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Shari in NY
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| Posted: Oct 31 2006 at 7:40am | IP Logged
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I have seen three chipmunks in our yard that have normal looking heads,legs and tails but their bodies are covered with white fuzz. They seem to be full grown and behave normally. Does anyone know what would cause this?
Shari
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MacBeth
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| Posted: Oct 31 2006 at 9:39am | IP Logged
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Being left in my refrigerator too long...  .
Truly, I have no idea. Anyone?
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MacBeth in NY
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materdei7
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| Posted: Oct 31 2006 at 11:09pm | IP Logged
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Heh Shari.....don't know if this is the right answer...but, we are doing a squirrel study right now  and since the chipmunk and squirrel are in the same family....it says in a book we have checked out of the library (Squirrels, a New True Book),"Squirrel in northern climates molt or shed their coat twice a year, in spring and fall. The autumn molt starts in Oct. By the time the weather is cold, squirrels have a warm winter coat." Sounds like your chippies may be getting ready for a cold winter in NY!
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Shari in NY
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Kathleen,
Thanks for the info. If this is the case, these poor chippies are a little late. We've already had snow several times this October and more forcast for tommorrow! It is a little disconcerting to see "bald" chippies running around. We've taken to calling them "punkmunks". I am going to email a local college today and see if they can tell me anymore. I'll keep you posted
Shari
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materdei7
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Shari,
What did the college say? Could it be a parasite like
lice or fleas? It's a fall mystery!
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Kathleen, mother of five on earth, three in heaven.
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Shari in NY
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Kathleen,
They haven't gotten back to me yet but I did feel quite well informed when I emailed them and asked if this was just a normal Autumnal molt or something more dire
Shari
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Karen E.
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I couldn't resist looking at this thread. I have no idea what the answer is, but had to see what the question was about. 
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Shari in NY
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Kathleen,
I heard back from the college today and it could indeed be a parasite, fleas being most likely. I also emailed the Cornell Cooperative Extension and I'll let you know if they have any different ideas. I haven't seen the chipmunks since our cold snap last week. Hopefully, they survived. Perhaps, they have re-grown their coats.
Shari
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MacBeth
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| Posted: Nov 07 2006 at 11:06am | IP Logged
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Fleas are so common in these small rodents. I rescued a juvenile squirrel from a pond once, and all the fleas tried to jump onto warm, dry ME! 
I hope the little guys are OK, but I am betting they are. I wish we had some around here.
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MacBeth in NY
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Shari in NY
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| Posted: Nov 08 2006 at 7:45am | IP Logged
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Macbeth,
You don't have chipmunks?? I thought these little guys were all over NYS.
Shari
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MacBeth
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| Posted: Nov 08 2006 at 11:26am | IP Logged
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Shari in NY wrote:
Macbeth,
You don't have chipmunks?? I thought these little guys were all over NYS.
Shari |
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Oh, they are here on the island, they just don't live in my village. At least, I have never seen or heard one, and I surely would have if they were here. It's my job  .
When I was teaching at Caumsett State Park, I once had a kid get off a bus, see a chipmunk, and scream, "Beaver!!!" I guess kids Nassau-wide don't see much wildlife .
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MacBeth in NY
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alicegunther
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| Posted: Nov 08 2006 at 11:44am | IP Logged
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MacBeth wrote:
| When I was teaching at Caumsett State Park, I once had a kid get off a bus, see a chipmunk, and scream, "Beaver!!!" I guess kids Nassau-wide don't see much wildlife . |
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That is funny!
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materdei7
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| Posted: Nov 08 2006 at 11:48am | IP Logged
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Shari,
Very interesting! Hope your little chippies make it through the winter. Thanks for keeping us updated.
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Dawn
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alicegunther wrote:
MacBeth wrote:
| When I was teaching at Caumsett State Park, I once had a kid get off a bus, see a chipmunk, and scream, "Beaver!!!" I guess kids Nassau-wide don't see much wildlife . |
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That is funny! |
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It certainly is! The boys just came into the kitchen to find out what had me laughing so hard! They laughed just as hard!!
About those chipmunks - I hope they'll be ok. We spied one under our feeders just a little while ago - we thought they would be hibernating by now, but maybe the mild weather brought him back out? (That and all the seed I spilled all over the ground this morning! )
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The Nature Corner
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: What's wrong with chipmunks?
