We have squirrels who visit the ground below our bird feeders. Over the years we have been able to count on six or eight gray squirrels and four to six fox squirrels as our companions. We know the players have changed over the years; their life spans are usually short, but they must be prolific enough to maintain the colony.
\nThe gray squirrels are sleek and slightly smaller than the fox squirrels, and definitely meaner. The fox squirrels are larger overall, have beautiful fur that goes from a cream to a copper color, with touches of black on the tips of the tail fur, and they seem just a bit pudgy in comparison to the grays. They also play nicer with others. Unfortunately, they are also prone to mange.<\/p>\n
\nTwo of our fox squirrels began showing signs of mange earlier this month. One of them has just about lost the fur on his tail, leaving a long rat-like whip of a tail. A second squirrel has been itching and scratching and has lost most of the fur from his ribs to his ears.
\nI did some surfing today and discovered they have mange mites. Specifically, they have notoedric mites. This particular type of mite does not affect humans, and if the squirrels can make it through our cold weather, it’s likely they will have a spontaneous recovery with full restoration of their coat. If our squirrels were tamer, we could put out food for them laced with a medication that would speed their recovery, but other than allowing them to share the bird seed that falls to the ground, we have not done anything to tame them.
\nMeanwhile, we have this poor naked little guy who has to endure the cold. I’m glad for him that it’s supposed to get up into the 60s this week!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We have squirrels who visit the ground below our bird feeders. Over the years we have been able to count on six or eight gray squirrels and four to six fox squirrels as our companions. We know the players have … Continue reading