Needs a home

[ksudiver]

I have a 4 month old red fox squirrel that is need of a home. He is not able for release since he's been bottle fed. We love this little guy so much but do not have time for him to train, teach manner, and room to play ect.. he is great to be held and played with. If you or know of anyone who can help please PM or just call me 785-317-2028. I live in Lenexa,ks and would be willing to drive a distance to get him to a good home.

[Jackie in Tampa]

most recued sqs are assisted with feeding...why would that stop his release?
TSB will of course be happy to help...
We love pics, can you post some:Love_Icon
I am sending PM to a member a few hours away...

[ksudiver]

release would of course be great! i didn't realize it would be an option. right now he is just getting kind of aggressive and I figured it was due to not have a whole house to roam free and pent up energy. does neutering help? we would love to keep him but he needs a personality change and we as owners need training as well on how to do this.

[Jackie in Tampa]

release would of course be great! i didn't realize it would be an option. right now he is just getting kind of aggressive and I figured it was due to not have a whole house to roam free and pent up energy. does neutering help? we would love to keep him but he needs a personality change and we as owners need training as well on how to do this.
Can you tell us about you and your sq?
Did you find him?
What formula did you use and what is his NOW diet?
How far can you drive?
Talking to several peeps to find fast help...
most sqs do get aggressive...they do not ALL make good pets, and nuetering does not help...
the wild is in them for a zillion years.
Please telll us his story and his name:Love_Icon

[rusty's mom]

Sounds to me like he's ready to be what he was born to be . If there isn't a physical reason that he can't provide for himself then he is telling you in the only way he can thank you but I need to move on.

[stepnstone]

I agree with rusty's mom but please don't misunderstand what 's being said. One must not just let them go, releasing a captive squirrel requires a process that one must make to ensure it's survival in the wild.

[Best Life]

AGREED. Any squirrel that may be releaseable still needs to go through the steps and PROCESS so he will survive and be successful out there. I think Jackie is looking for someone right now to assist asap.

Meanwhile, PICTURES? STORY? Would love to see pics of the little guy and hear his story. The question about diet is very important because it can give a rehabber more information as to his general health at this particular age, and if he might need a particular supplement or change to make sure he is in top form. (gotta look good for the girlies, ya know?)

[Crabbyolebroad]

I can help, if needed...is there a reason he can't be released? Skittles is blind in one eye and cannot climb due to neuro issues, so we are raising him...or is he raising us?

[UDoWhat]

:jump How wonderful!!!!!

[ksudiver]

his name is cypress and we raised him from about 3 weeks of age (barely had incisors in). we fed him Fox valley squirrel formula until he could chew Missouri Rodent blocks and slowly added vegetables (table of recommended fruits and veggies in nutrition section). Now he is eating about 6 rodent blocks, 4 slices of cucumbers, cherry tomato a day with the occational apple slice. We are having troubles with him biting now. It isn't hard and mean, you can tell he is just playing but he doesn't know limits (despite 'training' of water bottle ect.)
He lives in a two tier ferret tower that is 5 ft tall and 3 ft wide that he spends my work day in. Then he plays with me for about an hour a night. Would his aggression be correlated to his pent up energy?
It was mentioned that neutering doesn't help. Anyone have more opinion on this? And IF we do neuter, would that 100% prevent him from being release?

P.S- picture to come after someone tells me how to upload :)

[astra]

hmmm.... :) :thinking neutering does not help with biting, but it will make him unreleasable.
Hormones is a very important factor in what gives all critters (including humans) their personality. Watch and observe neutered dogs and cats - usually, they become much more mellow in many ways. For a wild, especially, prey animal to be so mellow is a death sentence.
Even if he loses only a degree of a normal squirrel temperament (speed, aggression when needed, feistiness etc etc), that will be enough to make him vulnerable in the wild

