New mother of 4 Need advice Release or Keep?

[heidiann]

Hello I'm heidiann. I love wild animals and never pass up an opportunity to get my hands on one. I own 6 ducks and 2 geese and one cat. I live on a small private pond and love catching, observing with my children and then releasing anything I can catch. Snakes, mice,snapping turtles,cawfish,tadpoles, bullfrogs,possums, and fallen birdies were my only conquests till now. I gathered 4 young squirrels 2 on Friday. A wood pile was being moved and they were scared and mother was no where to be found. My intent was to catch, show my kids and release but I fear they may not survive since I live in Massachusetts and I'm afraid the squirrels around here are already making preparations. I don't know if they're old enough to do it without there mother. I am more than willing to keep them for the winter if that's the most humane thing to do. They have all there fur and are about 6 inches long. I have no idea how old they are. .Caring for them seems pretty easy and I have them in a roomy cage with logs and a barbie doll tent lol. They like it. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks, Heidi

[heidiann]

Sorry about the pictue. I cant figure out how to resize it.

[GhosTS]

He looks like around 8 weeks old.What do you feed him.Is he getting any milk.He should get milk about 2-3 times a day at this age.The milk should be Esbillac Puppy milk formula.Or Fox Valley formula.No other products must be given.He might refuse it.At this age, he is starting to wean.And he should be given leafy greens like Kale and broccolli, cauliflower, sweet potatoe, some fruit , nuts.( Peanuts and sunflower seeds is a big NO NO ).and a bit of corn. ( just a bit ).Now first tell me, what is he eating.Then we'll go to the releasing question.

[Somebody's Mother]

there is a site called photobucket.com that you can upload your photos to and then resize them. you do have to create an account but it is free.
maybe this will help you determine the age.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g314/imdeebee/ages.jpg

[ebaytoad]

Hi Heidiann,
I am also in Massachusetts, but my Sweetypie, was left for dead...these people here on this board gave me the courage to save her little life....
I am also worried about the release but I figure I will wing it so to speak.
Cindy

[heidiann]

Thank you all for your replys. I agree, they look like 8 weeks according to the pistures. I guess I've been giving them the wrong food. I had no idea they'd be still nursing. I gave them water acorns and trail mix to see what they liked. The only seeem to be eating the almonds and acorns. Yikes I gotta get the peanuts out of there. Why is this such a big no no.:thankyou Heidi

[heidiann]

Hi Cindy, where are you in MA. I'm in bellingham. Heidi

[Mrs. Jack]

I know, the peanut thing- they're in every 'critter' mix in the store, right? but peanuts contain oils that are bad for the squirrel, can affect their liver (this right guys?) when they build up. For an adult squirrel, fine for a limited treat, but not a full part of their diet. For a young'un nope.. some of them might eat nothing else and that would be bad.

[heidiann]

:thankyou Thank you Mrs. Jack. Do you think they'd be ok without the milk since they seem to be used to eating nuts already?:dono

[Mrs. Jack]

well, imo, Ghosts is one of the best squirrel rehabbers here, so I'd take whatever advice he gives to heart. :)

[heidiann]

thanks I will. I thought feeding these little critters would be easy but I guess not so much. I'm so thankful I found this site. I want to do what's best for my new freinds. Do you or anyone else have any advice on handling them. Is it ok to hod/cuddle them. I don't want to traumatize them more than they already are, but I would like to work on taming them somewhat if there going to be with me for a while. I've been trying to hold them for short periods of time throughout the day to get them accustomed to human touch. Some are more docile about it than others. One screams and growls a lot. I try to give him more space. Boy are my hands bit and tore up. It's worth it to me though to be so close to such a beautiful wild creature.

[thundersquirrel]

hello heidiann

we call it "wintering over" when you keep a squirrel for the winter and release in the spring. i think you could still release these guys this fall, but you'd need certain things.

we have squirrels around the same age who are about to go into their pre-release cage outside. if you were able to find/make a double mesh cage that's around 2 X 2 X 4 (four feet tall) then you could do it.

you'd want to put the cage outside, with lots of leaves at the bottom and a nesting box hanging at the top of the cage. branches for climbing and nuts are also good. i'd say keep them inside for one or two more weeks, and make sure they can eat hard nuts if you crack the shell just a little bit. put paper towel on the cage bottom and make sure they bring it up to their nesting box.

watch to make sure they're lively, jumpy, and avoid your touch. if you offer them water in a syringe, they should lick instead of suck. after putting them outside, keep them in the cage for a few weeks. that way they'll be used to the weather and the cold, their winter fur will grow in, and they'll be safe from harm inside their cage (and also, if you think they're unfit you can bring them back in and winter over).

