Why Is This Mama Squirrel's Cheek Swollen?

Just sharing what I learned recently. I ran into this beautiful spotty mama squirrel the other day. But I was a little shocked when I first saw her because I hadn’t seen such a squirrel before. Her left chin was swollen and sagging. Otherwise, she looked healthy. By the way, the spots are expected: UC Berkeley marks them as part of a study they do. I loved her spots as a polka dot lover. It reminded me of a puffa fish and I love them too.

Since I don’t carry a “squirrel rescue kit” the only thing I can help them with is feeding (I always carry a “squirrel feeding kit” ;)). So I fed her lots of seeds and peanuts.

After hanging out with her, I asked my rehabber friend about her cheek and this is what I learned:

• It looks like she possibly has a pretty bad abscess under her cheek.

• She needs her immune system boosted to fight that infection. Giving her lots of walnuts and almonds would help.

They said that she would benefit from antibiotics they have at their place but pulling her will orphan her babies.

They offered me the antibiotics to feed her which require twice a day feeding. I would love to do that if she was one of my balcony squirrels. But she lives at UC Berkeley so it’ll be hard for me to do that. I hope she’ll recover by herself.

The squirrels’ immune system is incredible. I’ve met an unbalanced squirrel and watched him manage to recover by himself at UC Berkeley so I have high hopes for this one too.

Thank you for reading! Have a squirreltastic day!

-Chelsea

Does Giving Too Many Nuts to Wild Squirrels Make Them Sick?

I'm just a squirrel addict, not a specialist. But my answer is no. I don't think there is such a thing as ”too many nuts” for wild squirrels.

The main reason is that I believe that they know what they are doing. Their great teachers — their moms — teach their kids everything they need to survive in this tough world, including how to attract humans to get food. 😉

Here are the experiences that led me to believe this:

1. They start stashing food when they have enough.

2. They don't eat food when they don't want to, which means that either they don't like it, they don't need it, or they don't want it at the moment. 

3. They eat veggies like leaves, grass, tree, tree bark, tree branches, flowers. And fruit too!

4. They run around a lot.

More squirrel videos are here:

https://www.youtube.com/sublimesquirrel
https://www.sublimesquirrel.com/

So in my opinion,

Squirrels eating = they need, like, or want the food.

That being said, I wouldn't give them food that is clearly unhealthy, like processed snacks full of salt.

Feeding squirrels food is fun and it's extremely relaxing to me. It's a win win, so I care about their health and happiness. I want them to stay healthy, happy, and have long lives. You don't have to be overprotective about them, but just be kind to them. 😊 

Thank you for reading!

♡◌୨୧◌⑅⃝◌◌୨୧◌⑅⃝◌◌୨୧◌⑅⃝◌◌୨୧◌♡◌୨୧◌⑅⃝◌◌

⭐️You can see cute squirrels everyday + 30-sec smile charge & stress release on my Twitter⭐️
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https://twitter.com/SublimeSquirrel

If you feel like more squirrels, check out my squirrel YouTube channel:
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https://www.youtube.com/sublimesquirrel

⭐️Inquiries, feedback, questions etc
Contact me at:
nuts@sublimesquirrel.com

I look forward to hearing from you!

⭐️Mailing Address:
Sublime Squirrel
PMB 218
2425 Channing Way Ste B
Berkeley, CA 94704

♡Your happiness is my happiness :) ♡
367 smiles with squirrels

Chelsea

Artist / Squirrel Charmer / 福りすのおねえさんチェルシー

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Why Do Squirrels Grind Their Teeth? It's called bruxing (from bruxism) Are they angry?

Just like us humans, squirrels have facial expressions. They smile when they eat and they have look serious when they hear warnings.

One day, I saw this face. One of my balcony squirrels, Summer, did this when she looked relaxed. 

Summer is grinding her teeth.

Here is the video of her lazy day:

She looked more angry than happy and relaxed, so I asked my fellow squirrel admirers why this might be:

Does anybody know why squirrels do this?😅😂 This is Summer, but I've seen other squirrels do this a few times🐿 I hope she's not mad at me! Have a relaxing weekend my friends!♥️🤗 pic.twitter.com/BNBM684bM0

— 🐿Sublime Squirrel Charmer Chelsea (@SublimeSquirrel) February 28, 2020

https://twitter.com/SublimeSquirrel/status/1233512723268489221

Here are the answers:
1. Squirrels do this when they're relaxed.

2. Squirrels do this when they're in pain.

I know that these are contradictory emotions, so you need to figure out which one it is from their posture and context clues.

 3. Squirrels are constantly grinding their teeth when they eat, and they even grind their teeth in their sleep because of growing pains.

The third reason makes sense, but I still can't associate the face Summer made with a feeling of relaxation! Anyway, I'm so happy I found out that she wasn't angry at me.  I guess this is one of the squirrels' relaxed facial expressions and I’ll just have to get used to it! :)

Thank you for reading! Have a squirreltastic day!

Why Squirrels?!

In Japan, where I'm from, squirrels were kind of rare animals to see in my everyday life. Since I moved to Berkeley, California in 2011, I see them every day everywhere! I remember I was so thrilled to see such cute creatures running around in my neighborhood when I first saw them. They instantly became one of my favorite subjects as I ended up starting an Instagram account about squirrels in 2016.

As I have taken more photos of them, and got to know them, I realized that they are not only cute but also so funny. They have a lot of cute and funny facial expressions and behaviors.

Seeing them every day brings me so much happiness. I really feel like I understand them and that they understand me! People call me "the squirrel charmer" :)

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This is my first post on Instagram.