In the wild they need to be able to be aggressive, feisty, reacting fast, extremely alert etc etc etc. If a squirrel loses all those qualities (and he will lose some of them completely and some to a considerable degree), he will be bullied easily, he can be hurt (often fatally) during aggressive mating seasons, he won't have enough "guts" to stand up to bullies fighting for territory and food, he will be an easy prey because all of his reflexes will be slowed down and sort of mellowed out...
A neutered squirrel is not a releasable material, really, because it's no longer fully wild squirrel.
It's similar to declawing a cat and then letting it out on the streets to fend for itself...
Besides, hormones are important in many other ways. Hormone problems (or their lack when certain organs are removed due to illnesses) often directly and indirectly lead to other health problems, often affecting immune system. A wild squirrel needs a strong immune system, or it will succumb to one or all of the many parasites and illnesses so common among them.
Moreover, animals often sense when another animal is ill, not well or different and/or inferior in some way. Not only do they tend to bully such "inferior" animals, but also such "inferior" animals can become a pariah...

But neutering doesn't help with biting and all that, because he is still a squirrel and that's what squirrels tend to do when they feel upset, in discomfort, in pain, antsy, threatened, frightened, spooked or... just because they are squirrels. They are born to chew, that's why their teeth are constantly growing. Chewing and biting is part of their nature of being squirrels.

As for his time outside of the cage... :thinking depending on their temperament one hour might be ok for some and not enough for others. You could try and experiment by increasing his outside the cage time and see if it makes a difference, but in order to assess that more or less accurately you might have to do it at least for a month or longer....

Sometimes, it's just their personality: some are more playful and energetic than others.:)

A lot of squirrel owners use gloves when playing with their squirrels to avoid accidental bites and scratches.:)

[astra]

P.S- picture to come after someone tells me how to upload :)
when you open to type a new post, scroll down: you will see "Manage Attachments" button. Click on it: it will open a box that will allow you to browse for your photo files and upload them.

Hope, this helps.:)

Also, a lot of people use photobucket and use that to post their photos.

Try everything - looking forward to seeing Cypress (cool name, by the way). Why Cypress?

[astra]

there is something else I recalled about neutering squirrels: some of them start chewing the spot, never allowing it to heal. I remember reading that one flyer had to be euthanized because of that: he never stopped chewing on it, it got inflamed, infected etc etc etc....

[Rescue04]

Nipping squirrels can be an issue.....our big boy - leroy has been with us for 2 1/2 years. He is a NR, due to his injuries, but has always been gentle and loving to us, except about 2 times a year - mating season. He gets real nippy and we limit our contact with him. As for training a squirrel - never tried, nor will I - they are wild animals.

Remember this too......just because he is tame to you, does not mean he will take to others, they are usually one person animals - if you are lucky a family one......but as I and others on this board have found out, once they go from one home to another - based on age things can change real quick. This can be a good thing though if they are to eventually be released.

As for neutering - Never do it to a squirrel........cause god forbid they ever get loose - they are going to have a hard enough time adjusting if they do not come back home! They need all the help they can at that point!

[Crabbyolebroad]

The energy could be an issue...One of my wilds would jump all around the cage and would bit if you were even trying to feed him. Once he was released a few months later, I can now pet him on his head and hand feed him and then he runs back to his squirrely life. I wouldn't dare try to pick him up and am always on guard with him cause he did bite me once...that was all I needed.

Now Skittles on the other hand we have had since before his eyes were open. He is blind in one eye and possibly deaf and he cannot climb more than a few feet because he cannot figure out how to get down...We built an outdoor cage for him that he can safely spend time in and talk to other squirrels and he has a 5 ft x 3 foot cage in the house. He is neutered as per the vet's recommendations, because he is nonreleasable, and seems to be doing fine. I think because he had a head injury, he doesn't act like a normal squirrel.

Is it possible you can build an outdoor cage for him to spend more time in? You would need to build an outdoor cage anyway if you plan to release him.

[Wonkawillie]

Every squirrel I have raised has always become a biter right around the time they are old enough for release. Today, I got a visit from my boy squirrel that was fully released a few weeks ago. I was seeing him every evening for about 10 days and then I did not see him for 5 days in a row. He came to me while I was sitting at the pool. he was very happy to find me, and wanted to be with me but was biting me like crazy. latched on and just biting everywhere. Hard bites with a few that drew blood. Not even in an agressive way, but more like he could not get enough of me. Squirrels are wild creatures and if they have no physical probems, they can be released to live a squirrel life.
I love Astra's post about the hormones and neutering. Excellent post. I would not neuter him. Consider release. There are some good posts and good advice about release here in this board. Maybe if you started now ( with the release process), he could be free in about a month. He would be so happy!

