Need a rehabber near Sanford, Lake Mary, Orlando - Central Florida area!

[Lanatwo]

Hi there! I'm new to the board. :) I have a wonderful, delightful squirrel who goes by many names. She is officially Elspeth, The Knight-Errant but also goes by Solid Squirrel, Babysquirt, and Horrible. She is hilarious and I love her.

She is an eastern grey squirrel and is about 6 months old now. She came to me from a neighbor who found her on the ground near my mom's house. I took her to the vet to ask about rehabbers in the area and make sure she was okay (she had open eyes and was rather large, but had no fear of me.) besides being shrimpy for her age, which the vet put at a little over a month and a half, and being very dehydrated, she was fine. When I asked about rehabbers, I found out that both of the well-known central florida squirrel and bird ladies had died very recently. :( So very sad, especially since I remember my mother and I taking countless small creatures to these ladies when I was a child.

With no other rehabbers around I took on the task of keeping this baby alive. I researched for many hours and lost many more hours of sleep feeding Esibilac to the tiny grey monster that I fell in love with. It was totally worth it though! Now she is a healthy, happy squirrel with tons of energy and many hilarious antics.

I want what is best for her, and I think she is telling me that she wants to be a wild squirrel. She loves to play with me, and she's getting rougher. She has never bitten me, but she has bitten others - my roommate did not appreciate it, for sure. I think you guys call this 'wilding up' and I think it's time to make her wish come true, even though I will miss her very much.

The problem is that I live in an apartment near a busy road with a huge feral cat community and a ton of raptors. This is no place for a squirrel! I have nowhere to do a soft release - my mom has very talented outdoor hunting cats and her other neighbor HATES squirrels because they eat her wild bird food and 'scare off songbirds'. She hates my mom's cats too, for the same reason. I have nowhere safe to release my baby. :(

This is where I implore people for help! I need someone who is willing to take in my Ellie and soft-release her. I'll help in any way I can and I would be willing to make a long drive.

Thanks for reading, any help is appreciated!

[Lanatwo]

I think I may have posted this is the wrong place. Should this be moved to the non-life threatening help needed forum?

[lilbitsquirrely]

:Welcome :Welcome :Welcome Someone will probably bump this If it needs to be.But I'm so glad you found us.I hope you can post pictures of your little Girl Squirrel.:thumbsup She sounds like she is quit the character.:wahoo :wahoo

[Rescue04]

Hey there, we are nearby and can help. Send us a message. There is still 3 rehabbers in our area - liscenced. We volunteer with The Haven out of altamonte springs. Mary Jane runs it - she has kind of picked up since the "bird ladies" passed. I do not know the others, but you can contact us and we will help where we can.

[Rescue04]

Oh and as for the biting thing, squirrels tend to bond to potentially only one person. Thankfully our Leroy is pretty friendly to all of our family, although he teases our dog alot!

[Lanatwo]

Just wanted to update that Anne in Jax has my Ell and is working on a soft-release with her. :) Diane (Starfairy) was awesome and drove her up there for me when she visited her sister on Sunday! I miss her SO much but I know that she is in wonderful hands and that she will really enjoy being a wild squirrel!

I'd still love to post some pictures of my monster. :) I'm sure people won't mind, right? I have some really hilarious videos of her, haha.

[Lanatwo]

Hey there, we are nearby and can help. Send us a message. There is still 3 rehabbers in our area - liscenced. We volunteer with The Haven out of altamonte springs. Mary Jane runs it - she has kind of picked up since the "bird ladies" passed. I do not know the others, but you can contact us and we will help where we can.

I would love to help you guys out in any way I can. I was always the person in the neighborhood that everyone brought orphaned/injured/etc. wildlife to and I fell in love with the fuzzers. :) So I'd be happy to volunteer - donate some time or money or driving, or whatever! You let me know, okay? You guys are saints for helping these babies and stepping up to the need! :bowdown

[Jackie in Tampa]

Anne:bowdown Starfairy:bowdown
Lanatwo and Elle:Love_Icon

[Rescue04]

You can visit www.thehaven.org this is her web site with all the contact info. She usually puts up things she needs and stuff for volunteers. My wife and her mother have been working with her for 15+ years. We started out by getting calls and bringing animals to her, then 4 years ago we starte taking in babies as she was getting overwhelmed. We started with baby squirrels, and it runs year round for us......squirrels in the fall and opossums in the spring. We usually take in 30+ squirrels & 8-12 opossums a season. This year she has been over run, and has mor volunteers this year taking babies - to give some of the rest of us a break!

[Lanatwo]

You can visit www.thehaven.org this is her web site with all the contact info. She usually puts up things she needs and stuff for volunteers. My wife and her mother have been working with her for 15+ years. We started out by getting calls and bringing animals to her, then 4 years ago we starte taking in babies as she was getting overwhelmed. We started with baby squirrels, and it runs year round for us......squirrels in the fall and opossums in the spring. We usually take in 30+ squirrels & 8-12 opossums a season. This year she has been over run, and has mor volunteers this year taking babies - to give some of the rest of us a break!

She sounds like a wonderful person! Bless you all for all your efforts. :) It makes my heart feel good that there are others who care about all the fuzzers like I do! I sent an email to the contact address last night and am waiting to hear back. See you soon, lol!

[Rescue04]

Sorry, I gave you the wrong link.......here is the correct one: http://www.havenonline.org/

[momma2boo]

Hi there! I'm new to the board. :) I have a wonderful, delightful squirrel who goes by many names. She is officially Elspeth, The Knight-Errant but also goes by Solid Squirrel, Babysquirt, and Horrible. She is hilarious and I love her.

She is an eastern grey squirrel and is about 6 months old now. She came to me from a neighbor who found her on the ground near my mom's house. I took her to the vet to ask about rehabbers in the area and make sure she was okay (she had open eyes and was rather large, but had no fear of me.) besides being shrimpy for her age, which the vet put at a little over a month and a half, and being very dehydrated, she was fine. When I asked about rehabbers, I found out that both of the well-known central florida squirrel and bird ladies had died very recently. :( So very sad, especially since I remember my mother and I taking countless small creatures to these ladies when I was a child.

With no other rehabbers around I took on the task of keeping this baby alive. I researched for many hours and lost many more hours of sleep feeding Esibilac to the tiny grey monster that I fell in love with. It was totally worth it though! Now she is a healthy, happy squirrel with tons of energy and many hilarious antics.

I want what is best for her, and I think she is telling me that she wants to be a wild squirrel. She loves to play with me, and she's getting rougher. She has never bitten me, but she has bitten others - my roommate did not appreciate it, for sure. I think you guys call this 'wilding up' and I think it's time to make her wish come true, even though I will miss her very much.

The problem is that I live in an apartment near a busy road with a huge feral cat community and a ton of raptors. This is no place for a squirrel! I have nowhere to do a soft release - my mom has very talented outdoor hunting cats and her other neighbor HATES squirrels because they eat her wild bird food and 'scare off songbirds'. She hates my mom's cats too, for the same reason. I have nowhere safe to release my baby. :(

This is where I implore people for help! I need someone who is willing to take in my Ellie and soft-release her. I'll help in any way I can and I would be willing to make a long drive.

Thanks for reading, any help is appreciated!

I was familiar with "the bird lady". It was she who told me about a mother and daughter (Michelle and Jackie) who were rehabbers. The daughter (Michelle Anthony) lives in New Smyrna Beach and has over 5 acres of property to release on. She was the one who taught me how to raise baby sqs.

If you are interested in contacting her PM me. I am sure she would release your baby on her property.

Julie

[bctb107]

Did you find your little Girl Squirrel :thinking