Did I make a mistake

[sib]

We took in 2 Douglass babies about 6-8 weeks old...not sure exactly. I nursed them back to health for 1 1/2 weeks and then turned them over to a Wildlife Rehab place. They were eating well about 4-5 cc 4-5 times w day and were also starting to eat squirrel blocks, rodent chow etc. The lady at the Wildlife place has been rehabilitating squirrels for 30 years so I completely trusted her. They live on lots of acerage and release on their property in the woods which is a better place then where we live in a suburban neighborhood. They were found orphaned in a park about 15-20 miles from us. I did not want to release them where they came from without me being able to watch them after release. I was scared to release them here at our house lots of cats and dogs at our house and the neighborhood. I thought this Wildlife place was perfect nestled in the woods, experienced people etc. etc. I just found out through Facebook that these babies were already released yesterday. I am so worried about them and contacted the lady but no response yet. She told me they keep them until they are old enough to know how to build a nest and I would hope know how to find food. I feel I did wrong by them now and I should have kept them till they were older and then released them here or then give them to her next Spring. I didn't want to get more attached to them or have them be attached to me too much living in our home for month on end until I felt they were old enough to release. I am so upset right now, how could she already release them. I got them the end of August and had them 1 1/2 weeks until Sept. 5th. That means she only had them 2 1/2 weeks and already released them when they were still so little. What do you experienced people think???

[CrazySquirrelLady]

i think 2 little still to release. Go to where they are and check on em... maybe take back home and feed em up. sorry u tried to do good

[sib]

She released them on her property last weekend I found out today. She said she seen one this morning and they are hanging around her yard. She has been doing squirrel rescue for 30 years you would think she knows what she is doing???I am very upset but have not talked to her which I plan on doing tomorrow.
Sib

[Rhapsody]

If they were 12-14 weeks old then they are old enough to be released..... and with them being on her property they are close by for the wildlife lady to help feed if and when needed, up to 30 days after release --I think the squirrels will be OK!!

[CrazySquirrelLady]

guess they are gonna be ok then! I thought they were supposed to be several months old like 4-5 months old... wrong again! :D

[Jackie in Tampa]

not me..I never release before 4 months old..and prefer 5 months.
neither does momma sq...
I totally dis agree...sorry.
I am an avid sq watcher..of course maybe douglas sqs are different..:dono
sounds like she ran outta something, caging food patience or good common sense..
jmho.
sorry you are feeling sad..hoping they will be fine due to being released near her home, hoping she suppliments her releases with food and nest boxes..
ugh..
hoping someone with Douglas sq knowledge comes on..
thank you for doing the best you knew..:Love_Icon

[Anne]

Please don't beat yourself up over this issue, you did what you thought was best for the little ones. It is hard to know what and how many questions to ask a rehabber when your heart is being squeezed so hard. Will have to research Douglas Squirrels, they may have different needs than our gray squirrels we are so familiar with here. You just wanted your babies safe and to have a happy future. Then maybe she has confused you with someone else how brought her little ones. :grouphug :grouphug :grouphug

[island rehabber]

If they were 12-14 weeks old then they are old enough to be released..... and with them being on her property they are close by for the wildlife lady to help feed if and when needed, up to 30 days after release --I think the squirrels will be OK!!
:thumbsup I release most of my squirrels at 12-14 wks old. I don't find them dead, they don't come crawling back starved, they don't get beat up. (I go to the release site every day for the first 2 wks after release and every other day for the next several months -- believe me, if these kids were too young and getting into trouble and/or dying, I would SEE it.) WA state has mild weather.....my guess is they will be fine.....especially since, like mine, they will be in a sanctuary setting presumably without cars, cats and dogs to worry about. It's the knowledge and wariness of predators that we worry about with very young squirrels.....the right kind of safe release site eliminates that worry.

[Nancy in New York]

They all develop/mature differently. Just like human babies, some can read by the age of 1 some can't even at 5.
They walk later, earlier...potty train differently, etc.
There are some that aren't emotionally mature, some that cannot crack nuts, some that want to stick around.
I have had some still on formula at 5 months.
I have had very small fiesty 4 month old squirrels that are better candidates than some 6 month olds.
They are all individual, and to me, the longer you can keep them, the better. Their instincts are sharper, their fur is thicker, and they
want to go, they are not forced.
If they are not pacing the cage to get out, (most of the pacing is because they want OUT of the cage....BUT NOT out into the wild).
Some say that it depends on the size, not me.
If size was a criteria, there would be no red squirrels ever released. :D
Just observe nature and watch how many babies you see roaming around, because I don't.:shakehead
When I first joined the board, it was because of a problem with one of my releases, who had babies. I posted a picture of her with her four Spring/Summer babies....you couldn't tell the difference between her and them....:rotfl , and this photo was of their first outing out of the nest box and on the ground at 6 months old.:D (She was a strict mama....:) )

Edit: Just one more thing I would like to add. These little ones that come to us in the first place, are already at a disadvantage.
They have no mom to teach them all the things that we cannot.
Why would we want to shove them out sooner than their own mothers would?