Releasing squirrel north jersey-please help

[Squirrelnorth]

Hello Everyone,

I'm new to this forum but would appreciate your help in the following squirrel situation.

My family and I found a baby squirrel 2 years ago on the bottom of a tree after a huge thunderstorm we had. We felt so bad we couldn't let this poor creature die.

We rescued it and have taken care of it since then and she's now a very healthy and beautiful squirrel. More than once we have been wanting to find a way to release her but we are concerned of she getting hit by a car or dieing due to not knowing her surroundings. For this reason we never tried to do so before because we tried once and it went horribly. She stayed on top of a pine tree one whole night and we had to leave the window open for her and called her to come back in.

Thankfully she came back in but she looked very afraid of the outdoors.

We are wanting to know what the best option is for her to become independent and free as she was meant to be. We really do not want to continue having her indoors because it does create a burden seeing such a free animal be kept captive in a large parrot cage and because in NJ it is illegal to keep such animals as pets.

I would greatly appreciate the help and assistance we need.
We are thinking maybe a rehabber can be of assistance.

Thank you for your time.

[pjjere]

Hi squirrelnorth,
We just released our first squirrel rehab but we are certainly not experts. Here is the thread: http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?46479-Nutkin-is-in-the-trees!

The first thing I think is for you to decide if you really want to release your squirrel. It seems as though you are not sure yet. If the answer is yes you have a couple of options. You could set up a release cage in your yard or possibly one of the members here lives near you and could help you with a soft release. We kept our squirrel in her release cage for almost a month before we opened a door for her to get out. During this month we introduced more wild foods from around the yard to her and tried to limit our contact with her during this time. The idea is to let your squirrel "wild up" and learn to be around the local wildlife but remain protected for a time. It seems as if you are concerned with the environment around your yard so you will have to think long and hard about your squirrels safety upon release. Sorry no one else has responded yet but maybe this "bump" will help.

This is only my opinion but I think that if you decide to keep your squirrel as a pet you must fully commit to it and make sure you can provide plenty of out of cage time and have a safe room for your squirrel to run around in. I think it would be cruel to keep a healthy squirrel caged all the time. I hope some more advice comes but feel free to ask any questions regarding our release process. You can PM me also if you want. Good luck :)

[farrelli]

I'm disappointed you haven't gotten a better reception. I somehow missed this thread too. It's illegal to keep squirrels in almost all states, but most people do here anyway. You just keep it very hush hush.

It seems that most sqs can be made very happy indoors with the right diet and environment. What do you feed, can you give a pic of the cage, does she get out of cage time, what kind of stimulation does she get. etc. The more you tell, the more we can help. We can give all kinds of suggestions about how to keep her happy. Personally, I like to see happy stories of indoor squirrels because nature is just so horribly cruel. And if she's 2, she's at about half the life expectancy of an outdoor sq and she never really learned how to survive.

[island rehabber]

squirrelnorth. we don't have many members, if any at all, in northern NJ but there may be someone in Orange County NY who could help.........I am going to PM her and ask if she has room to release any squirrels besides her own. She is a very good rehabber and a member here.

With all due respect, we have differences of opinion here regarding squirrels kept as pets: it is my observation that most do NOT take to captivity well at all, and it is the very rare individual who does. Of course, here on TSB we enjoy the pictures and stories of those few who co-exist with humans and are ok with that, but we don't necessarily take interest in the stories of the hundreds and hundreds who cannot wait to get out of that damn cage and into the trees. It is, after all, their nature.

Hopefully we can help you get your boy to the next step.....I will be back to you ASAP.

[Nancy in New York]

Hello Everyone,

I'm new to this forum but would appreciate your help in the following squirrel situation.

My family and I found a baby squirrel 2 years ago on the bottom of a tree after a huge thunderstorm we had. We felt so bad we couldn't let this poor creature die.

We rescued it and have taken care of it since then and she's now a very healthy and beautiful squirrel. More than once we have been wanting to find a way to release her but we are concerned of she getting hit by a car or dieing due to not knowing her surroundings. For this reason we never tried to do so before because we tried once and it went horribly. She stayed on top of a pine tree one whole night and we had to leave the window open for her and called her to come back in.

Thankfully she came back in but she looked very afraid of the outdoors.