once they can crack nuts and seeds open on their own and seem fully able to jump, climb, nest, and sight danger, you can open up the cage but leave it outside for them. this way they have a home to come back to all winter, and you can continue putting food out for them.

wintering squirrels over is a tricky process. you wouldn't want to tame them. they need a large cage. it's been done before, but you gotta follow the rules, which can be really hard when they're so cute. i know you want to hold them, but if you plan on setting them free, you have to resist, and encourage that angry behavior. i find that squirrels tend to find a balance even when you don't hold them. if you just let them be, they start to think hey, that lady brings us yummy food and doesn't mess with us, she can't be all bad.

let me know what you think. there's a lot more i can tell you about releasing them this fall, and i assure you it can be done. it's up to you. ;)

here's some pics of our setup, inside and outside.

[heidiann]

Thank you Thundersquirrel. That was very helpful information. My indoor cage is the same as yours right now. I'll have to work on something for the outside if that's what I decide to do. I have a little time to figue it out. I'd love to pick your brain on something else. I just talked to my mother in law today and she told me that she thinks the mother has been looking for them. She said that one keeps going near the capture area and looking around. I was thinking about taking them there in their cage and watching to see if she comes. A stakeout so to speak. If she did I would open the cage and let nature take it's course (hopefully). But do you think it's not worth the risk of them running off and possibly scattering or not meeting up with her. I just feel so bad that she could be looking for them. What do you think. Thanks again:) Heidi

[thundersquirrel]

i'd advise you to look for their nest first. if the nest is still intact, then sure, they can go back if mom keeps looking for them. but if the nest is gone, i wouldn't risk it. at their age, they need someplace to go to every night, and i doubt mom will make a new nest quickly enough to keep them together before night comes.

you could take them there anyway, though. perhaps just to see how mom reacts....after a certain amount of time without nursing she'll go back into her menstrual cycle, at which point it will be too late and she'll forget about her babies. it's a big risk, so i wouldn't decide too hastily.

making a cage is fairly simple, but requires the right supplies and tools. we had a sunny free day set aside for making our cage out on the lawn. after you make the frame out of wood (you can buy the pieces from a lumber mill, i believe ours are 2x2 inches thick) you get a staple gun with thick staples and staple sheets of mesh to the inside and outside of the frame. it needs two layers of mesh so that raccoons can't pull off the squirrels' legs. we have a small door that we can get through to put food in, but when we release we open up a short PVC pipe that's about midway up the cage. that way big critters can't get into the cage and the squirrels can come back.

i'm telling you because you'll need a cage like that no matter when you decide to release them. if you don't want to make one, you can look for a big cage and just add a frame and one more layer of mesh.

let me know if you have any questions. i'm young but i've been through the basics a lot of times. ;)

[island rehabber]

Good job, TS, describing the "wintering over" process. It should be one of our Quick Links, in my opinion. You've covered all the basics -- I have nothing to add except that in my opinion and many many other rehabbers, 'wintering over' is the only way to release a squirrel who was either born late, and is younger than most fall squirrels around -- or who can't be released for whatever reason until late in the year (Thanksgiving and later). Just turning them out in the cold is inhuman and irresponsible -- but keeping them in your house in a small cage (or even a bigger cage sometimes) can be pretty unbearable for squirrels AND humans. :)

[heidiann]

TS, Thank you once again. I don't plan to mess with the mother situation after reading your post even though it breaks my heart. Since they were found under a woodpile, that leads me to believe that that is where there nest was. They didn't seem to want to leave it.One ran out but only a few feet away and hid behind a stump. The woodpile has been dismantled so I think they WOULD be in danger of being without a home. Your cage is great and I have almost all the supplys except the mesh. I'm pretty handy so I should be able to manage.
Island Rehabber I agree that TS is a wealth of knowledge. You may be young TS but seem to know as much if not more than anyone on this site and you are caring enough to share your knowledge with others.:bowdown I appreciate that very much and have no problem taking the wise advice of someone more experienced than me no matter what the age. Just to reassure you, Island Rehabber, I have no intention of keeping these ssquirrels as pets. Never did. I'm here to learn to do the best thing for them. I am so glad I've found you all. Heidi:peace

[thundersquirrel]

i'm glad you found us, heidi! your squirrels are gonna live happy lives, we just gotta get em there. ;) thanks for the compliments, but i must say that a lot of the detailed stuff i know comes from this board. :bowdown