Barry, can't someone catch the squirrel so you can see for sure?

There is no way that a nail gun could have the effect of inserting a 'screw' into a squirrels head without causing death or serious debilitating injury - and this squirrel looks to me to be relatively healthy.

It is most likely a tick of course, as others have opined, and if so, it should have dropped off by the time the next photo is taken of the squirrel.

If not, it may be some kind of growth or abscess - I hope that any future pics taken of this animal will be posted here so that we might discover the truth of the matter!
:)

Wow you guys :roll: :roll: ....I'd say we'd have to have a screw loose to think that Barry or Shiloh were serious .

Johanna :lol: :lol:

Wow Barry! Interesting pics.

I think it looks like an engorged tick, but I can't explain the marks that really do look like a phillips screw :shock:

In British Columbia, this tick occurs in the interior dry belt from the United States border north as far as Williams Lake and eastward into Alberta. It is not found west of the Coast Range mountains.

but also - The Western Black-legged tick is very common during the spring and early summer. It occurs on vegetation in warm, moist areas on Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands

ill have to get more pics of the squirrel when it comes on the deck -

but every one post thier thoughts - ( the plot thickens lol )

I guess we will have to agree to disagree. I didn't know that ticks had slots in the top of them :wink: :D

That is definitely a tick. I have never seen one on a squirrell before, but it is a tick. Check out this ID link . Be carefull around the Bush, and make sure kids are checked vigilantly every night for ticks. Lyme disease is a very nasty thing.

http://www.oes.org/html/how_2_identify_different_ticks.html

Dreamer

I disagree with it being a tick...definitely a screw. You can see the cross in the top of the round headed screw where a phillips screwdriver would fit. I even magnified it in my windows picture viewer and I stick with it being a screw similar to the one in this pic (although the one in the squirrel is much shinier)

Yup . . . Tick.