We are wanting to know what the best option is for her to become independent and free as she was meant to be. We really do not want to continue having her indoors because it does create a burden seeing such a free animal be kept captive in a large parrot cage and because in NJ it is illegal to keep such animals as pets.

I would greatly appreciate the help and assistance we need.
We are thinking maybe a rehabber can be of assistance.

Thank you for your time.


It's very admirable of you to want to do the right thing for this squirrel.
Has she been on a good diet, with no health issues?

IF you can find a rehabber who is willing to work with you and your squirrel, and
do a soft release that is the perfect approach to this. It will take time for her to get used
to the outdoors with all the different sights and sounds, and with the right person, this can
be accomplished. This is something that you don't want rushed, but this time of year may
prove a problem, since many rehabbers who have babies are already using their release cages.

Most squirrels will eventually want out and back to nature. Has she shown any interest in doing
so? Does she pace her cage, seem depressed? How large is her cage? Do you have pictures of her?

I'm glad that you know that having a caged squirrel is no quality of life for her. Thank you
for realizing that. It is seriously a full time job keeping a squirrel happy. Situations arise that you
wouldn't even think of. Have you ever given her out of the cage time, do you take her in her cage outside?
IF so, do not take her out in direct sun....or if it's hot and humid. They can die of heat stroke in as little as
10 minutes even in the shade.

Hopefully we can help you with your dilemma, and get your little one slowly back to the trees if that's
what she wants.

edit: I am moving your thread to non emergency to get it more attention.

[Squirrelnorth]

Thank you for very much for all you your replies.

Yes it is very much of a burden seeing such a free animal being in a cage but that has been the best we could do.

For this reason we do want to release but I think the best option would be taking her to someone that had has previous experience so to minimize any problems in her release.

I would appreciate any contacts/rehabbers even located in Orange County NY that could be of assistance to us.

I thank you once more for your time.

[Nancy in New York]

Thank you for very much for all you your replies.

Yes it is very much of a burden seeing such a free animal being in a cage but that has been the best we could do.

For this reason we do want to release but I think the best option would be taking her to someone that had has previous experience so to minimize any problems in her release.

I would appreciate any contacts/rehabbers even located in Orange County NY that could be of assistance to us.

I thank you once more for your time.

Can you just tell us the diet that your little one has been on?
Diet is such a critical part of their health, and I just want to make sure
that she was getting adequate calcium so there is no chance of her having
MBD.
Is she on any kind of squirrel blocks?

I will put out a few feelers myself to some members that can help you.

[Squirrelnorth]

Hello.

The types of food I have given to our squirrel has been dark leafy vegetables, nuts, fruit and seeds.

I have not heard from anyone yet but I am hoping to find someone whom can be of assistance to us to release our squirrel.

Though I would not mind in trying to release her I rather leave her with a professional...we will miss her allot but the thought of one day finding her dead in a street near us just gets to us.

Thank you and I am looking forward to getting the help we need.

[kcassidy]

Hi All:

Sorry I haven't been on the forum in a while. I'm in Montgomery, NY (Orange County) I can take, wild up and release this squirrel for you.

PM me your phone # and i'll call and we can discuss.

Thanks

Kim Cassidy

[Squirrelnorth]

Hello Kim. I sent you a friend request please PM me so that I can provide you with my email or phone number. Thank you

[Squirrelnorth]

Hello everyone. I hope you all had a nice summer. Due to such a busy and hectic summer for us, we just recently started finding some time available to see when we could take squirly to a wild life rehabilitater.

We contacted someone in Orange County NY but due to schedule differences and lack of communication I am hoping someone could refer us someone else in the area. I'm in Bergen county NJ and I wouldn't mind traveling anywhere in NJ or NY but I would like to find someone to take squirly before the winter hits.

I appreciate the assistance regarding this matter and hope to get some good news soon.

Thank you.

[Squirrelnorth]

I'm bumping the thread since no one has replied....squirly is hoping to hear from someone soon as she wants to be a wild squirrel again!

[farrelli]

Seeing that it's an old thread, I'd start a new one, with a very informative subject line and a VERY brief description of what you're looking for. Everyone is insanely busy right now and no one is willing to read back posts. Lots of things are getting ignored lately.