Naughy little demons!!

[daniellenc]

Niko and Miranda will be 11 weeks here Wednesday and are getting very mischievous on me. I let them out 2-3 times a day for supervised play ranging from 30 minutes to an hour, but getting them back in has become quite the circus:rotfl This morning both could not be lured in with a nut, by the time I could finally get one back in the other was jumping right back out, and both bit the living crap out of me when I tried to catch them- I have one bloody knuckle and a bloody thumb:D So can anyone recommend decent gloves to use for these independent monsters cause I am afraid I may drop them and accidently injure them.

[Foamy the squirrel]

Niko and Miranda will be 11 weeks here Wednesday and are getting very mischievous on me. I let them out 2-3 times a day for supervised play ranging from 30 minutes to an hour, but getting them back in has become quite the circus:rotfl This morning both could not be lured in with a nut, by the time I could finally get one back in the other was jumping right back out, and both bit the living crap out of me when I tried to catch them- I have one bloody knuckle and a bloody thumb:D So can anyone recommend decent gloves to use for these independent monsters cause I am afraid I may drop them and accidently injure them.
Welders glovEs

[SammysMom]

Strangely for us those stupid stretchy knitted ones from someplace like Walgreens work to deter the little devil. I do occasionally used leather work gloves too but I like the dexterity of the knitted ones in most situations.

[stepnstone]

independent monsters! :eek:
How can you say that about such fuzzy cuteness... :jump

[daniellenc]

Russel they are bad, lol I can't even use the little doors they dive bomb my hands and chew me like a sugar snap pea. They are lucky they are cute! I will try knitted gloves I have a few pairs of those, but I was looking for protection from those teefs. They knew I was trying to get them back in too and smirked at me like a defiant toddler, jumped off my head multiple times, and ran circles around me. I finally gave up, got my computer, and just let them tire themselves out. Eventually they decided it was nap time and crawled back in, but in a pinch I need some gloves to grab them with:D

[island rehabber]

daniellenc, are you raising these guys for release? Because if you are, there is no reason to let them out at all.

I've been holding my tongue on this one for months and months, but here's my opinion: unless there is some reason why you want to keep a squirrel forever and let it run all over your house and do what squirrels do, out-of-cage time is unnecessary and potentially dangerous.

Yes, squirrels get antsy and cage-crazy by the time they are 12-14-16 weeks old. THAT'S why it's time to start the soft release process, in an outdoor enclosure, NOT in your house. If you are raising squirrels for successful release in the wild, they should never, ever think it's ok to jump on a human......EVER.

After my first two years of rehabbing, when I did let my squirrels have out-of-cage time, I vowed to stop it altogether. Ruined musical instruments and a crashed hard drive were only two of the disasters from free-ranging squirrels....the truly bad effect was that my "releases" jumped on people with great abandon and could not understand when people panicked at this. :shakehead I witnessed the same behavior with squirrels I released for others this past spring -- they had been accustomed to the run of the house, and they had no problem leaping on me and scaring me to death.

I repeat, in my opinion after rehabbing and releasing some 150+ squirrels, "out of cage time" is not necessary, helpful, or humane.....and can lead to very very bad outcomes.

[Anne]

:goodpost IR, NEVER let a squirrel have run of your house unless they can not be released. Don't let a bunch of people Just hold that cute squirrel ever either.:shakehead

[daniellenc]

Oh yes they are outta here IR no pet squirrels for me they belong in the trees:D I am getting mixed advice on overwintering though and so very confused at the moment. They are weaned- self weaned btw I had wanted a few more weeks on FV, but they had other plans. This Wednesday they will be approximately 11 weeks old and eat HHB's, veggies, and get a nut a day as a treat. However, the leaves are starting to fall fast and so are temps so if you were me would you be releasing in October or waiting till spring?? I am prepared either way and already have an outdoor cage all set up for them I am just afraid they won't have had time to store food or learn to build a nest hence my overwintering idea. I would continue to provide food outdoors but I figure if I would have to do so all winter because food is going to be drying up soon whats the point of an early release. So give it to me straight whats best for them??

[daniellenc]

Oh Anne they do not have run of the house nor can they have non TSB member visitors period. The squirrels have their own room here, no wires or electronics, small objects, or breakables. Just a bed, desk, and dresser to gnaw on lamps were taken out as well for now. I did this because I was instructed they needed this stimulation so I obliged thinking it was the right thing to provide exercise. I have never left them out alone in this room and believe me now that I know it's okay for them to remain caged they will:)

[island rehabber]

danielle, if you're releasing on your property and supplementing their food, there is no reason on earth (other than a sudden, unpredicted Ice Age :D) that you can't release them this fall. At 12 weeks they can go in your outside enclosure. Let them hang out another 2-3 weeks there and then open the little door so they can come and go as they please. I will be doing this with mine right up until November 1 and mine are younger than yours, and I am further north than you and I can't release in my backyard. But, I do this every year and it's all fine. They are SQUIRRELS; made by mother nature to live in mother nature. :peace

[daniellenc]

Good stuff ty ty:)