Tony and Lizzy don't like being outside

[TonyandLizzy]

Some of you may remember Tony and Lizzy, you all helped keep them alive after my daughters rescued them when they were 3 days old.

It has always been our intention to release them but we didn't think Lizzy was ready in the fall so we decided to overwinter them in the storage building that was kept slightly above freezing.

unforseen circumstances prevented us from getting a release cage built early in the spring so they just made it into the release cage about a month ago. The release cage is a design we saw on this forum it is 6 feet by 6 feet by 6 feet with half sectioned off to allow us to enter and close the outside door before opening the inside door.

The release cage is in a fairly secluded area with trees around

The problem is they seem scared all the time and rarely come out of the nest box even after being outside for one month. Tony has adapted slightly better and sometimes can be coaxed out to the other side to bury some walnuts but Lizzy just sits inside the nest box with her head in the doorway with a vacant stare and very little movement. If you offer her a nut she will sometimes take it very slowly and just sit there with it in her mouth. It seems like she is very depressed if that is possable.

Inside Lizzy was a very agressive eater and I often wondered if Tony ever got any of the Henrys blocks which she loved. Since being outside I have rarely ever seen her eat a block, even nuts and treats she doesn't seem interested. Inside she got super fat and has a hard time balanceing on the tree limbs in the release cage. I was hoping to see her become more active in the release cage and slim down before release time but she has become less active and although not gaining weight she is not getting any thinner either.

I am away from home on a business trip and my daughter called to tell me Lizzy is acting funny, she is swinging her head around and then lying on her belly and rubbing her face on her front paws. I won't be home until Thursday night so not much I can do but hope she is ok.

Any tips to get them to adapt to outside life? Any idea about the swinging the head around and rubbing face on her paws?

I apreciate any advice you can give

Thanks
Mark

[Rhapsody]

Some people have to go as far as to give their squirrels to some one else so they can get them ready to go free...... some times the squirrel is just to bonded to their foster mother / parents that they find it hard to WILD UP with them still around and this is when another exp rehabber comes in handy.

I've had to do this for a few rehabbers in the Central Florida area and the longest time it has taken me to get a squirrel that did not want to go to wild up was three months once they came to me.

[Jackie in Tampa]

please tell me they haven't lived in a dark dreary shed since last fall..please!
I hope they have had run time too...otherwise they are mentally & physically challanged.

When you say their release cage is surrounded by trees, I am taking it they are in shade not full sun.
Rubbing her snout can mean alot of things, best to ck her teeth first thing and rule that out right away if possible..
heat stroke, bug bite, thirsty????:dono

do you see other sqs in the area where their RC is?

With older sqs, it does take longer for them to wild up..
but I am not sure where they have been living all year, sounds like and hoping they have been inside with you not in a shed.

Are there domestic pets involved?
Hoping Lizzy is okay and waiting for a thursday update:grouphug

[TonyandLizzy]

Thanks for the comments

Actually shed was a poor choice of words, they have been living in very large insulated steel building in a large 40 cubic foot cage by a window. They were in a smaller enclosed room in the building so we would let them out to play atleast 2 times a day and had build what we called the squirrel highway which gave them a place to climb up close to the ceiling and run around with some perches to hang out.

Inside they had fans that turned on if the room got hot and outside we have been putting a big fan blowing on the cage if the weather is suposed to be hot. The area we selected outside was mainly picked because it has shade during the hottest part of the day. There are 2 squirrel nests in the tree above the release cage. They have 2 big water bottles that are refilled daily although they never drink more than and inch of water from the 8 inch tall bottles.

I am now getting worried they may not be ready to release in time to prepare for winter. We really want to release them near our rural home so we can still give them food just in case they need it.

any further advice would be apreciated.

Mark

[CrazySquirrelLady]

I'd pout too if I was ousted from a fabulous mansion like that.

If they are that unhappy, seems kinder to bring them in for the winter, and try again in the spring.

I hate for them to be miserable ....

Hugs
CSL

[TonyandLizzy]

I am worried about Lizzy

I got home tonight from my business trip and checked on the strange behavior my daughter had described. Lizzy has little or no balance she can't climb on branches but she can climb on the wire cage. She fell off the top of the nest box twice in a matter of a few minutes.

Lizzy has gotten very fat this summer, when it got hot both her and Tony's activity level went way down so Lizzy who was already bigger than Tony got even bigger. When we put the food in the cage Lizzy was always the one to go right to the food and eat. She loved home made Henry's blocks and would eat two first thing and then move on to treats like grapes or orange slices and of coarse any nuts offered.

I notice shortly before they went outside to the release cage Lizzy was having a hard time sitting up on her hind legs to eat so she would lay on her belly and hold the food with her front paws. I just thought she was to fat to sit up and was expecting the extra space in the release cage to help her slim down.

Since being in the release cage we have been practiceing a bit of tough love and trying not to deliver any food to her in or on top of the nest box (where she spends almost all of her time). I thought the exercise getting to the food shelf was badly needed. The food shelf and water bottles are on the other side of the cage from the nest box. To get to the food and water she would need to climb on the tree branches or climb around the edge of the cage. At this point getting to the food and water would have been very dificult for her so she may be hungry and dehydrated.

Tonight we moved one of the water bottles to the other side of the cage where she could drink from the shelf outside the nest box. We also made a wide ramp with tree bark mounted on a board that goes from the shelf outside the nest box to the food shelf. She drank a little but did not act like she was thirsty. Tonight she would not eat blocks, greens, nuts the only thing she took was a small acorn which she removed from the shell and ate most of.

I know most of you are thinking heat stroke because of the hot summer but I am very sure we have kept fans on them anytime the temp got over 90 degrees. The release cage is not in direct sun plus I put a board over the top of the cage area where the nest box is mainly to sheild the nest box from rain but it also blocks sunlight from hitting the top of the nest box where she normally hangs out. I don't think we have had any days over 100 degrees since they went out the the release cage.

I really feal this has more to do with being unhappy with being outside and the fairly drastic change in eating and drinking since she has been outside.

How can I get her to start eating nutritious foods again? It was only in the 60's today so she has a nice cool day but still no intrest in eating.

Friday after work I will see if I can get some video of how she is acting and that may help.

Thanks
Mark