Week 1

Thursday April 18,2002

Chipmunks were taken from the air conditioner at the kindergarten where I teach English in China. The maintenance man did not realize that when human hands have touched baby chipmunks the mother would either abandon them or eat them.

From the description on the development chart I would guess they were about 12-14 days old. They already had stripes, and fur was just barely through.

I was not sure what to feed them, but I remembered the advice a vet in America gave me with some abandoned kittens. I bought a can of sweet condensed milk and added warm water to about a half teaspoon of the milk and mixed it well. I could not find an eyedropper, so I used a syringe to feed them. They liked the milk and gobbled it right down.

The vet also told me that I should use a damp rag to massage the kitten’s little bottoms to enable them to the bathroom. Their mother would lick them with her tongue, and this would imitate the mother’s care. So as advised on the kittens I would do this. During the process I discovered that TJ was a girl, so I had to think of a new name.

I knew from past experience with newborn kittens that they should be kept in a dry warm place, so I put them into a small box with a bath towel inside. I covered over the top of them with the other side of the towel and placed another towel over the top of the box.

My father use to work on a ranch and said when a calf lost its mother they would cover its eyes and breath into its face. When they removed the cloth they would breathe in his face again and the animal would accept the cowboy as his mother. So I tried this with Chip, Dale and TJ. I held them in the palm of my hand and breathed into their faces. When I fed them I would breathe in their faces and make a noise similar to a chipmunk. They bought it. I was immediately accepted as their mom.

I began to have a stuffy nose and runny eyes. Looks like I might have an allergy problem. I hope it from my roommate’s cut flowers (which I know I am allergic to) and not the chipmunks.

Friday April 19

I tried to ad a little oatmeal, but it gave the babies a tummy ache. Went back to just Sweet condensed milk and warm water. I feed them when I get up in the morning, right after lunch, at about 3:00 p.m., right after supper, then just before bedtime. They are sleeping through the night, but very hungry in the morning.

I searched the net for info. I found good sites for adults but none for babies. I Left my name and problem on help web site and sent an email to all of my friends in search for information.

My allergies are worse. I asked my roommate to throw her dying flowers out. We should know in a few days if it is the flowers, or the chipmunks. It would be a first for me if it were the chipmunks. I have never had any allergy to any kind of animal. I take that back. We had a bird once that I was allergic to.

Saturday April 20

Chip, Dale, and (?) are going great. I haven’t decided yet, what I will name the girl. Today they got very excited when I put them on my chest to feed them. Today Chip crawled up my chest and into my hair. It was ok as long as he was whispering sweet nothings in my ear, but when he did that high pitched shrill that they do when they are hungry I nearly jumped out of my skin. After Dale had finished eating he crawled under my collar and went to sleep. The boys are rambunctious, but the girl seems a little depressed. I went and did a speech in another town and was gone from them until 10:00. Boy, were they glad to see me. They went crazy. They were crawling all over me looking for something to eat.

Saturday night I did not sleep much. We have little ants that have come out, and they got into my bed. I need to get ant chalk, but I am afraid to get any kind of poison in case they get into the babies’ mouths trying to get to the sweet milk. I also had a lot of allergy problems too, coughing, sneezing, runny eyes, and stuffy nose. I don’t know what I will do if I am allergic to the chipmunks. There is no one else willing to take care of them.

Sunday April 21

My mother sent me the address for a web site on baby chipmunks. This woman had newborn babies that had probably never had their mother’s milk. The mother’s milk gives immunities that they will never have if they didn’t nurse from their mother shortly after birth. All of the babies died. Also their diet was probably too heavy, and they were exposed to the elements.

My mom also said that my granddaughter was feeling bad and started crying. When she asked her why she said that she missed her Grammy, because when she was sad or sick her Grammy always rocked her and made her feel better. Guess what I named the girl chipmunk…that’s right…Brittani…after my granddaughter.

When I took them out to feed them that night Brittani had found something to suck on…her brother Dale. She was very frustrated because she couldn’t get milk from what she was sucking on, but he seemed to have a smile on his face.

The last couple of days the milk doesn’t seem to be satisfying them as much as it should so today I sifted some of the oatmeal drink grains into a bowl, and mixed it with the milk. It was very fine so it went through the syringe fairly easy. I also made a small hole that the syringe would fit through and left it in the box so that they could eat if they got hungry.

It seemed to fill them up quickly and as soon as they were finished eating they were all fast asleep. Brittani cuddled up in the palm of my hand. She seemed to need some extra affection.

I stayed home all day and just caught up on some writing. I didn’t even put on my clothes until I went out in the evening. My allergies did not seem as bad today.

Monday April 22

Today when I opened the box to take the babies out for feeding Brittani was latched on to the syringe. She wasn’t eating, in fact she was fast asleep, but I guess it was comforting to have it in her mouth. (It is better than the other alternative).

She was in better spirits today. It seems that she needs to cuddle and nuzzle before she will enjoy eating. She and my granddaughter are more alike than I thought. I guess most girls need more affection than boys do. The boys enjoy nuzzling too, but it doesn’t seem as important to them as it does to Brittani. So I let her take her time eating so she could nuzzle the palm of my hand, through my fingers, and finally latch on to the syringe. She also likes to "kneed" when she eats like a kitten…the boys do too.

