Squirrel ?

tonyb

So a few days ago I get up about 5 am, make some coffee, go in the office and sit down at the 'puter. Out of the corner of my eye I see something move. I turn my head and what appears to be a baby squirrel is just standing there looking at me. We both stared at each other for a second, and as if to say "oops, wrong turn....I'm going to go now", he bolts into the grandkids toy room.

Chased the little booger around for 5 minutes, closed the door behind me so he couldn't escape. This thing laid flat and scurried under the door back into the office. Wake up the wife, obviously I needed some reinforcements. She grabs a big wicker laundry basket and I try chasing him in there. Well, it worked......for a second. After getting him in the basket, the wife picks up the basket and I poke my head over it to see the little guy. He came flying out of this basket like the squirrel on Christmas Vacation. Hit the wall on the opposite side of the room even. Then again, lays flat and scurries under the door. The wife and I look at each other and start laughing.....the dog is still sleeping down stairs.

Now if my GS dog was still with me, he would have said " Go back to bed Dad, I got this." Would have destroyed the house getting it, but he certainly would have. The little guy disappears.....can't find him anywhere. Next day, nothing.....he seems nocturnal only coming out at night looking for food while everyone is sleeping. Found some chewed up Hershey Kisses under the couch too. He was probably doing a Broadway musical on my headboard too while we slept.

So yesterday, same routine. I get up about a half hour earlier to catch this sucker. Make my coffee, go into the office and wait. Sure enough the dog comes running past the office door chasing something. Now my competitive juices are flowing, determined not to let him get away this time, I grab a large towel to throw over him. He's quick however, quicker than PFB at a skinny jeans sale. After chasing him around he darts into the kitchen. Find him under the buffet, towel in hand....I poke at him to get him to move. He darts across the tiled kitchen floor and does a 3rd base slide that would make any coach proud, under the stove.

Remove the bottom drawer on the stove, and now I have him trapped. The dog is standing guard too. I used the time to get a good look at this guy. He's no squirrel, least not like we have outside. All brown with a white under belly and huge black eye's with a flat short fur tail. Not a bushy tail like you see associated with most squirrels. If I didn't know better, I'd say this was a flying squirrel judging by pics on the net and the way this thing flew across the office. If so, what the heck is one of these things doing in Illinois ? Someone's pet that got away maybe ?

So since I had him trapped, and not knowing for sure if the dog would get him first, I put a peanut in my hand and held it out for him. He came right away to grab it too. I waited until he finished it, had the wife hold the towel while I poked him out. Luckily she grabbed him before the dog. Threw him outside on the porch and he just stood there.....like he was being evicted from his home. Truth is....today....I miss the little guy.

ken brydson

Great story. "Quicker than PFB at a skinny leans sale" busted me up!!

thsmith

Great story but how did he get into the house ?

falconcry72

chipmunk.

dkg999

It shall return! A chipmunk or squirrel always returns to where they found their last food.

boston1450

He flew in uninvited

Willow

falconcry72 wrote: »

chipmunk.

My bet, Simon. Theo was too big and slow, Alvin well not his style.

Great story btw!

boston1450

ROLMAO hes saying '' ILL BE BACK ''

tonyb

thsmith wrote: »

Great story but how did he get into the house ?

Good question, have no idea either. The house is pretty well sealed unless while leaving the doors open on nice fall days he managed to slip in.

BTW, it's not a chipmunk either. Have plenty of those outside and look totally different. This thing was no bigger than a hamster but flew across the room.....what does that ?

dkg999

tonyb wrote: »

Good question, have no idea either. The house is pretty well sealed unless while leaving the doors open on nice fall days he managed to slip in.

BTW, it's not a chipmunk either. Have plenty of those outside and look totally different. This thing was no bigger than a hamster but flew across the room.....what does that ?

I'll take someone's pet flying squirrel that either they let loose or it got away, for the win! The last couple of summers in Genoa we have had a couple of parrots flying around town that were dumped by their owners. They don't make it through the winter.

pitdogg2

Thanks for that!! it's been awhile since I spewed milk out of my nasal passages.

Tony we do have flying Squirrels in Illinois I've seen them with my own eyes out coon hunting but they have a long tail like any other. Sounds like ground squirrel to me them little boogers are something else. I caught one with my hands when i was 12 on the farm...My dad was right it bit me 20x before i could let go of it and I only had it in my hand for about 20 nanoseconds.

tonyb

boston1450 wrote: »

ROLMAO hes saying '' ILL BE BACK ''

Ya know, kinda wish he would as long as he stayed outside. My birdfeeder is full of goodies along with nuts and the deer bowl is usually full so there's plenty to eat. Don't know if he'll survive a winter though. Plus I back up to woods, also means lots of predators too. We'll see what happens, I'll keep an eye out for him, he sure seemed friendly enough.

cnh

You have a real talent for the "story", tony! That's not to say that this is not absolutely true, but that you have a gift for telling it! Definitely perked me up this morning! Then again, I am NEVER awake with a coffee at 5 AM. Sheesh, who does that?

cnh

Cassidy

I helped evict a rogue squirrel from a neighbors house a few years ago. He gained entry through the water heater vent pipe. Found his little foot prints in the dust on top of the water heater. Best of luck with your new friend :-)

4xoddic

tonyb wrote: »

as long as he stayed outside.

