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View Full Version : Luna in release cage and she's scared...



Cesta
04-17-2016, 07:11 PM
My husband prodded me into putting Luna into the RC today. She's a singleton. She's about 8 months old, super healthy, no reason not to release. I've been putting it off because I'M bonded to HER and also because I was worried about what's happening now.

She is scared to death. The yard squirrels are climbing on the cage and she's going after them, but it's 5 against 1. She's been living on the patio for ages, so I thought she'd be somewhat used to the outside sounds, etc. Apparently not. She has not stopped moving in hours. She won't eat-- I even offered her a graham cracker type thing that is a super-special treat but she was too nervous to eat it. The wind scares her. Her heart is racing... She has the nest box she's used to, and I kept hoping she'd go in and settle down, but no. Now it's getting dark and she's STILL UP. I don't think any of my other squirrels have ever acted like this. Is it normal? Do you think she'll settle down? Part of me wants to scoop her up and bring her back on the patio. Another part says wait it out and see if she adjusts. But I feel like I'm torturing her. Ugh... thoughts??

lennysmom
04-17-2016, 07:21 PM
Oh, poor little girl. :( Perhaps you could bring her in the first few nights and then put her in back in the RC during the day to help her adjust? I'm sure having all those wilds around like that is scary for her. I had a girl that was so scared she wouldn't come out of her nest box in the RC for days and didn't eat or drink at all. I was so worried about her, but unfortunately I was not releasing at my house and did not have the luxury of bringing her back in at night for a few days to let her get adjusted. She ended up being ok, it just took her a lot longer to adjust. I know it's hard on your heart to see her so scared like that.:grouphug Is her same nest box inside the RC? Perhaps she will find some comfort in it.

Edit: I just saw where you said she has a box she is used to. Hopefully she will go in it soon and feel safe there.

Cesta
04-17-2016, 07:35 PM
Thank you... Yes, she has the nest box she's used to, and a lot of her 'stuff' that smells like her. All the wilds have gone to bed and she's still up. It's killing me. My hubs wants to give her a trial run tonight, maybe I'll just go sleep next to her RC. I'm worried she's too worked up for me to safely move her inside, and if I lost her in the dark it would be a disaster. I think she'll have to stay out tonight but you are confirming my instincts... If she hasn't improved tomorrow we'll try again later. Hubby works out of town during the week... For once I think I'm happy about that.
Thank you!!

SammysMom
04-17-2016, 07:41 PM
My 8 month old Ruthie went out on the porch today too. She wouldn't leave her nestbox even once that I saw today. She ate and drank NOTHING. I rolled her cage back into the house tonight and she hasn't stopped running around and eating everything in sight. They are all different and your will be fine as will Ruthie. Singletons take longer and are awfully hard to watch. It's the fear that I hate the most about releasing any of them...:shakehead
Prayers for strength for both of you...:grouphug

lukaslolamaus
04-17-2016, 07:48 PM
My sweet Sabrina moved into the RC yesterday too. She's my first singleton and it's breaking my heart, but she turned so wild this past month that I can't handle her anymore and she was so miserable in the house. She was so scared outside part of the time yesterday and today (she hates the wind). She hasn't eaten much, but seemed better this evening.
I hope Luna, Ruthie and Sabrina will love the outdoors in no time:grouphug

Nancy in New York
04-17-2016, 07:50 PM
Thank you... Yes, she has the nest box she's used to, and a lot of her 'stuff' that smells like her. All the wilds have gone to bed and she's still up. It's killing me. My hubs wants to give her a trial run tonight, maybe I'll just go sleep next to her RC. I'm worried she's too worked up for me to safely move her inside, and if I lost her in the dark it would be a disaster. I think she'll have to stay out tonight but you are confirming my instincts... If she hasn't improved tomorrow we'll try again later. Hubby works out of town during the week... For once I think I'm happy about that.
Thank you!!

