Need perm home for neuro squirrel

[Herpvettech]

Hey everyone, not sure where to post this.

We have a female squirrel that presented with head trauma about 6 weeks ago that now needs a forever home. She has made strides but is still somewhat neurologic. She can climb, eat, and play on her own but she will not be releasable. She has the potential to have a good quality of life being a squirrel but would surely get picked off almost immediately in the wild.

Please note that she is NOT hand tame. My guess is she is about 5 months old

Does anyone have room for her?

[4Puddles]

I might be able to take her, would you have any way to get her to the mid Atlantic area?

[Herpvettech]

I unfortunately do not have transportation to that area. Only in Florida.

[Jennefer]

Where in Florida are you at? And when you say "not tame", as in she freaks out &/or bites or goes nuts when people get close to her? Does she have a person she is bonded to? Or was she picked up out of the wild as a neuro, so she's had limited human contact? What's her situation with meds or long term care needs?

[Herpvettech]

Where in Florida are you at? And when you say "not tame", as in she freaks out &/or bites or goes nuts when people get close to her? Does she have a person she is bonded to? Or was she picked up out of the wild as a neuro, so she's had limited human contact? What's her situation with meds or long term care needs?

Sorry, heres some background info.

She came into the rehab center that I work at after possibly falling out of a tree. At this point she was a 90 gram baby that I finished weaning. She presented very unsteady (ataxic) and would zig zag from side to side when she walked and occasionally fall over. I took her into home care and provided her with a flat cage because she could not climb without falling at this point. Over the course of two weeks she made significant improvements and was moved to a tall cage as she began to be able to climb but was still somewhat unsteady walking. She was eating great and acting otherwise like a normal squirrel. Based on her improvements and exhibiting normal squirrel behavior, I started with a "hands off" approach to prevent her from imprinting for release preparation as I expected her to continue to improve. Welllll..... her improvements plateaued at a point where she is still unsteady at times and (what was my biggest hold back from releasing her) she falls over when startled or corner and kind of "runs in place". The concern became that the first thing that scared her would kill/eat her because she wouldn't be able to get away with her state.

I say that she is not tame in the capacity that she is not a squirrel that is going to come and sit on your shoulder and cuddle you. She will accept nuts from your hand and is ok with you reaching in to her cage for cleaning but she does not tolerate handling very well. She does not try to bite but she vocalizes and becomes obviously stressed. She is not maintained on any medications currently and does not have any real restrictions as far as caging goes height wise.

Her climbing abilities are normal for a squirrel, she continues to be a great eater, and has the capacity for a good quality of life which is why I am trying to place her rather than just euthanize her due to the fact that she is non-releasable. I do not and will not euthanize anything that is not medically necessary.

We are located in southwest Florida, and I can help with transport within the state.

I hope that answers most of your questions.

Best regards, Krissi

[Jennefer]

Thanks for the info Krissi....she sounds pretty manageable. Do you think she will continue to improve or remain as is? Im in the Tampa Bay area, so not too far away. I am considering taking her & would like to talk to you about her & maybe get some pictures or video. I will PM you my # so we can maybe set up a time to talk about her, if that works for you. As far as taming, I haven't had a cuddly squirrel yet (still looking LOL) but I have many outdoor wilds that let me hold & touch them, eat out of my hands, climb all over me & even a momma that has brought me not one, but 2 of her litters. SO maybe I can work some magic on this little one. :gigg I certainly dont want her put down. Breaks my heart. My only concern is if she is not really tame or overly friendly, I worry about what kind of life she will have on her own in a cage (like a hamster or gerbil, etc). I am certainly willing to work with her on friending her or "socializing". Thoughts?