Releasing year old squirrel?

[Boiya]

My grandma had bottle fed this squirrel after my uncle cut down the tree his nest was in and I took him when she said she couldn't handle it anymore and I am ready to set him loose. He is about a year old. I know you can't just release cause he is used to living inside. I just wanted to ask who do I call to get him ready to live wild? Will he suvive okay out in the wild? My grandma had told me they live longer when in captivity rather than wild. She said they only live about 2-3 years in the wild but can live up to 10 years in captivity.

[stepnstone]

My grandma had bottle fed this squirrel after my uncle cut down the tree his nest was in and I took him when she said she couldn't handle it anymore and I am ready to set him loose. He is about a year old. I know you can't just release cause he is used to living inside. I just wanted to ask who do I call to get him ready to live wild? Will he suvive okay out in the wild? My grandma had told me they live longer when in captivity rather than wild. She said they only live about 2-3 years in the wild but can live up to 10 years in captivity.

There is a proper procedure called soft release to get a squirrel ready for actual release, please read:
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?41071-SOFT-RELEASE-The-How-to-Sticky&highlight=release

Many of us here on this board rescue and release, all of our rescues live inside until they go through
the soft release protocol to prepare for their actual release. A squirrel is a wild animal not to be confused
with a domestic animal. Release done right, they will wild up and they do survive in the wild with all their
natural instincts coming into play. How long they live wild vs. captive is not the question to consider, they
were born wild to be free to live their lives in the trees. Giving their intended lives back to them needs to
be the consideration.
Unless there is a health reason a squirrel is not returnable to the wild it deserves to be set free in it's world
to live it's intended life, not held captive in ours.

[Scott]

It is definitely not the right time of year to release your squirrel. Several experienced rehabbers are on this site daily and can describe the process. Please check back frequently and I'm sure by night's end you will have a good idea how to do it.

[Nancy in New York]

I'm moving your thread to the non emergency section to get it more attention and suggestions.

[HRT4SQRLS]

:wave123 Boiya
:Welcome to TheSquirrelBoard

What your grandma said is correct to a degree. Squirrels do live longer in captivity. That is true. I would say it's pretty common to see captive squirrels live 10-12 years. We have seen several that have lived to be 15 and even one that was over 20. Of course, that is certainly not the norm.
I'm not sure her assessment of the life expectancy in the wild of 2-3 years is totally accurate. I doubt there is accurate data with this information. I personally have a 4 year old in my yard that I released so I'm sure of her age. I also know of someone that had a seven year old release in the yard. I think it varies due to location. I doubt squirrels living in a high traffic area live 2 years. Squirrels living in communities with feral cats would also would have difficulties surviving.
With that said, squirrels are very intelligent and can be quite adept at surviving even in less than ideal circumstances. Even pet squirrels have wild instincts and deserve the opportunity to be free in the trees.

Releasing a year old pet is a little more complicated but it is certainly doable. I have released several pets. The process involves putting them in a predator proof cage outside. It must have a nest box inside the cage so that the squirrel has a place to sleep and hide. They are often afraid when they first go outside. This time gives them the opportunity to experience the outside in the safety of a predator proof cage. You continue to feed them and let them begin the process of wilding up. After a period of time, which in the case of a pet squirrel might be up to 4-6 weeks, you open a small release door and let them decide to explore the outside world. Some are ready to go and are thrilled to be outside. They will go right up a tree and never look back. Others are more reluctant to go but they usually do decide that they like it outside. It is very rare when a squirrel will not leave the release cage but it does happen. A lot of squirrels that are released will return to the release cage to sleep for a while and then they stop going into the cage entirely. I continue to feed my releases as long as they hang around the yard. Eventually they will leave the release area as they disperse.

Is this something that you could do in your yard? Is your yard suitable for release? I wouldn't recommend releasing a pet squirrel in a dense neighborhood. A squirrel that is too friendly and approaches people won't survive outside. He would likely be killed or injured by the first person that he climbed on.

You asked who could do this for you. Rehabbers will often release 'pet' squirrels for their owners BUT let me caution you. I don't trust ALL rehabbers and I trust wildlife centers even less. Sometimes this goes VERY badly so I caution you about this option. I would NEVER turn my pet squirrel over to an 'unknown' rehabber or center. You would need to KNOW this person's practices from others with first hand experience with them. Their word is NOT good enough for me. When we recommend a rehabber or center to someone like yourself it's because we KNOW their practices. Unfortunately, I don't know of any on this board in your state. There might be some but I'm not familiar with them. Maybe someone else can sound in.

By the way, now isn't a proper time to release. I'm sure it's cold in Kansas. We wait until spring to release. The cage would need to have the top covered and they would need to be protected from the sun as they can overheat in a cage. It's best to place the cage near trees. Good luck to you.