UGH, I don't think you can't risk it for yourself and for her by trying to bring her in tonight, JMO.
How did you transfer her out?
Has she been good with you after that little misunderstanding? :)

Cesta
04-17-2016, 07:52 PM
Thank you... I'm feeling a little better that it's not a huge 'no-no' to bring her back in, like you could do w/ Ruthie. Unfortunately, it's not as easy as rolling her back in, she's all the way outside in the yard and her nest box is mounted in there. So if I do bring her in, she'll have to sleep in her cube. That's usually her daytime hangout spot but I didn't put it out because it will get ruined.

Is bringing her in just delaying the inevitable? I hate to put her (us) through this again. Has anyone ever had one who was NEVER ready? I don't want a grey squirrel as a pet, but I feel like I've thrown her to the wolves.

HRT4SQRLS
04-17-2016, 07:57 PM
Chris, Luna will be fine. She will have to ride it out tonight. There is no way you can bring her in tonight. She's upset so she will bite you and she will escape. If you think it will help you can throw a blanket over the part of the cage where her nest box is to make it darker. She has been outside so this isn't completely new for her.

I do think she will settle down but probably not as long as you are there. PLEASE don't spend the night in the yard. The mosquitos will eat you alive and they carry scary things now. You will put your health in jeopardy by doing that. PLEASE don't do it. Go inside. Quietly check her around 11:00. She is extremely healthy and it just takes more time for her. She will be fine. If you spend the night outside you will NOT be fine. Go inside mama. :grouphug

island rehabber
04-17-2016, 07:57 PM
Cesta, she'll be fine. Give her time for her instincts to kick in. YOU feel as if you've thrown her to the wolves, but you've merely assisted her toward being what she was meant to be: a squirrel. She'll be ok. :grouphug

Cesta
04-17-2016, 07:59 PM
Hi Nancy-- yes, she's been good, and that was her only bite incident in 8 months. Granted, it was a good one! We moved her by lining up the doors of two cages, and she cheerfully went to explore. Carried that one outside and she still seemed ok with the adventure. Put her in the RC, the wind blew, and BAM she flipped out. She never ate. I watched her from inside and she just chased the neighborhood squirrels away all day, and looked totally stressed. She was shaking. She made the mad squirrel chattering noise for the 1st time ever. I just went and checked, and she's in her box. Her nose is poking out and she's still scared... I had to leave so she'd stay in the nest of. I know she wants her regular life back-- badly.

SammysMom
04-17-2016, 08:08 PM
Cesta, she will be FINE! I am only bringing Ruthie in because there is a threat of frost for the next few nights. Otherwise, she would be out for the duration. I think if you can put them out and leave them out, they are far better off!:Love_Icon

pappy1264
04-17-2016, 08:09 PM
She will be fine. Some have no issues, some take a few hours, some a few days, and some I have seen take a week or more, but every single one of them was fine in time. I know it is hard, but she will be fine.

Cesta
04-17-2016, 08:26 PM
Oh my word, frost? We were excited because it wasn't 85 degrees out today!
OK, Luna and I have both calmed down. H4S, I was kidding about sleeping outside. My family would think I'd really lost it. (Could I get banned from TSB for doing something crazy like that? :grin3) IR, I will hold you to this!! She better wild up, and stop being afraid of everything, because I can't take too many more days like this-- and she needs to eat.

In a perfect world, we'd get all our singletons together, they'd instantly love one another, and we could release them as a group! Good luck to everyone... Maybe we can have our own little release thread here and keep an eye on each other's babies. I'm not glad you guys are going through this, but at the same time it's a relief to hear that there are other nervous babies and mama's out there, and IR says they'll all be OK.
:dance :hug :dance
Thank you, I appreciate the support. I know everyone has lots of babies, and there are some serious problems out there, so again, thanks for your hand holding and advice.


