wife wants squirrels out of house

[TonyandLizzy]

When we found Tony and Lizzy on Memorial Day they were around 3 to 5 days old, the plan was simple save them from certain death, raise them until they were old enough to survive on their own and release them. With the help of SB members we have got them to 19 weeks old now. Now we have several problems first I do not feel like they are ready to be on their own for these reasons. 1. They have always been way behind on weight compaired to other foxers I have seen on SB. 2. They still have not weened some times they do not want any FV other times they drink a huge amount, Tony tonight had 39ml. 3. I want to release them together and Lizzy has always been 3 or 4 weeks behind Tony as far as skills like climbing. She does ok at climbing now but she does not have good judgement on leaps, she has had a few big falls trying to make the same leaps as Tony. Even today I am afraid Lizzy would not do well if released.

Now winter is basically here and Nebraska winters can be brutal, often sub zero temps and windy so wind chills of -20 are not uncommon.

My wife has not been thrilled about the rescue from the beginning, we were finally able to convince her to let them in the basement when the temps outside got really hot this summer. Now she wants them out of the house and the house is her domain so they will have to go to my domain a large out building. It has a room that is fairly well insulated with a south facing window so they can finally get some sunlight. The plan is to try to keep the room above 32 degrees, I also have some ideas about adding a tiny amount of heat to the nest box. On sunny days they should be able to warm up in the sunlight.

Does anybody think I should just release them, even if they were ready I think it is to late now. If they would stay close I could heat their nestbox and continue feeding them, but I am afraid they would disappear and not be prepaired to deal with winter.

If I can keep the out building room above 32 degrees will they be ok?

It would break my daughters hearts if they got sick and didn't survive till spring. We have invested a huge amount of time and money in bringing them this far. I don't want to blow it now, but also need to keep the wife atleast somewhat happy. She wants them released but I am not going to do that unless I get some strong reassurance from SB members that they would survive. If they are out of the house she will back off on the release issue.

Please I really need some advice here!

Thanks

[island rehabber]

The most important issue with timing isn't only temps outside: it's leaves on the trees. Squirrels need green leaves in order to properly weave their dreys (nests) and line them warmly. You can release your guys so long as there are GREEN leaves on the maples,oaks, etc.....Not sure when that would be in Nebraska, but you get the idea. If you can set up a little trap door for them to go from outside back into your building there if they want to, that would be a 'soft release' and truly ideal for squirrels. :thumbsup

[Pierre]

If you're able to make them a release cage in your outbuilding for the winter, that would be ideal. The longer you can help them the better at this age and in your cold climate. They will be fine and they will have a much better chance once free if you can overwinter them.

[astra]

If you're able to make them a release cage in your outbuilding for the winter, that would be ideal. The longer you can help them the better at this age and in your cold climate. They will be fine and they will have a much better chance once free if you can overwinter them.
yes, sounds like "your domain" is the answer. If Lizzy as behind as you described, she is not ready. There have been squirrels here with issues similar to Lizzy's and they were kept until they overcame their issues. Some people would do exercises-games to help such squirrels develop good jumping skills, leap depth assessment etc etc. You could post this question as a separate thread and, I am sure, people will share.

But yes, if she is a bit behind and you are up north, it might be better if you overwinter them. Also, releasing together raises their chances of survival, so it might be best to wait till Lizzy catches up with Tony to be released together.