release age and info needed

[laura.shy]

I found a baby squirrel on July 29th of last year and we have successfully rehabilitated him. We were going to release him a couple of months ago but then he fell off of the couch and had hurt his hip. I wanted to make sure he was 100% before I took the chance in putting him in the wild. Now I am concerned that he may be to old to release. He is now exactly 10 month old. If he is not to old to release could someone please give me some advise on how to safely release him. I appreciate any help that you can give me :thankyou

[susanw]

If he is tame, you are going to have to stop handling him and let him
wild up. Does he spend any time outside in his cage?

[laura.shy]

We just built him a cage for the back pourch so he could get use to the weather. I have made it a point not to handle him to much lately. He has only been held by us once, twice tops in the last 2 months. What would you suggest I do?

[island rehabber]

laura, after you have let him stay outdoors in his cage for at least 2 weeks, you can open the cage door but leave the cage where it is, and let him come and go as he pleases. He will most likely spend the first few nights back in his cage, in his nest box, but then he'll build his own nest somewhere nearby and eventually not return. he may become your yard squirrel, or he may venture off to a new neighborhood. No way of telling beforehand. Is your yard and neighborhood a safe place? No feral cats, loose dogs, etc.? Not too close to a busy street? If not, you might want to contact a rehabber near you who can release him in a better area.

[laura.shy]

laura, after you have let him stay outdoors in his cage for at least 2 weeks, you can open the cage door but leave the cage where it is, and let him come and go as he pleases. He will most likely spend the first few nights back in his cage, in his nest box, but then he'll build his own nest somewhere nearby and eventually not return. he may become your yard squirrel, or he may venture off to a new neighborhood. No way of telling beforehand. Is your yard and neighborhood a safe place? No feral cats, loose dogs, etc.? Not too close to a busy street? If not, you might want to contact a rehabber near you who can release him in a better area.


Should I have him in the outdoor cage for a while before I call a rehabber? Oh it is going to kill me to let him go but I know it is what is best for him. We have 3 dogs and an outside cat at our house so I don't think it would be safe to let him go here even though i would love to see him still

[Mads]

I'm not sure that a cat is that much of a problem for a healthy squirrel to deal with. As long as he's not used to cats around him where he wouldn't run from a cat, a squirrel can go from tree to tree before a cat can even get a glimpse of a healthy squirrel. The same goes for dogs. My dog is no match to the squirrels in my yard....they, (the squirrels) are much to clever .

I think that the thing that will take out squirrels the most is being close to a fast moving road. I live back from the road about 500 feet on a 30 mile a hr speed limit road. Of my 5 babies of last year, 4 of them I see almost everyday. That is a really good statistic I think and my neighbors all have cats, dogs, and I even have a lousy neighbor with a gun! I have a big old owl here everynight, and also hawks flying overhead daily. So , I think squirrels are much more resilient to their area than we give them credit to be.

So you may want to release there and keep track of your little squirrel. We enjoy ours everyday. I even have one who's blind one eye, and he does really well. He's one of my original Fab 5, and he's now called "bad eye" in which he seems to react to this name by running to us when called. of course, it wouldn't last long if we didn't give him a nice big nut I suspect.:thinking

[laura.shy]

I'm not sure that a cat is that much of a problem for a healthy squirrel to deal with. As long as he's not used to cats around him where he wouldn't run from a cat, a squirrel can go from tree to tree before a cat can even get a glimpse of a healthy squirrel. The same goes for dogs. My dog is no match to the squirrels in my yard....they, (the squirrels) are much to clever .

I think that the thing that will take out squirrels the most is being close to a fast moving road. I live back from the road about 500 feet on a 30 mile a hr speed limit road. Of my 5 babies of last year, 4 of them I see almost everyday. That is a really good statistic I think and my neighbors all have cats, dogs, and I even have a lousy neighbor with a gun! I have a big old owl here everynight, and also hawks flying overhead daily. So , I think squirrels are much more resilient to their area than we give them credit to be.

So you may want to release there and keep track of your little squirrel. We enjoy ours everyday. I even have one who's blind one eye, and he does really well. He's one of my original Fab 5, and he's now called "bad eye" in which he seems to react to this name by running to us when called. of course, it wouldn't last long if we didn't give him a nice big nut I suspect.:thinking

Thank you so much Mads. That makes me feel alot better:crazy . We are finishing up his cage this weekend so he should be ready to get in it on Monday. I am really nervous though, its kind of like loosing a child :shakehead All that I can do is hope he will stick around because I know that is what is best for him. Last question(i think) should i be feeding him a different diet to get him use to eating "outside" foods?

[susanw]

Wish I could do a soft release for you, but our pre-release cages are all
full with other animals. What are you feeding him now? We put our squirrels
outside for about a month before we release them, and than leave food out
for them until they stop coming around.

[Mads]

Thank you so much Mads. That makes me feel alot better:crazy . We are finishing up his cage this weekend so he should be ready to get in it on Monday. I am really nervous though, its kind of like loosing a child :shakehead All that I can do is hope he will stick around because I know that is what is best for him. Last question(i think) should i be feeding him a different diet to get him use to eating "outside" foods?


I can certainly understand. I have my Rhode Island Quads now in a release cage outside. They have been outside now for about a month. I feed them all sorts of things I find around the yard, and still keep them supplied with sweet potato, brocoli, rodent blocks, (that they don't eat), sea shells, nuts, I just gave them turnip, they were not impressed....corn on the cob, green lettaces, avacado. I cut down branches of trees, maple with helicopters, and crab apple limbs, and put them in the release cage a few times a week. And of course, pine cones and dandelion greens. Anyway, I always hate to release because of the worry right off after, but, it's so great to see them free! I am lucky in that there are 4 of them. I can't imagine only one. I think that is certainly harder. But, when I released my first group , Fabulous 5, I place there whole nest box about 15 -20 feet up in a tree while they were inside. I blocked the hole as I put it up in the tree. It was a bit nervewrecking as I was climbing a ladder and holding them all inside the box with tools in my pockets, and I figured if I dropped the box, it could break apart....but, it didn't , and it worked fine. I do have a video of the release.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4Czlrw4ah4&feature=channel_page

I will most likely do the same this time. What I liked about doing it like this was I realized that when they first come out of the box, they don't go far...they stay in the same tree for a while and get there bearings down. And then they would all gather back into the box very quickly if anything happens, and the were protected by being up higher in the tree. What worried me about just opening the door for them of the release cage to come and go as they want, I would want to close the door at night because they could end up trapped if another animal entered the cage in the night, like a coon or fisher cat, or something dangerous like that....and so, what if not all of them make it back to the cage , then I would of had to close up the door and some could be stranded up a tree alone.......it's crazy the things that can go through your mind as your trying to decide the best method for release...My FAb 5 stayed in that next box everynight for quite a few months after their release, so it was well worth the risk of climbing the tree and attaching the box.