Pre-release back home

[nkkritters]

It was 70 degrees out when I put my 12 week old gray squirrel out to the pre-release cage. it is quite large with a full roof, a squirrel house and two hanging baskets he could go in. Well, we got a bad storm and a cold front moved in. It is supposed to be VERY cold tonight, in the 30's in NY State. It was in the 40's- 50's last night and I could not sleep worrying about him. He is a single ( I have successfully released them before) so he had no snuggle buddy. it was rainy and windy out too, so I brought him home. He is in a smaller cage but warm and safe!! Would you have done the same thing? He was an early one this year.

[Milo's Mom]

Seeing as how you have all summer to release him, he's only 12 weeks old, him being a single, the weather being anything but normal, yes, I do believe I would have done the same thing.

He might be a little confused now, so a bit of extra time in the RC might help him out.

The very best lesson I've learned in my years of rehabbing...sometimes you have to put the books down and go with your gut. Other than things that involve scientific fact and mathematical equations your gut is always your best bet.:great

[Nancy in New York]

It was 70 degrees out when I put my 12 week old gray squirrel out to the pre-release cage. it is quite large with a full roof, a squirrel house and two hanging baskets he could go in. Well, we got a bad storm and a cold front moved in. It is supposed to be VERY cold tonight, in the 30's in NY State. It was in the 40's- 50's last night and I could not sleep worrying about him. He is a single ( I have successfully released them before) so he had no snuggle buddy. it was rainy and windy out too, so I brought him home. He is in a smaller cage but warm and safe!! Would you have done the same thing? He was an early one this year.

Oh definitely.
I'm not in your area but it was terribly cold here today with the wind and last night
the heat was cranked up again inside.
I'm glad you brought him in.
You have ALL summer for release, unless you have others that need the cage.
He's a single so he may need more time.
I'm glad he has YOU! :hug

[Mel1959]

You definitely did the right thing. I had two that had been released for about 4 weeks when I brought them back inside to a relatively small cage for a few days because of a hurricane. They did fine. Squirrels are masters at adapting!

[Chirp]

last winter we had a bad cold snap.
My 5 year old squirrel came back home and climbing on window screen making all kinds of noise.
I made him his snack, opened door to feed him.
And well he came right on in for 7 hours b4 he wanted back out.

Rocky also had a release cage that i started him off with in the day time for a bit b4 i moved to letting him stay all night.

[pappy1264]

I usually do not even put my babies out into the release cage until 16 weeks, sometimes later if they are singles. I would wait a few more weeks before putting him back out, especially since he is a single. JMPO.