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[stealthbunny]

I haven't seen Gimpy-squirrel in a couple of weeks, and I'm worried. Not that there's anything I can do, but when one has a visitor almost every day for months and then the visitor doesn't show for two weeks... well, worriesworriesworries.  I do know that grey squirrels breed early and give birth about this time, and I suppose it's entirely

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[stealthbunny]

It's amazing what squirrels can heal and recover from, isn't it? Gimpy herself had a front leg so broken that it fused out to the side and backwards. She was already the smallest of the squirrels who came for "breakfast", and was always bullied the most - I've read that the females are the lowest in status except during breeding and while raising kits. When I saw her leg, I immediately started giving her more peanuts and extra piles of sunflower seeds. This was back in the fall. Just before Christmas, I noticed she was starting to use that foot to hold seeds. A few weeks later, she was putting weight on that leg. Now, you can barely tell it was ever broken, except occassionally when she holds it curled up.

Bruiser is my most impressive example. He is a terrible bully and chases EVERY other squirrel away. His full name is Big Bruiser because he is. One day, I saw him flopping across the yard across the road. He couldn't even walk. I went out armed with a carrier, towel, motorcycle gloves, and a pocketful of peanuts. None of my squirrels are handfed - I have too much respect for those teeth! Bruiser managed to get to a tree and crabbed-spiraled up it, and I figured that was it. He was never coming back down, not with those injuries. A few days later, he was back at my window. His wounds were cleaned, but still raw and huge, especially the one on his back leg. He couldn't put any weight on it, and like your Hobble, couldn't sit up straight. But he was eating, managed to pull himself up onto the bird bath for drinks, and would STILL teeth-chatter at any other squirrel. Weeks later, the wounds were healed over and he was able to run, but not on that back leg, so it was more like a rabbit-hop, which was really odd to see in a squirrel! Today, I can't even see the scars and he doesn't limp at all. And he STILL chases all the other squirrels away. I have no idea if he got into a fight with someone who finally fought back, or if it was a matter of "you should see the other guy", but the healing power of squirrels is amazing!!

A couple of months ago, I did notice that Baby (who isn't a baby anymore but still has that appealing baby-round face rather than the pointed rodent one) started showing up at breakfast with Gimpy, and that Bruiser wasn't as interested in chasing Gimp as he was in following her. I'm hoping that meant she was in season, and that now she is snug with a nest of kits.

Thank you so much for sharing your story of Hobble (which is a much nicer name than Gimpy)