Help for Nibbler

[Nibbler]

Hey everyone,
first want to say I love this board. there's so many wonderful people on here. I don't know if I'm posting in the correct area forgive me if I'm wrong
I'm looking for help for an 8-9month old female squirrel.
Due to certain situations that have happened I dont think I can release her myself and I can't keep her now if release failed. she's healthy and very active. she's my lil nut nut. I love her to pieces we have a pretty strong bond and this breaks my heart to an extent Its hard to compare. :boohoo. I don't know if a rehabber facility will take her and give her the life she needs. people keep telling me (Not rehabbers) I can't release her. she won't survive. I'll get in trouble for surrendering her to a rehabber. I live in upstate south carolina. I don't want to get into trouble, from what I have looked up it's legal to an extent. I just didn't know if someone on here would be willing to take her and get her on a release process or if a rehabber facility would be better. Amy advice would be greatly appreciated. 319262.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Let me assure you… if she is healthy, you definitely CAN release her. She will do fine. She is actually at a very good age. Even when raised from pinkie stage, 99% of squirrels want to live in the trees. It is very rare that a healthy squirrel will not release. Has she been fed a healthy diet?

Is there a reason you can’t release her in your current location?

[HRT4SQRLS]

Of course, release by an experienced, trustworthy rehabber would be ideal. BUT, to be honest with you, I have become very cynical of some ‘rehabbers’. If I don’t know them personally, I will never recommend turning them over to a facility. Some ‘rehabbers’ have the idea that squirrels raised by the public are too friendly and can’t be released. They say they are too habituated (imprinted) to humans. That is TOTAL NONSENSE!!! I have never had a healthy squirrel that couldn’t be release and I have released year old pet squirrels. Some that I have released in my yard stay friendly and some leave completely. Even the friendly ones are not OVERLY friendly after a week or so. They never want be me to touch them or pick them up. They won’t even tolerate being petted. They quickly wild up and become the wild creature that they were born to be.

[Nibbler]

I hope her diet is healthy I following henerys healthy diet.
she eats three times a day.
morning and afternoon
HHB, sliced cut up carrots, broccoli cut up, bok choy cut up, mushrooms cut up, one sliced seedless grape with the skin off.
sometimes a hazelnut or pecan or almond shelled. only one of those selections twice a day
Night
she gets the same veggies.
No fruit
and if she didn't get her second nut for the day I give her one after she's eaten.
I also try best to get her wild foods about what I can find in my yard is acrons or dandelions ( I do not give her acrons)
My reason for not be able to release her myself is it high probably I will be moving it's in the city lots of neighbors and right off a very busy highway. I could try to release her where I live now but idk if it's too late in the season. it would take me a couple weeks to build her release cage. winter is usually very mild in the upstate and it's been waaaay to hot to do it in August. The house we are at now probably will not sell for 6months or longer. I would like to release her where I can keep an eye on her though..I wanted to try and do it at my dads he lives on lake Hartwell but I'm afraid of neighbors seeing her. my heart is torn. ig I could try to ask my dad if she can be released there and build a cage for her. but im confused on what I need to feed her while she's in the release process. can I continue with what she eats and try what wild foods I can find? thank you for replying I love this nut nut.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Her diet is perfect. Good job!!! :grin2

No, I wouldn’t release her in the city near a busy road.
I’m in FL so we can release pretty much year round even though I don’t release in Jan or Feb. I’m not sure about SC. Your dad’s property sounds like a good place or you could keep her until spring at your new location. I’m guessing but you probably have up until Nov to release. I think we have a member on Lake Hartwell. Maybe he will see this and sound in. He knows the climate.

[Nibbler]

Thank you :hug
I will admit when I got her I wasn't sure her diet.
This forum was a huge help for the first two months I was online looking up everything and not trying something new til I was 100% sure it was ok for her. I must have read thousands of posts. I learned a lot.
I love what you guys do and how compassionante you all are.
I hope they do!! I love this ball of engery and it's clear as day she loves me and trusts me. I was crying so hard this morning after posting this, she knew too. she came up to me instead of her food and laid her head on me and licked and nibbled me making me feel better. I sing to her at night and then say bedtime for bonzo (something my grandma use to say to me at bedtime, was an older TV show lol) and without a fuss she will crawl in her bed. sometimes she grabs my hand and takes it into her bed to cuddle and of course I'm a sucker for those big doe eyes so I lay my hand in there for her to cuddle. she doesn't like other people which is good she runs to the back of her cage or hides so I don't think she will approach anyone, if so probably only me. :Love_Icon

[HRT4SQRLS]

Yeah, she owns you. :rotfl:bliss
A lot of us around here have that condition. :grin2 A squirrel that friendly can be released but it is likely she might stay somewhat friendly towards you. Singletons tend to be even more bonded to their person. My first release (Susie) was spoiled rotten. I released her and she stayed around and was somewhat friendly but if I tried to pet her, she bit me every time. She moved to my nieces property next door. She had babies over there but would still return. She was around for over 6 years but I haven’t seen her in quite a while. :( Twice she was near death with bot fly infestation and she came home and allowed me to nurse her back to health. Actually, I released her 3 times. :grin2 I loved her so much :Love_Icon so I totally understand your feelings.

