have left the scene for a little while to give the mother enough time to collect her young ones and carry them one by one to another nest site.

But instead, the supposed orphans were gathered up by well-meaning people and brought to a squirrel rehabilitator. She called me and here I was with a handful of little ratlike blind creatures whom I could only recognize as squirrels because of their tails. She patiently showed me how to handle and feed them. In the beginning, they mainly ate and then snuggled up again to sleep in diaper-type fabric. Their container was in our guest bathroom.

I would lie if I didn't admit that I got attached to them after the very first feeding session. Later, when they were a little older, I loved to watch them play after feeding and tried very hard to tell them apart without having to turn them on their backs to find out who were the boys or which one was the girl. To distinguish between four squirming squirrels is a hard task, as they all look alike in the beginning.

As time went by, I started to observe slight differences in their behavior, which made each individual unique. They developed a ranking order very early, it seemed, with the girl on top. As they grew older and bigger I moved them into a cage where they could play. They started to eat on their own and tried to hide food for "hard times". but I soon felt that this cage was too small for such lively creatures. I knew I had to provide a big and strong cage for them. Certainly none of my birdcages that I use during summer were suitable.

As I had no idea where to find a cage, I decided to build one with my own "talented hands". I soon found myself reading up on types of cages and doing research at hardware stores concerning materials. During this time I felt that I could certainly not confine the squirrels to their little cage any more. Therefore, I placed the cage on a wooden board over half of the bathtub and opened the door.

They just loved it and started immediately to use me as a perfect climbing tree. But after several days, they became very clever and I had a hard time catching and putting them back into their cage. As time went by, I equipped their playground with big branches standing in the bathtub and reaching up to the bathroom window. the squirrels loved to sit in the window comfortably and to watch their brethren in the garden.

Every couple of days I had another idea to add to "their" bathroom and after a while the whole room was filled with all kinds of climbing opportunities. The bathtub itself I had filled with leaves and I had put a cardboard roll inside, which became their favorite bed.

Since the rascals had so much room, they became very athletic. No distance was too far to jump. As soon as I entered the room, they would jump right at me and hang onto whatever part of my body was closest. It was even more fun not to let me leave the room any more. Whenever I got rid of one, another one would jump and hang on for dear life. After a while, I could only bribe them to let go or pretend not to leave yet.

My squirrel-proof armor consisted of several layers of clothing, including leather gloves. But nevertheless I always looked like a well-worn scratchboard. They did not want to be mean to me, but squirrels have needle-sharp claws that make cat claws look as though they are made from velvet.

Time went on and everything seemed to be fine, but looking at our bathroom I could not sleep in peace any more. The squirrels had become destructive in the bathroom. They found the toilet lid very tasty and started to stare longingly at the wooden cupboard. But before they could get to that, I covered it up with wooden boards.

They also chewed the wire from the lamp hanging from the ceiling. I had been sure they would never reach it. Luckily they did this during daytime and no one was hurt. But no more light in the bathroom. They also let hot water run into the sink by moving the faucet handle. The room looked like a Russian steam bath when I entered and they were quite terrified. So I cut off the water supply. No more water in the bathroom.

They chewed through the plastic and copper pipes that supply water to the toilet tank. Another piece of equipment rendered useless in minutes. No more toilet in the bathroom.

Then I became squirrelwise and checked on them every 45 seconds -- or so it seemed to me sometimes --to prevent other catastrophes. Their mischief made me very concerned about their and my safety (I do have a grumpy husband), but they still gnawed all kinds of holes into my safety net and put their young lives in jeopardy. But despite all this, they were the sweetest nuisances who enjoyed our bathroom thoroughly while I was permanently tottering on the brink of a nervous breakdown.

I had to do something about that. Why had I waited so long before constructing a squirrel-safe cage with playground, exercise area, and feeding and sleeping apartments? Finally I contacted a squirreler whose husband has built her such beautiful cages that I sometimes wish I were a squirrel myself.

Not being blessed with a handy husband, I planned my new cages together with her husband in detail. Then we drove to a hardware store to buy what was needed. He encouraged me and told me how to do it. But at one point he decided that the task was too complicated for a beginner like me who also has only a few tools. Therefore, he took it upon himself to build the most beautiful cage I have ever seen. I will be grateful forever.

When the squirrels were supposed to move into their new cage they were already three months old, and not the cuddly little sweeties anymore. They hated to be touched and they could use their sharp teeth very efficiently. In addition, they were so quick and had too many hiding places, but in the end I got the better of them.

Days before the move I deprived them of their cardboard roll and provided a cat carrier as their new bed. Couting on their curiosity, I hoped they would investigate this new toy and go to sleep in it.

When they awoke next morning, they found not only themselves in a new home, but also their old cardboard roll and additional sleeping box. Luxury for them and peace of mind for me from then on.

This year everything is more professionally organized. Don't we all learn from past experience? But thinking of last year, I feel that rehabilitating can be very costly.

Not the mention the very expensive milk replacer fed with tiny bottles or the food they need during the long winter. I am talking about my sweater with holes chewed by my tree-rats. The wire for the cage had not come at a pittance, and I don't want to know what such a cage would have cost if I had had to pay for the labor.

I also found somebody who knew about plumbing and electricity at the same time, so I did not have to hire two people to repair my bathroom.

When I released the squirrels in the spring, I told them to take very good care of themselves, as they were priceless in many ways. They had given me much joy and proven what I had until then only heard: that squirrels are very smart.

One day in spring, I opened their cage, which I already had placed in the garden for several weeks. I also had attached a sleeping box high up in a tree into which they moved after about two days. When I now look at the squirrels roaming in our back yard and busily gathering food, I wonder who is who. All of them look alike, but the box high up in the tree still has tenants.