Couple of questions

[FourWands]

Dunky spent part of the weekend outside. It was relatively warm and he had access to his cage/nestbox but he came home yesterday afternoon looking exhausted. However, he lost a bit of weight and his entire back - from neck to probably tail base - seems sore. No obvious injuries and he's running around (maybe a bit slower than normal but if you didn't know him you probably wouldn't notice). He squeaks and chatters his teeth when you touch him there. This morning, he jumped on me and bounced off but his back made contact with my leg and again, another loud squeak. I am assuming he probably fell on his back so it's sore. He normally likes to lay on his back and get cheeky pinchems but I think it's too uncomfortable right now. It may be a little swollen but it's hard to tell - he's molting and he has his new fluffy grey fur right up the middle of his back so that part looks a bit puffier anyway. Baby motrin for the pain? Anything else?

He's never been a big fat squirrel - he's always been lean. I've always attributed it to his picky eating. He gets Henry's picky blocks and he does eat them as well as a wild bites block daily. If I give more than the three blocks though, he tends to just tear them up. He gets veggies/fruits daily but I would like to put some more weight on him before he is released. There is lots of info here about keeping them at a healthy weight without getting fat but how do you safely put weight on them? I want to be careful what he gets because of the calcium issue but at this point, particularly coming back having lost weight, I think he needs whatever he will take. He gets a little avocado and coconut daily but not too much as I know they come with their own set of issues. Are their any other "healthy junk" foods I can try? I very rarely give him corn - when I do it's usually a few kernels in an empty medicine bottle because he loves to tear them apart - should I give him a little more? Suggestions?

[farrelli]

He seems to be already running free, but then later you say that you want to do stuff before he's released. So, is he released or not? Have you done a soft release?

[FourWands]

Working on a soft release now... or, I was, until he came back looking rather rough.
I brought his cage back into the house last night because he went looking for it in it's old location. He was exhausted so when I moved it back in, he jumped right in and slept from the middle of the afternoon until this morning.
Because he's not feeling right, I am not comfortable putting him back out until he's put on more weight and isn't in pain.

Ultimately, I see no reason why he isn't releasable. He's healthy (other than sore at the moment) and he enjoyed being outside.

[FourWands]

Bump. Anyone?

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

He may have gotten into a tussle with another squirrel.
A lot of nests have babies in them and it if he got too close , he would get kicked out of the tree. He may have fallen. I would keep him in for a bit, some injuries dont completely show up right away. Then ask some more questions about soft release.
In and out all the time can be confusing, it may work for very few, it all depends on the squirrel. Some squirrels are totally healthy and there is no reason not to release excepting for the fact they just dont want to go.

As far as fattening him up, some just are leaner and some are rounder, you want him lean to be able to run fast if he is going out.

[sandycheeks]

We released our Sandy in September. Granted she was a little chunky at the time but I would suggest you can wait for him to be feeling better and then continue with the soft release. Once he's outside you don't have to be as strict with his diet and can feed him fattening foods like nuts sunflower seeds. As long as he is foraging for himself eating natural foods he should be fine. For Sandy we fed her more fatty stuff like peanuts during the winter but now that the weather is better she gets some rodent blocks, grapes, almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts.

[FourWands]

We released our Sandy in September. Granted she was a little chunky at the time but I would suggest you can wait for him to be feeling better and then continue with the soft release. Once he's outside you don't have to be as strict with his diet and can feed him fattening foods like nuts sunflower seeds. As long as he is foraging for himself eating natural foods he should be fine. For Sandy we fed her more fatty stuff like peanuts during the winter but now that the weather is better she gets some rodent blocks, grapes, almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts.

This is kind of the plan. Honestly, I want it to be his choice if he wants to be out and I want to give him the best chance for success if he wants to be a wild squirrel. For the time being he's in and we can try again in a few weeks. Our weather is turning again - it was warm for several days but we now have a flood warning and we are expecting light snow overnight. I definitely don't want him out having lost weight and feeling ouchy under those circumstances. (Otherwise, he was in a sheltered enough location during this soft release I would not have been terribly concerned about the cold but all things considered... )

His back is a little better today. He let me hold him gently on his back for some cheeky pinchems for a bit this morning. He's not squeaking if you touch him but he will chatter a bit. He slept most of the day yesterday (very unusual for him). I think he really needed the rest.

I also don't want to confuse him with the in/out thing but if a release is going badly, I think it's prudent to take a step back. I love this little guy and I definitely don't want to do wrong by him!

[Shewhosweptforest]

Dunky is lucky to have you :Love_Icon You are on the right track...but for a soft release he should be in a large cage outside for a month (if you can swing it) before he's ever let go...that allows him to observe the environment, get use to the sights and sounds....even observe other squirrel behavior....that will give him the best opportunity to have a successful release...Then if it doesn't work..he has a home and all the cheeky pinchems he desires :Love_Icon :thumbsup