[Nibbler]

well I just went to home depot. I think even tho wood is so expensive the 1/2 wire mesh is $76 for 4ft by 25ft.
I was thinking her cage needs to be atleast 4ft wide 5ft long and 6 ft tall. put a 1/2 wire mesh on the floor and ceiling with a cover on one part like a part of tarp so she can't get out n nothing dig under to get in and I could build it with jointed wood walls on two sides block some wind and rain amd would be easier to attach a nesting box put the 2inch door made of square wood frame and 1/2 inch mesh on it with a shelf under on each side for her to climb onto and a bigger door for me to walk into if needed. I could also probably feed her through this smaller door too. I know when releasing you need to wean them off contact to let them wild up. some people have to be mean and loud when they go for feeding idk if I could. I'm waiting on my dad to call me to let me know I can do it at his place my plan is to build the cage asap. and once built bring her over to my dads and put her in it. probably take a few days off work and stay with her until she's not so freaked out then start to leave her a lone n only feed her and stay at my dads until the process is complete and she's free. I'm assuming I still feed her as normal? the veggies and HHB with maybe a few more nuts in her diet?

[Nibbler]

that's so sweet I'm glad she still came up to you atleast!! I'm sorry to hear she hasn't been seen that's my biggest fear but I know how nature can be and I also know they relocate aswell. I hope she's still a happy lil squirrel. I'd love for nibbler to have babies! ik some will come show their babies and even come to their two legged parents for help. my dad lives right on the lake he's got giant pine trees that are well over 50ft tall and squirrels in his yard atleast one I've seen that lives in one of those trees it doesn't look very big but you see it climbing down mid afternoon.

[CritterMom]

well I just went to home depot. I think even tho wood is so expensive the 1/2 wire mesh is $76 for 4ft by 25ft.
I was thinking her cage needs to be atleast 4ft wide 5ft long and 6 ft tall. put a 1/2 wire mesh on the floor and ceiling with a cover on one part like a part of tarp so she can't get out n nothing dig under to get in and I could build it with jointed wood walls on two sides block some wind and rain amd would be easier to attach a nesting box put the 2inch door made of square wood frame and 1/2 inch mesh on it with a shelf under on each side for her to climb onto and a bigger door for me to walk into if needed. I could also probably feed her through this smaller door too. I know when releasing you need to wean them off contact to let them wild up. some people have to be mean and loud when they go for feeding idk if I could. I'm waiting on my dad to call me to let me know I can do it at his place my plan is to build the cage asap. and once built bring her over to my dads and put her in it. probably take a few days off work and stay with her until she's not so freaked out then start to leave her a lone n only feed her and stay at my dads until the process is complete and she's free. I'm assuming I still feed her as normal? the veggies and HHB with maybe a few more nuts in her diet?

A suggestion to make everything cheaper and build a cage that she will feel MUCH more safe in. Plus, you will be able to repurpose a large part of it.

Build the top, back, and at least one side from solid plywood. It doesn't have to be super thick, interior quality, either. Like mafia capos, squirrels won't voluntarily sit with their back to the door. Wire all around feels like an indefensible place for them. Open roofs allow things like hawks and owls to actually sit right above them. They will be much happier with at most, two sides open, and the cheap, rough, kind of this plywood that isn't used for construction is not nearly as pricey as the other stuff. I also suggest you look online for your wire mesh. Once she is out and no longer returning to her release cage you can even knock it down and salvage the ply and even the wire for other projects. Also, look for 2x3s rather than 2x4s for the framework - again, not used for building, usually rougher than 2x4s and a lot cheaper.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Sounds like a great plan. Unfortunately, building supplies are very expensive right now. Don’t get me started on that. Lumber has come down quite a bit from the high though. The biggest concerns for the release cage are making it predator proof and location. You don’t want raccoons or other predators tearing into the cage with Nibbler. A location that provides shade is best. Of course a roof would provide that but it tends to be cooler in the shade of trees. I also like my release cage near the trees. They are safer in the trees so I like them to go up trees as soon as possible. My new releases do like to go on the ground though. I just love watching them dig in the dirt and root around with their nose.

You do need a small feeding door. You also need shelves up higher in the cage. Squirrels like to be up high looking down. I put a shelf for their feeding bowl near the small door. I have a wooden nest box in the cage. I don’t know how high the trees are but if possible I like to put a nest box in the trees. I have many boxes in my trees. If she is released before winter a nest box would be important. In the spring and summer they prefer dreys that they build.

You would feed her her normal diet. A lot of rehabbers will cut back the number of feedings. I usually feed them a very large breakfast and then nut treats or a block in the afternoon. They need to start being weaned from the idea that room service will deliver their food on schedule. When released you continue to feed until she stops coming to the release cage. After that I just pass out treats.

[Nibbler]

well my dad called me back.... he's all good with her being released there he just doesn't know how long she will survive.. its on a lake so there is many wild life n ig my dads neighbor was killing them because they cause damage to his house... sigh.. idk what to do.. she will not have a good life at the new house.. she can't roam free like she can in my room I have now n its in the city.. the house we are still currently at is perfect I'm surrounded by woods there is a highway n yes I do see some unfortunate souls down there from time to time but you got to go down the driveway. theirs a creek on the other side of the drive. There's many squirrels in my yard that are thriving but she won't have anyone if she needs help.. my heart hurts..