How can you tell if a rehabber is legit?

[Adventurista]

I was doing a little research tonight again, and after a couple of phone calls may have found someone who rehabs squirrels here. Or, as she was described, "someone who raises squirrels." She lives in a different town, but I'm considering calling her because it makes me nervous to have my guy grow up by himself. I want him to be a really successful release---you know, Ivy League, 4.0, all that.

It suddenly occured to me that because there are no licensed rehabbers here (and from what I'm now understanding, it's legal for me to have this squirrel...but maybe not legal to release him? agggghhhh!), that she may not have any qualifications or credentials. What if she keeps him and tries to make him a pet? I'm starting to really like this guy, and I want him to have a good life, not behind bars somewhere where he is bored and sad. Even though I know life in the wild can be rough, I want him to be a squirrel and not a bored little monkey baby in a cage. I have no idea if she would keep him, but the thought scares me.

Any thoughts? Should I just keep doing what I'm doing with this board's help? How important is it for him to have squirrel buddies? Can he be successful?

I need to get more pics--he is growing like a little weed now with the FV! Oh, and I really do think he's a foxer, even though he's so little. Little stinker! :)

[Rhapsody]

Well, one way is for them to be a long time MEMBER of TSB........ :D
(or have their license)

[Rhapsody]

Any thoughts? Should I just keep doing what I'm doing with this board's help?
How important is it for him to have squirrel buddies? Can he be successful?My first Squirrel "MAX" was a SINGLE...... and I did a WONDERFUL job with HIM...... and because of Max and the LOVE he gave ME --I am still loving & helping other Squirrels 5 years later....... :thumbsup

[Adventurista]

My first Squirrel "MAX" was a SINGLE...... and I did a WONDERFUL job with HIM...... and because of Max and the LOVE he gave ME --I am still loving & helping other Squirrels 5 years later....... :thumbsup


Okay, that makes me feel better. We also have the cutest squirrel family here and I'm hoping that they help this baby out in the spring. Release is making me so nervous. I can't do it in the backyard because of our dogs, and I was thinking the side yard, but there are cats/dogs/kids in our neighborhood. The squirrel family torment our dogs, so I think they would be able to teach him about dogs. Three or four of them were from this year, so they are young.

I'm actually thinking of rigging the release cage up in the tree instead of down on the ground. We have a lot of trees in our yard, and there is a big, huge apple tree right outside the bedroom window. It's not far from the ground, but it wouldn't be seen by others that way. Would that even work? Or is it better to have him on the ground?

Part of me wonders if I've gotten this baby into a heap of trouble, more than he had as a one-day pinkie lying on the sidewalk, you know? I've got to come up with a good release plan for him. Little stinker! :Love_Icon

[4skwerlz]

Quiz them about their practices. What formula do they use? At what age do they release? What is the release process? What do they do if a baby is nonreleasable?

Then tell us what they said.

:)

[Rhapsody]

Part of me wonders if I've gotten this baby into a heap of trouble, more than he had as a one-day pinkie lying on the sidewalk, you know?
I've got to come up with a good release plan for him. Little stinker! :Love_IconIf you cant release him when the time comes you can always ask IF there is any one here on TSB that can take him and release him for you.
..... I have taken in a few Squirrels for other members on here and released them.

Here is Trooper - I released him for Ivy
http://mothernaturesrescue.webs.com/visitors.htm

[Adventurista]

If you cant release him when the time comes you can always ask IF there is any one here on TSB that can take him and release him for you.
..... I have taken in a few Squirrels for other members on here and released them.

Here is Trooper - I released him for Ivy
http://mothernaturesrescue.webs.com/visitors.htm


Good to know! I feel really adamant about releasing him (although I guess if there's a problem and he can't, that's different, but so far he seems to be really healthy!). We were visitors this weekend in a lake home, and I was so nervous to take him up with us, hoping they wouldn't freak out. Turns out they rehabbed and released a duck, a porcipine (sp?), a black bear and a cougar. Phew! They loved my little guy.

I like the advice about quizzing her. I'm slowly coming up with several options that could work, and I hope that when the time comes, the right option will present itself. :Love_Icon

[CritterMom]

I think a treehouse release cage is an excellent idea, BTW. Everyone would do it if they could!

Something else to ask: do they automatically release in the fall? Where I am, everything that is around is released in October regardless of whether they are ready because nobody is willing to overwinter...

[Adventurista]

I think a treehouse release cage is an excellent idea, BTW. Everyone would do it if they could!

Something else to ask: do they automatically release in the fall? Where I am, everything that is around is released in October regardless of whether they are ready because nobody is willing to overwinter...

Really? I was wondering if it would increase the chances of a fall if he were released up high. It would be the ideal solution for me to release him!

There is no way he could be released in the fall, actually. He's only four weeks right now. Our weather will turn into official winter within the next four, and we'll have snow on the ground until at least March. :thumbsup

[CritterMom]

Yes, I am in Maine and the weather is similar though not as harsh as yours...and still they dump the little buggers. :shakehead

Wild babies start in the treetops and slowly head down the trunk to the ground. They are much safer in the trees and as long as the cage is very sturdy, a tree release eliminates a lot of ground based predators.

[Nancy in New York]

I just want to comment on your dedication to this little one. You're concerned, you're thinking, you're planning, you're researching, and you're asking all the right questions way in advance. :bowdown
Any little squirrel would be lucky to have been found by you!:Love_Icon

[Adventurista]

I just want to comment on your dedication to this little one. You're concerned, you're thinking, you're planning, you're researching, and you're asking all the right questions way in advance. :bowdown
Any little squirrel would be lucky to have been found by you!:Love_Icon

Oh, thank you Nancy! It really means a lot to me to hear you say that. I want him to have a really great life. I'm very, very dedicated to my animals. This is a whole new thing for me---I feel strongly about providing a forever home for my two dogs--no matter what, and that was difficult at first with our rescue girl last year. But this? I'm certain that his forever home is in the trees, even if that means forever is only a few years of his natural, wild lifespan. In the back of my mind is how to provide "forever" if he can't be in the trees for some reason, but he's doing so well so I don't think a contingency plan is going to be necessary. :thumbsup

[veganhead1]

Adventurista,
I don't know much about squirrels. I just have deck squirrels so I can't answer your question. I just wanted to comment on your post. I sooo agree with you that squirrels, and other animals, should be free and not spend their lives in a cage, or even part of their lives in a cage if it can be helped. I so admire the hard work that some people do to care for these guys and then release them back to where they were intended to be- in the free!!! In the free, that's for me!!! Great post! :thumbsup