A little advice re:Flyers, acorns, and release

[CTurner]

I rescued two Gray squirrels this past Spring with a successful release at the end of August. On Thanksgiving, I got a call to come get a Southern Flying squirrel out of a family's master bedroom. I was able to catch this guy very easily. He seemed very lethargic, and not doing so well.

He is young, but not a baby. I was able to hydrate with water/Pedialyte for about 12 hours, as he was so lethargic he didn't mind me picking him up. He slowly took fluids from a syringe. After that 12 hours, he obviously felt better, as there was NO WAY he was going to let me handle him.

I have read lots of your wonderful posts on diet. I am glad that the information is out there, as I was a little surprised at the difference between Flyer and ground squirrel diet.
That being said, I have a few questions:
1. Are acorns safe to feed flyers? (I remember reading about toxicity from acorns with the Gray's, so I avoided them. On all the lists for flyers, it says to feed them acorns, so I want to double check on this).
2. He does not seem to be drinking out of the water bottle or shallow water dish that I have provided. Any recommendations? (I have been sprinkling all his greens heavily with water, and soaking all veggies before providing them).

I know this is not nutrition related, but hoping I can get some advice on release...
3. The temperatures are warming here for a few days, but will get cold again soon. Is it safe to release him now, or do I need to wait until we have a longer stretch of warmer weather for him to find a place to nest?

Thank you!

[Bravo]

(Title edited- helps the experts go through threads faster) :great

[CTurner]

Thank you!!!:thumbsup

[farrelli]

DO NOT RELEASE! Flyers cannot be released as singletons. They're colony sqs and cannot just join any colony. Most people end up keeping them as pets because they are very happy indoors. For release, they need to be released with others. If you don't get answers from flyer people, start a thread in the flyers forum.

[CTurner]

I had also read that! Thank you so much. He is a male, so I read that they are not as territorial as females, and will nest as a community through the winter.

[pixiepoo]

I had also read that! Thank you so much. He is a male, so I read that they are not as territorial as females, and will nest as a community through the winter.

Hahah tell THAT to my little Pippin!!! :grin3:poke he won't have anything to do with my other boy!

I do not and never have fed my guys acorns because of the risk of mold. He should be fine on a diet of other healthy foods, including safe buds on trees. :)

As for the water, I only really notice a drop in water with my big girl, Pixie. You can try providing a bird watered (the kind you can get for like a dollar at Walmart or Petsmart...it clips to the cage, has a clear tube and the bottom had a protruding piece where the water flows into). I also have tube waterers for my guys. Try to avoid metal bottles with the metal end with a metal ball. Flyers are too small to use them and can injure their wee little tongue! As long as you provide a shallow dish of water, he should be fine. :)

And as others have said, I wouldn't release a singleton. It isn't impossible for them to survive but the odds are stacked against him if he is released alone.

He may start to bond to you with some effort. They can be incredibly loving if you can get them to successfully bond!

[Anne]

The only safe release for this guy is if the house he came from is a close neighbor.

[CTurner]

Thank you, thank you for the responses! Yes, I have a shallow water dish, a tube waterer with the open "trough" that clips to the cage, and I marked on the tube with a sharpie to see if I notice a drop in water. I hope that he is getting fluids. He definitely is eating everything I put in there (besides cottage cheese). So far I put food in there in the early evening, and remove the tray mid morning the next day.

Spinach?? I cannot see it on any recommended list, but he likes it.

Foods he has eaten so far: Spinach, scrambled eggs, tiny bits of apple, a cranberry, blueberry, romaine, a pecan, an almond, small bit of carrot, sour cream, a tiny spoonful of boiled chicken baby food, and sliced white mushroom caps. Does this seem like a decent diet?

[farrelli]

Spinach is an Avoid on the regular sq diet:

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?44440-Healthy-Diet-for-Pet-Squirrels

Because it can cause crystals in the urine.