:grouphug

Shewhosweptforest
04-17-2016, 08:45 PM
I'm in the same boat...maybe worse...older singleton without a tail...but wilded up...she's been in the release cage since Nov...and I have a 8 month old singleton who's wilded up in the last month...ready to go out when this one goes :facepalm I'm dreading it but excited too...they're going to be sooo happy :grin3

I just wanted to ease some of your fears....first, I don't think Luna was so much afraid as agitated...to her the release cage, with her stuff in it, is her territory...possession is 99% the law in the squirrel world...and these squirrels (who were just curious and checking her out) were invading her space and she was telling them to get lost...in no uncertain terms :eek so...think brave and feisty....not frightened :hug

Cesta
04-17-2016, 09:00 PM
Thanks, Sweep-- and you're right. She was pissed. We've joked that Luna thinks she's queen of everything she can see-- she proved that today. And a good part of her day was spent frantically trying to hide her nuts. I finally gave her a pile of fleece because she was so distressed at the lack of hiding places. It's the first time she's been in a cage w/o a bottom, she can see the ground under her nuts and so they're not safe. And honestly, the outside squirrels are my released babies who are familiar with that cage, still go in for water, and are fed on top of it every day. They DO want her nuts! But she's gonna kill herself trying to chase them all away! I'm praying she's sleeping soundly after this crazy day. I'm going to bed, too.

Good luck with your babies ...I hope all goes well at your house, too. :grouphug

Cesta
04-18-2016, 06:51 AM
I'm in the same boat...maybe worse...older singleton without a tail...but wilded up...she's been in the release cage since Nov...and I have a 8 month old singleton who's wilded up in the last month...ready to go out when this one goes :facepalm I'm dreading it but excited too...they're going to be sooo happy :grin3

I just wanted to ease some of your fears....first, I don't think Luna was so much afraid as agitated...to her the release cage, with her stuff in it, is her territory...possession is 99% the law in the squirrel world...and these squirrels (who were just curious and checking her out) were invading her space and she was telling them to get lost...in no uncertain terms :eek so...think brave and feisty....not frightened :hug

Good Morning Florida!!!
Nothing like an Amber Alert to scare you out of bed! :eek (I'm not making !lght of this- we've had 2 in less than 12 hours. Please keep those missing kids in your prayers....)

Luna started her day much as she ended it- she's charging every curious squirrel on her cage. In light of Sweep's perspective of her being 'brave and feisty' and everyone's assurance (reassurance :grouphug) that she'll be OK, I AM seeing her in a new light. She's super-sassy. Last night my husband told me to enjoy my other released babies while I still can, cuz Luna's going to chase them all out of HER yard as soon as she's out of that cage!

I'm going out to feed everyone now.

One question- do you think I should somehow move the outdoor squirrel's feeding station so it's not on top of the release cage?

I say 'somehow' because I really have no other good options, we'd have to build something.

And yesterday, we put a new water bottle in the cage- one facing out so my released buddies have a fresh water source. Before they just climbed in the cage to get a drink, so that may be confusing my released guys.

I got some of my best squirrel pics ever yesterday-- all the stinkers torturing her for her food were super photogenic! I don't know that I've ever posted a picture of my squirrels from last year? I'm going to try and upload a couple pics in a separate post, so I don't lose this one.

island rehabber
04-18-2016, 07:06 AM
Good Morning Florida!!!

One question- do you think I should somehow move the outdoor squirrel's feeding station so it's not on top of the release cage?

I say 'somehow' because I really have no other good options, we'd have to build something.

.


Yes, unfortunately I do. I had to learn that myself because I used to put food inside the release cage during the winter for the kids to have a 'snack bar' when they needed it, and a warm place to sleep. Well once I started putting juvies in there for release in the spring, it became a huge problem -- previous releases were hanging on the enclosure all day long trying to get back in :shakehead. Now we never feed the released kids anywhere near the release pen. It also keeps the hawks from learning where the food station is, and hanging around.....

Cesta
04-18-2016, 08:04 AM
Thanks, IR-- I remember I loaned a smaller cage to a couple nearby. Their baby is out now. I can put that outside as a feeding station.

I just got back inside- I'm trying to hold on to the idea of 'brave and feisty' and while she IS, she's also still scared and nervous. And part of it is my fault for putting out a welcome sign on top of her cage.

