Releasing a squirrel that we've had for over a year.

[mgee76]

My little man Grover has made it a long way. He came to us as a neurological case, an awkward little thing with messed up teeth who twitched and spazzed and generally was just very pathetic. Eventually, his condition went away and we were left with a silly kid with snaggled teeth. The bottoms were too long, and one of the top teeth came in wrong. We had to have them trimmed and the vet told us that his underbite would prevent him from ever being releasable. Over time, his top teeth corrected themselves... where one used to almost sit on top of the other, they are now normal and straight. His bottom teeth, too, have seemingly corrected themselves... he hasn't had his teeth trimmed in months.

He lives in a big cage and eats Henry's block and various fruits and vegetables every day. He was always different from the older squirrels we would release, and over time formed a bit of a bond with me. He loves to play and would never bite hard. His favorite game is to grab a shirt and hang from it, or be swung around or up and down. He will do this over and over again, like a kid on a roller coaster.

We've recently taken in some new babies, and his behavior has changed. He is more aggressive, and has attacked my girlfriend's hands when they smelled like the little kids. He is my special guy, but we both think that it is best for him to be released. I want him to live a full, happy life in the wild, where he belongs. With his teeth seemingly fixed, there is no reason we should continue to hold him.

My concerns are his approachability and socialization. I don't want him to seek anybody out in the wild and get hurt, or worse. Part of me wants to release him where I will never see him again, so that I don't have to worry when he doesn't come around.

What is the best way to do this?

Thanks.

[Shewhosweptforest]

First, thanks for getting him where he is today :bowdown it takes a lot of work, patience and time :Love_Icon personally, I don't know if he's releasable....I understand that his teeth have straightened up....but, that still leaves the neuro issues :dono while he may seem fine in the confines of his cage and your home....being in the trees is a totally different experience...if, I were to release him, I would definitely, do it at my home...or if that's not possible, somewhere I would be able to keep watch over him to make sure he's capable of surviving :great I would also leave him in a release cage for a good long while...months...so that he fully assimilates into his surroundings. I do speak from experience....I have an adult squirrel who was nonreleasable (according to the vet) because she had no use of her tail...which eventually was amputated. She became aggressive and although I tried everything, it was either release her or confine her to a cage for the rest of her life...which I wouldn't do. So, I slow released her....she spent the winter in the release cage...5 mos....and she's now been free for about a year....with no problems:great she comes to me daily for a treat....but she does not approach people she doesn't know. My husband can coax her to him...but she grew up with him. So it is doable :great but as I said, I would release him somewhere I could keep a very close eye on him....there are different trains of thought on soft release...but this is what worked for me and my Nougie :Love_Icon

[mgee76]

Thank you for the response!

You have definitely swayed me. I know it was selfish to want to magically release him into the woods somehow... but being able to monitor him and care for him, if he needs it, is more important than my potential sadness when I don't know where he is and wonder if he's doing OK.

As for neuro issues... he really doesn't have any. He's a healthy, powerful squirrel. My concerns are whether or not he'll approach other people. I guess, after reading your post, I am less concerned about this. I just don't want him running up to people for food, and then attacking them when they don't have any, you know?

Dammit. I love this squirrel.