The tunes are better inside!

He's been fed by hand before, or he wouldn't approach the peanut offering. My Dad spent his retirement years hand-feeding pecans to his outdoor squirrels. This was to prevent them from stealing all of his English walnuts. Upon driving up one day, I got out & approached a squirrel on the sidewalk, knelt down & stretched out my hand. The squirrel came up & grabbed my empty fingers. I know he was disappointed.

As a child, I had a squirrel as a pet. I could lay in bed, under the sheets, & she would play hide & seek. Running around the sides of the mattress, she would pop her head up & wait for me to reach out, then dissapper & pop up on the other side of the bed.

ratster

Great story. I like how you worked in the PFB reference.lol.
On a serious note,you better find find his entry point and seal it off. They are cute but they are also destructive.

ZLTFUL

Quite possibly someone's escaped Sugar Glider...
They are similar to flying squirrels, are very nocturnal and are most definitely not native to the Midwest...
They can squish themselves through some very flat spots. I have a friend who breeds them and has about 2 dozen in her house at any given time.
And they are very comfortable with being hand fed.

tonyb

Nope, not a Sugar glider either, thought of that too but the feet, nose, ears, and markings are way different.

Yep, this little guy was definitely fed by hand at some point. He took the nut, never attempted to bite either seeing he was scared for his life. He was starving, and thought it might be his last supper if the dog got to him before me. Interesting to say the least, where he came from and how long has he been here.

In my office, like any other office, I have a garbage can and the usual wrappers and such get tossed in. The dog never goes in it, but a few times over the course of the last month or so the garbage has been tossed on the floor in the morning when I go in there. I have been yelling at the dog, but apparently she was framed. I'll have to offer my apologies with a steak tonight.

BlueFox

Might be a nice houseguest if he/she uses a litter box. Otherwise after a few weeks you might be wondering what happened.

pitdogg2

http://www.800critter.com/illinois_flyingsquirrels.html

http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?recNum=MA0112

tonyb

This is almost exactly him, only the head had no white on it. Never knew their was such a thing as a Northern flying squirrel.

Erik Tracy

Great story - glad to hear the ending was 'amicable'.

Critters like that should reside outside - if it does come back - it may be wanting to set up house and start a family - then things might not be so funny over time.....

pitdogg2

tonyb wrote: »

This is almost exactly him, only the head had no white on it.

northern flying squirrel seen them more than once and sometimes they have a little redder coat also. There are many sighting of these in northern Illinois and your in the hotspot area Tony. Very cool critters it may be from a late in the year litter as they can have two litter in good years.

Oldfatdogs

Tony your a funny guy,I bet your a hoot at the bar.

mrbigbluelight

Well, that story made my day : ' )

DaveHo

Great story! Had me LOL here at work.

sucks2beme

Now that you tossed out Rocky, let's hope you don't get an angry visit from Bullwinkle.

tonyb

sucks2beme wrote: »

Now that you tossed out Rocky, let's hope you don't get an angry visit from Bullwinkle.

Do Bucks count ? It is the deer's mating season around here and a few big boys have already been spotted.

I just love having "critters" around. Makes you feel connected or something like that with nature. After all, aren't we just "critters" in the eyes of the earth ? Anyway, I love backing up to woods, late at night you hear sounds that you swear you've only heard at the zoo. Kinda cool.....

Last night I left some nuts out by the pond, gone.....but could have been anything. The deer however munched down their corn chips, avocado's, strawberries and some stale cocoa puffs.

Gonna have to check out the attic, I've got a feeling.....plus everything I've read on these little guys says they can fit in a hole the size of a quarter. Looking around outside, I see just that size of a hole under the eve next to the chimney. Probably have a Noah's Ark up there and I don't even know it.

oldmodman

thsmith wrote: »

Great story but how did he get into the house ?

Double Miles.

gimpod

Tony, do a search on "Daylight Robbery II" it was a BBC documentary made in the ninety's about grey squirrels. check it out if you have the time. They truly are an amazing creature to watch, We've got a bunch of them around here and it's just a gas to watch them screw with and tease the cat's.

Want to know how he got in your house, check-out part 3 about 0:30 seconds in.

Daylight Robbery II on youtube

boston1450

tonyb wrote: »

Nope, not a Sugar glider either, thought of that too but the feet, nose, ears, and markings are way different.

Yep, this little guy was definitely fed by hand at some point. He took the nut, never attempted to bite either seeing he was scared for his life. He was starving, and thought it might be his last supper if the dog got to him before me. Interesting to say the least, where he came from and how long has he been here.

In my office, like any other office, I have a garbage can and the usual wrappers and such get tossed in. The dog never goes in it, but a few times over the course of the last month or so the garbage has been tossed on the floor in the morning when I go in there. I have been yelling at the dog, but apparently she was framed. I'll have to offer my apologies with a steak tonight.

LMAO.. Double LMAO if you wake up & your little buddy is looking right at ya wanting more viddles ----great thread cause laughter is good