I got an email from Richard Grigg from the National Wildlife on line help group. This is what he said:

Your baby chipmunk's diet should be nice and healthy. This will help you know what to feed it at what days:

Days 1-7: Part of evaporated milk to 2 parts water, with a pinch of glucose powder.
Days 8-30: 4 teaspoons of baby cereal; 1 teaspoon of honey or glucose powder. This should be mixed together to the consistency of gruel.
Days 30-35: Solid food taken

I am not sure if I can get glucose powder here, but the sweet condensed milk sounds a lot like what he is describing. At least if I can’t find the things called for it does work.

My allergies were better today. I tried to wash my hands whenever I handled them and changed my clothes just in case they are the cause. My allergies seem, however, to get worse as I go outdoors. Hopefully it is just spring pollen.

Tuesday April 23, 2002

Last night when I went to bed I began to itch and was afraid that I would break out in hives, so I got up and took some Allegra D allergy medicine. I was out of my Aftifed and Benadryl, and had to resort to some free samples my doctor had given me before my return to China. Instead of making me droggy it affected me like speed. I was wide eyed all night long. The allergy symptoms left very quickly, but I could not sleep so I prayed. It was a good time with the Lord, but I paid for the lack of sleep today.

When I got up at 6:30 I decided to use a pair of gloves to keep from handling the chipmunks. My mom had given me a nice pair of fuzzy leopard gloves for Christmas so I used those and put a towel across my chest where the babies would be laying. It did help; I had very little allergy problems today.

The babies did not know what to do with the new feel of fur so I cupped them in my hand and breathed on them again, and they knew it was I. After that they loved the feel of fur next to their little bodies. They nuzzled, snuggled, and sucked on every available place that protruded. I think it made them feel more like they had a real chipmunk mother.

The added oatmeal drink to their diet seems to really be satisfying them. I noticed that Chip has one ear that has pulled lose from his head. It takes more food to satisfy them each day, but as soon as they are full they all go right to sleep.

I have decided to give Dale the name of Lee. My grandson Morgan has decided he wants to be called Lee instead of Morgan, and I don’t want him to feel that I am giving his sister more attention than him.

My sneezing and coughing have subsided some, but my skin is still a little itchy, and looks potted. Tonight I also have a bit of a sore throat from the drainage.

Wednesday April 24

I thought they were dying, but they were in Hibernation

Before I went to bed last night I took some Benadryl. I couldn’t believe how cheap it is here, but it began to make me groggy so I fed my babies and went to bed. I didn’t clean them as I do after each feeding; I was just too tired. I also forgot to put the condensed milk back in the refrigerator.

It got very hot in the night so I put extra covering on the chipmunk’s bed and turned on the air conditioner.

When I got up this morning they were lifeless, their fur was dry, and they would barely eat. When I cleaned them their little bottoms were caked with stool. I felt terrible. I just knew that I had killed my babies.

I was also afraid that by putting on gloves I had made them feel that they had been abandoned again, so I took off the gloves, held them in the palm of my hand and breathed on them. I made little chirping noises like they make, so they would know that I was there. Then I prayed a little prayer over them, and asked God to heal them.

I also took an old pair of socks, wadded them up into a ball, and rubbed them all over my face hands and hair so that they would carry my scent. I placed the socks as close to them as I could and tucked them in for the morning. I made sure that the air conditioner was not on, and they had plenty of warmth.

Then I remembered an article that I had read on the Internet that said that chipmunks hibernate in the winder. The behavior they described was a lot like I had seen in my three little ones. I could only hope that was the problem.

On the way to school I picked up a fresh can of sweet condensed milk, but I was afraid they would not live to eat it.

At school I was informed that the TV station wanted to do a story on me. I explained my fears, but my boss said that it was probably hibernation. I thought she was just being nice, but she did not call the TV station and cancel.

When I left school she said she was not sure what time they would be there, but she would call when they were ready. It will not surprise me at all if they don’t show up today. They probably won’t call and let us know either.

Note: In China no one gives advance notice…that is a North American thing. They do everything last minute. It is probably one of the single most frustrating things about adapting to Chinese life, especially for organized people who like to plan in advance…lucky for me that I am the type of person who likes to fly by the seat of my pants.

When I returned home my little guys were chipper, and ready to eat. I did not use the gloves and they were scurrying around my hand and through my fingers looking for food. I also used only the milk without the oatmeal, which made eating easier for them. I think they need the oatmeal, but the syringe mouth is too small. I will try to buy a larger one tomorrow. Finding stuff like that is hard for a foreigner who speaks very little Chinese, but maybe I can get someone at the school to help me.

The Benadryl did the trick. I have handled the babies all day with no symptoms of allergic reaction.

It is 10:00 and still no news from the TV station (pun intended). They will probably give me ten minutes notice when they do decide to come. Oh well…TIC (This is China).

A friend came over tonight and wrote a note in Chinese for me so that I can get a good eyedropper to feed my chipmunks with. Funny how things are provided just when you need them. Those little prayers really work. It is possible that the Benadryl isn’t really the cause for the sudden change in health either. God always blesses those who take care of the helpless. Time to give my little helpless creatures their last feeding for the evening.