The Guardians of the Galaxy

It’s been two weeks that the Guardians have been here, and all are doing great! They grow and change physically so much every day, and their little personalities are really coming out. Let me tell you about each one.

Yondu

She’s still the tiniest, but as of Sunday morning, she weighs 106 grams. (On a side note: I weigh them once a day because their weight determines the amount of formula they should be taking each meal. It’s 5-7% of their body weight, although Drax will tell you that’s not nearly enough for him.) Yondu is my little miracle girl, and she’s also Little Miss Feisty. She will bark and jump at the others like she’s the biggest of the group! She’s just adorable! She’s a pretty good eater now, but of the four, she’s the pickiest about the formula temperature. If it’s not hot enough by even a degree, she wants nothing to do with it.

Drax

Drax is the biggest of The Littles, weighing in Sunday at 131 grams. He’s usually the first one to eat because when it’s mealtime, he comes running to the door. If they all happen to be asleep in their nest at mealtime, he’s the first one to poke out his head when I call. Ravenous, he is, and he’s very easy to feed. When he’s finished though, he’s not looking for cuddles. He’s ready to get back to the others.

Nebula (formally known as Baby Groot)

After getting to know her, the name Baby Groot just didn’t fit. If you’re familiar with The Guardians of the Galaxy movies and the character Nebula, well, that suits her. She’s older than the others by a couple weeks, and I guesstimated her age upon arrival at close to 7 weeks. She knows the outdoor wild life, she knows this isn’t where she’s supposed to be, she’s not much interested in being handled (though I handle her every day so I CAN handle her as she grows and she allows it.) She doesn’t bite, but she does like to wrestle with me. She’s escaped out of my hands twice and gone on a walkabout around my bedroom. She couldn’t be coaxed back though, because she knows she’s wild. I’ve started taking her in the bathroom to feed her so she can climb on me after eating. If she jumps off me, there’s no place for her to go. She’s been a perfect big sister to The Littles, and today I saw tiny Yondu jump at her and scare her back into the nest. She weighs 186 grams now.

Rocket

My little Rocket Man. Of the four, sweet Rocket is the only one who seeks me out and wants to be petted and cuddled. He’s usually the last to eat because he’s the last one to wake up. He pokes his head out of the nest and does the cutest little yawn. He’s also the messiest eater, but he makes up for it by curling in a ball to sleep or get scritches on his little back. I usually hold him out the longest because he seems to like it. He now weighs 120 grams.

The Guardians moved into the top floor of the Critter Nation cage a few days ago. It was a bit early for The Littles, but Nebula jumped out of the bin they were in a couple of times. Since I didn’t want to separate them, I moved them all. In the past two days, I’ve seen more activity from The Littles. Nebula is all over the cage, and they’re now out and about, exploring & wrestling & tumbling. I’ve also introduced them to Healthy Blocks, and they’re nibbling. Once they’re eating those well, I’ll introduce some veggies.

Tomorrow we will move the cage into my bathroom. It will be a little crowded, but pretty soon I will have four squirrels rushing the cage door every time it’s opened. The bathroom will be the best place to contain any escapees. They’ll have a nice window view, and with the blind open, they’ll have the natural rhythm of day and night.

I expect they’ll be ready to start soft release by May 1st. All danger of frost should be over.

Aren’t they wonderful?!