[ksudiver]

what would be the steps for release? I live in an apartment I rent with a small patio so building an outdoor cage is not an option. I have been doing behavioral training with him like playing more outside the cage, enriching toys that require him to 'forage', rewarding good behavior with his favorite food and it all seems to all be helping with his 'calmness'. i suppose i'm in denial that there is no good way to 'train' a squirrel when other wild animals can be trained, but i am a first time squirrel momma :( the nitty gritty is: I can't have an aggressive animal and i'm not sure if i have the resources/knowledge for successful release....I"m reallly banking on the training, i love this little guy.

[SammysMom]

Maybe someone experienced from on here could release him for you? If that is a dog in the background of the photo he will need to learn about predators before release too. He is a beautiful little guy!

[astra]

what a precious little foxer!!!!!!!!:) :Love_Icon
Perhaps, we could try looking for someone close to you?... :thinking
But I think, there is some time to figure something out - he looks a bit young to be released right now.

And yes, if that's a dog, don't let him get used to dogs/cats because that will make him unreleasable.
They need to develop their instinctive natural fear of predators.
If he grows up around dogs/cats, especially, if he sees you interact with dogs/cats "peacefully", he'll learn they are ok. And if released, he will get attacked by one because he won't know to run away. Too many of them get severely and often fatally injured by dogs and cats.
In the wild squirrels learn everything from their mommas: whom to be afraid of and who are ok etc. Since you are his momma:) , he will be taking cues from you.
But, boy, is he precious!!!!:Love_Icon

[jo_schmoe]

WOW....what a beautiful foxer!
He looks very healthy and happy.
As far as the biting goes...sounds to me like he is playing like any normal squirrel does at his age.
Young squirrels spend a great deal of time playing with their littermates and mother. There does come a time when mom will put a stop to it. Now understand that to your squirrel....your hands are like the mom. ( the rest of you is just a tree) Everything comes from your hands so to him....thats mom. He's too young to be in rut. If he is wrestling with your hands and nipping you...its because he is only doing what is natural to him. You can try a few things that worked with our non releasable foxer. When he gets to playing to rough....you can try "meeping" him. Baby Jude would grab my hands and wrap himself around and bite my fingers....not aggresively....just playing. When he got too rough I would make a loud MEEP sound ( like a mother squirrel ) and he learned that that meant he was too rough. This worked most of the time....but I did have to scruff him just once. This is what a mother squirrel would do in the wild when babies get out of hand. Momma squirrels don't put up with much...and they will (sometimes violently) make sure the baby knows whos boss. Remember...you are the momma squirrel now...so its up to you to teach him his boundries.
If you have trouble finding him a home....let me know. Im not that close....but I could meet you someplace in the middle and see if we could get this guy releasable.
Now don't take this wrong but the cage sounds too small. He is probably so filled up with energy that when he sees you ( mom ) he is so excited and just wants to play play play. LOL. Also....try playing only with stuffies when you play with him. He will learn to beat the crap out of his buddy instead of your hands.

[ksudiver]

yes he was raised around the dog for about 3 months until the dog passed from age. He never liked him though so the fear of dogs is still solid :) thank you for the 'meeping' advice. I will certainly try this and keep you all posted as to my abilities to handle him.

[BeeFernandez22]

I am in St. Louis, MO and could do a soft release for you if he is deemed releaseable. Not sure where you are in Kansas so I don't know how far away we are talking.

[Crabbyolebroad]

Yeah a stuffed animal would be good too...something small...one of my wilds LOVED to beat on a stuffed slipper dog to from the dollar store! Skittles too, has Lambie he beats up on...It's hilarious to watch him drag Lambie out of his sleeping cube and jump on him.

If i can help with release or such, just let me know.