I can see her from inside. I have seen her drink, but she's eaten nothing since going out.

How long does this usually last?

Should I bring her back to the patio until I've established another feeding station?

My other singleton didn't act like this. He enjoyed it outside. When released, he came back to sleep in his box for quite awhile... But no behavior like Luna's.

She's constantly spitting-- just on the edge of breaking into an alarm cry. I never heard her alarm cry until yesterday.

How long of this behavior until she's considered a 'failure to launch?' Maybe she's just not ready yet? :dono

HRT4SQRLS
04-18-2016, 08:25 AM
I see you both survived the night. :dance :grin2

I would give her a few days. It's way too early to consider her a 'failure to launch'. Think about it this way, you don't want to keep a grey squirrel pet. She WILL bite (viciously) when she finds it necessary. She is PERFECTLY healthy. She's a squirrel.
It is in her best interest and YOURS for her to be free. :tilt

Give her more time. You don't even have to be super vigilant with the healthy diet at this point. Give her a shelled nut. I bet she eats that. :grin2 I wouldn't give her anymore inshell nuts to hoard. That just makes her crazy in the need to defend them.

I'm on vacation this week so if you need me I'll be here.

Cesta
04-18-2016, 01:33 PM
Thank you... Good idea about the nuts, shelled & unshelled. Trying to figure out how to set up a separate feeding station under our other large oak pronto. I wish I could just open the door & let her come and go. She just hates the release cage and especially all the squirrels climbing all around her.

Cesta
04-24-2016, 09:16 AM
Luna and I survived the whole week! :dance

She's definitely gone from scared to just really ticked. She charges the cage any time another squirrel comes anywhere near her.

But, she's still frightened of strange sounds. Yesterday someone was running a boat or motorcycle or some other kind of loud motor while I was feeding her and she went flying into her nest box (which is good!).

She's started eating, is thrilled to be getting shelled nuts, she'd never had one before. I'm giving her other favorite foods, too, plus her blocks. Unless she's hiding them, she's eating them.

Any ideas on how much longer she should stay in there? I worry because she's a single, but also want to let her start exploring. I don't want her to hate the cage so much she won't come back to sleep if she needs to.

:thankyou

HRT4SQRLS
04-24-2016, 02:05 PM
Luna and I survived the whole week! :dance

She's definitely gone from scared to just really ticked. She charges the cage any time another squirrel comes anywhere near her.

But, she's still frightened of strange sounds. Yesterday someone was running a boat or motorcycle or some other kind of loud motor while I was feeding her and she went flying into her nest box (which is good!).

She's started eating, is thrilled to be getting shelled nuts, she'd never had one before. I'm giving her other favorite foods, too, plus her blocks. Unless she's hiding them, she's eating them.

Any ideas on how much longer she should stay in there? I worry because she's a single, but also want to let her start exploring. I don't want her to hate the cage so much she won't come back to sleep if she needs to.

:thankyou

It's really up to you Cesta but I would probably give her another week in the RC. It's been a stressful week for her and you :tilt so I would want her to chill out a bit. I think a little longer in the RC also firmly established a home base. Have you conditioned her to the sound of two nuts banging together? I do this so that they associate that sounds with nut treats. Usually when I bang nuts together I see squirrels coming through the trees. I like that. :grin3

Cesta
04-24-2016, 03:31 PM
It's really up to you Cesta but I would probably give her another week in the RC. It's been a stressful week for her and you :tilt so I would want her to chill out a bit. I think a little longer in the RC also firmly established a home base. Have you conditioned her to the sound of two nuts banging together? I do this so that they associate that sounds with nut treats. Usually when I bang nuts together I see squirrels coming through the trees. I like that. :grin3

I think we can handle another week. I make a loud clicking noise that brings all the squirrels running. :grin3 Luna probably hates that noise right now because it means intruders on HER cage. I guess we all have different ways of calling our babies! Thanks!

:hug

lukaslolamaus
05-28-2016, 12:40 PM
How is Luna doing?