Is it to late to release my squirrel?

[shaineliz]

I am thankful for the help I have been given here. But a concern was raised to my attention about a younger squirrel that I took into my care. Someone stated that he was not acting normal for his age and maybe he was showing early signs of MBD. I have only had one squirrel before and we kind of went blind sided head first into it. My family just kind of looked up facts online and we went from there. Luckly we have been blessed and he is a happy energetic squirrel. My younger squirrel I noticed to be different but I didnt think anything of it. But I was wondering now is it possible since he is the younger of the two only being 1 year and maybe 4 months old; can he maybe be released into his natural environment? Can he lead a normal squirrel life after being in captivity? Is there somone from my area which is the rio grande valley area in texas that can help me?

[PBluejay2]

First, can you tell us what "nor acting normal" and/or "different" means?

Second, yes he can probably still be released, but it's a process, not just putting him on a tree. You'll need a large outside cage to put him in to let him "wild up." He needs to grow accustomed to the sights, sounds, smells of his outdoor environment. Hopefully he hasn't been allowed to grow accustomed to any other houspets because he MUST fear them. He also needs to become wary of humans. You should have NO physical contact with him. He'll continue to see you as the food provider, but this is the only contact you should have with him, and if he approaches you (this is the hard part), you need to "shoo" him away--rattle the cage, shout, etc.--until he no longer approaches. I also feed neighborhood squirrels close to the release cage to attract them so that the one to be released can "meet the neighbors" and figure out that he or she IS a squirrel. They soon check each other out--some will be friendly and some not, but that's the life of a squirrel. You also need to make sure he exhibits normal squirrel behavior--burying nuts in flower pots (inside cage), nesting (dragging paper/cloth strips into his nest box), chattering and barking when alarmed, and so forth. The process may take a couple of weeks (or more since he's an adult) before you open up the cage and let him explore. Once you do, keep the cage open so that he can return when he needs to/wants to and begin putting the food outside of the cage. Eventually, he'll stop returning to the cage (not necessarily to the area) because he's figured out he likes it better up in the trees. Hope this helps.