Walter release

[Birdy]

Hi all,

Firstly, I want to say a massive THANK YOU to all of you. I rescued a baby squirrel a month and a half ago who was lying in 100 degree heat, half dead and thanks to you all and your brilliant board was able to save him.

His name is Walter, we live in Los Angeles. I tried to reunite him with mom, but she didn’t come back and then tried to get him into a wildlife rehab right away but they were all full so I took on the challenge of rehabilitating him myself. Those middle of the night feeds were killer. I’m pregnant with my first child so now I guess I know what to look forward to!

He’s now nearly 400 grams and very healthy, living in a two story cage and nearly weaned. He’s still taking one formula feed per day, he started rejecting the evening one. He’s been very good about eating his HHB’s and his veggies and his rationed bits of fruit. He can crack a nut now too.

Here’s my dilemma and why I am posting for the first time. We are moving house and have always intended to take Walter with us, build him an aviary in the new yard, and release him there so we can monitor his progress as he adapts. But we’re seeing a squirrel every day in our current yard that I believe may be Walter’s mom. They’re the spitting image of each other and I’m wondering whether it would be best to release him here instead of taking him with us? This place has a lot of trees and is where I found him so likely to be the place his home squirrels are at.

We have 3 more weeks left in this house (I could maybe negotiate for longer), so it would be a very quick transition to aviary to outside and then I wouldn’t be able to see him again. The aviary is bought and ready to build so I could have it up by Wednesday.

Should I maybe move his current cage outside at this house so he and the other squirrel can meet or would that be confusing if I then move him away?

The new house has trees too and is still within a two mile radius of where he was found, so I wouldn’t be moving him miles away and would obviously be around should he need to come back for any reason.

It would mean keeping him caged longer and not transitioning to his aviary for another few weeks though.

Obviously, I am in love with Walter and releasing him is going to be so very difficult. I just want to make sure that after all this work to get him fit and healthy he has the best possible chance out in the world. I always imagined that I would get to see him every now and then if I released him at the new house, but if leaving him behind here is the best thing for him then that’s what must be done.

Sorry for the long post.

Advice would be so appreciated.

[Lighten-Up]

Did you mention how old your squirrel is? If I remember this correctly it is best not to start the release process until they are at least 14-16 weeks old.

[Birdy]

He's roughly 13/14 weeks from what I can tell when I compare him to age pictures.

[Milo's Mom]

Personally, I'd take him with me and release at the new house. I can go into further detail and the reasons why this would be my choice, if you would like. But short and sweet, pack his belongings along with yours and release him at the new house.

[cava]

I agree, plus you could keep an eye on him and continue to feed him as he continues to grow up. He is a plump, furry hunk of cute! If it were me, I'd hate the constant wondering and worry of what happened to him after I left.

Good luck with your move and with your FIRST BABY!

[Lighten-Up]

Since you would love to take him with you, I would agree that you should. I have heard that they might recognize and know their wild family, so I understand your concern about taking him away from his origin. I have also heard others say no they don't. So I will mention that I just released two into my back yard 2 months ago. They should have mother/father siblings and cousins out there. I have watched them constantly, because I work from home, and I am just a very curious individual who apparently loves to observe and understand. I have not been aware of any "reunion". They are either being chased, or are chasing, forming their territories. Of course, that does not mean that they don't recognize them, just because I can't see it. But all this to say is that I have not seen anything from my vantage point that shows me that they have integrated back into their wild family, in any close integrated way.

Enjoy releasing in your new home, and be at peace with it. Thanks for raising that one, what a cute photo!

[TerriCompro]

I agree, too. I would take him with me to keep from having a rushed release, possibly too soon.

He's so CUTE!

[Birdy]

Thank you! This is what I was secretly hoping you would all say. I wanted to make sure I wasn't being selfish by keeping him near to me.

Walter's bags will be packed!

[Mel1959]

I concur with all the other wise individuals who have already posted. Take him with you....it's easier on the heart.

[Birdy]

Good luck with your move and with your FIRST BABY![/QUOTE]

Thank you! I'm terrified now that I've had a small taste of the bleary eyed daze of night feeding a squirrel!

[cava]

Good luck with your move and with your FIRST BABY!

Thank you! I'm terrified now that I've had a small taste of the bleary eyed daze of night feeding a squirrel![/QUOTE]

Heard and understood!!

[island rehabber]

Good luck with your move and with your FIRST BABY!

Thank you! I'm terrified now that I've had a small taste of the bleary eyed daze of night feeding a squirrel![/QUOTE]

Hee hee.....Walter's arrival was the Universe's cute little way of giving you a taste of motherhood before the real thing.....heh heh....easy for ME to laugh. But I've fed my share of pinky squirrels at 2am.....3am....4am......
Best of luck to you and Walter!

[Jen413]

Aww!!! I was given my first baby squirrel when I was about 3 or 4 months pregnant with my first child too. I don't know if it was because she was the first one I raised or if it was because I was pregnant but I have never bonded to any other squirrel the way I bonded with her. It definitely gives you a practice course for things to come. Good luck with Walter and your new baby on the way!

[Birdy]

Walter thanks you all too. Here he is having a little nap in my robe.

[Nancy in New York]

Walter thanks you all too. Here he is having a little nap in my robe.

OMG he is one precious little one for sure.
I too would take him in a heart beat.
I even found a suitcase, so he can start packing!
Walter

[Birdy]

Walter Update: He is in his release cage at the new house. he seems to be doing very well, it's only the first day, but he's climbing and exploring. Question: It's 90 degrees here in California, is there anything I can be providing him to cool down if he needs to? The cage is in the shade and he has water, but do they take baths? It's very cold overnight in contrast, will he be warm enough? he has tons of fleece in his nest box.

Thanks all.

[Lighten-Up]

Walter Update: He is in his release cage at the new house. he seems to be doing very well, it's only the first day, but he's climbing and exploring. Question: It's 90 degrees here in California, is there anything I can be providing him to cool down if he needs to? The cage is in the shade and he has water, but do they take baths? It's very cold overnight in contrast, will he be warm enough? he has tons of fleece in his nest box.

Thanks all.

I'm hoping that others with more experience will answer.

I've heard that putting a fan outside the cage, that he can't get his paws into, that blows into the cage helps, and or putting a tray of ice for the fan to blow across would help. I never had to do this, it got hot in my RC, but it was in deep shade, I never sensed they were in distress, just hot. I had a metal chair in my RC that they would lie on, because the metal was cool. Maybe you could put in a stone slab that they could lie one, wilds lay on cold concrete all the time to cool themselves.

I think if he has a nest box with fleece, he should be plenty warm.

Great job, :-) Keep us updated.

[pappy1264]

As long as he is in the shade and has water access, he should be ok, but you will want to keep a very good eye on him for any signs of problems (drooling, foamy mouth, panting very hard). We had some really hot weather this summer and my two girls handled it fine. As stated you can also put a fan oscilating to move the air, which helps too.

[Birdy]

Thank you all. Great advice as always. will get a fan and a cool stone slab.

he made it through his first night outside last night. he was a bit scared when the insane coyote party happened in the middle of the night (I have a baby monitor on him so I can watch him from my bed, I know, totally paranoid) so I could see him having a little bit of a worried look around. But other than that, he kept warm and made it through to this morning.

I do not know how you guys do this all the time. The worry is so intense. You're all saints.