Juvenile squirrel, no tail, needs forever home

[Patty]

Hi, my friend, who raises and releases orphaned baby grey squirrels with me, has a squirrel that is 3 to 4 weeks old, male, that lost his tail as a baby. He, along with his litter mates fell with the nest from a tree hanging over a major highway. He is the only one to survive and had lost his tail from being injured. He is very healthy and VERY playful! They only have a small release cage outside, so they don't think it's fair to keep him in there, so he has the run of the up stairs, along with Honey, another non releasable adult squirrel. You see, it is not a problem to keep Honey, as she is missing her lower teeth from injuries when a baby, but Shorty is chewing the house down! Yes, he has antlers and other things to chew on and preoccupy himself, but he ends up going back to their woodwork, window sills, and wood furnishings. So, any ideas for them or a home where he is not caged up, would be appreciated. They love this little guy, but if they could find the right situation for him, they would definitely consider it. His name is Shorty and lives in west central Florida.

[Nancy in New York]

Hi, my friend, who raises and releases orphaned baby grey squirrels with me, has a squirrel that is 3 to 4 weeks old, male, that lost his tail as a baby. He, along with his litter mates fell with the nest from a tree hanging over a major highway. He is the only one to survive and had lost his tail from being injured. He is very healthy and VERY playful! They only have a small release cage outside, so they don't think it's fair to keep him in there, so he has the run of the up stairs, along with Honey, another non releasable adult squirrel. You see, it is not a problem to keep Honey, as she is missing her lower teeth from injuries when a baby, but Shorty is chewing the house down! Yes, he has antlers and other things to chew on and preoccupy himself, but he ends up going back to their woodwork, window sills, and wood furnishings. So, any ideas for them or a home where he is not caged up, would be appreciated. They love this little guy, but if they could find the right situation for him, they would definitely consider it. His name is Shorty and lives in west central Florida.

How old is this little guy, Shorty?
He can't be 3-4 weeks old and chewing the house down.
He's not monitored when he's loose?

[farm mom]

Just because he has no tail doesn't mean he non releasable. I have many wilds that have partial or no tails and they do fine.

[TubeDriver]

FM is exactly right, a squirrel without a tail can survive outside, they are not that uncommon. As NINY stated, lots of dangerous stuff in households (electrical cords, toilets, chemicals, meds etc etc) that can hurt or kill a squirrel.

[Patty]

Sorry, I meant to say 3 to 4 months old, my bad! And he has the run of the place. He is played with off and on through out the day, but not monitored all the time. My friend did say that she could ask her husband to make a huge kennel outside, so he can play there during the day and see other squirrels, and bring him in at night to interact with them and sleep. She said that he has fallen at least twice from the trees that she has seen, and the last time he was hurt so badly, she found him like that in the morning. Not sure what happened, but she thinks he fell again. This all happened within the 1st week of letting him go.

[Nancy in New York]

Sorry, I meant to say 3 to 4 months old, my bad! And he has the run of the place. He is played with off and on through out the day, but not monitored all the time. My friend did say that she could ask her husband to make a huge kennel outside, so he can play there during the day and see other squirrels, and bring him in at night to interact with them and sleep. She said that he has fallen at least twice from the trees that she has seen, and the last time he was hurt so badly, she found him like that in the morning. Not sure what happened, but she thinks he fell again. This all happened within the 1st week of letting him go.

Wait a minute, this one is 3-4 months old and he has already been released once?
I worry for this little innocent life. :shakehead :(

[Patty]

Yes, Nancy in New York! Let me give you more detail. He was in an outside transition cage with another male, Jessie, same age and they were both released together at the appropriate time (this was 2 weeks ago) I'm trying to think of his age now, and I would guess 16 weeks? Jessie and Shorty ran all around the trees, and twice Shorty fell. After a day or two, he was found in the morning, back in the transition cage by himself, whining, very sore to the touch and a bloody nose. He didn't want to move. After leaving him be for a few hours, she had been checking on him and he was the same, she brought him in, weighed him, and gave him a dose of Meloxicam she had on hand. He started slowly improving and would eat again without coaxing. Meanwhile Jessie is having a ball, found new friends and is fine. My friend is convinced that he cannot be released because of all that has happened. I am the one that encouraged her to try to release him to begin with. Suggestions please? :thinking:dono