Questions regarding Rehab/release of a Singleton!!

[MissE]

Good morning!

I am currently rehabbing an almost 6 week old female grey squirrel (Penelope). She is my 2nd squirrel to rehab. Last year I overwintered and released a male fox squirrel this past Spring (10.5 mo at release). Although I am pretty new to this I am pretty confident in my ability to rehab this baby. I follow all the suggested guidelines regarding nutrition, warmth, housing etc. I was on this board religiously last year and even reached out a couple times for help and questions regarding my last release. You all have been incredibly helpful and I appreciate your time and opinions tremendously!

My last release (Wilbur) was such and amazing experience that I will cherish forever. He as such a sweet and loving boy! I thought I followed all the pre-release advice mostly to a T but release did not go well. Wilbur and I were pretty bonded and I now wonder if that was what affected the outcome. He showed all signs of "wilding up" prior to my opening the portals on his pre-release cage EXCEPT for his bond with me. I read time and time again that our bond would fade upon release and eventually he would wild up and our contact would be next to nothing or only on his terms. I was okay with that and completely prepared for that. I only wanted what was best for him.

However....either I made some type of mistake in placement of his pre- release cage (close to our house), handled him too much during the winter, didn't allow him enough time to wild up, or it wasn't my fault?! Maybe he was scared, territorial, didn't realize he was a squirrel yet, hit his first rut, or maybe was just a bully?! Because he ended up climbing on and biting every member of my family, a neighbor, and an in-home nurse that came to visit my father-in-law at our home. The only person her did not bite was me.

After his first incident I reached out on this board and followed all advice that was given to me. Stopped all contact, put food in his cage when he wasn't around, tried to stay away from our yard as much as possible, made loud noises when we had to go outside to deter him from approaching us. When he did approach us we would either calmly tell him no, shake a can of rocks, throw him a nut, blow an airhorn etc. We tried everything. I stayed away more than anyone since I was "his person". I wanted him to wild up and not hurt my family anymore. My family loved him too and this was devastating for all of us.

After his last bite occurrence where he jumped on an unsuspecting in-home nurse and road on her shoulder into our house and bit her because she literally lost her mind with fear (understandably so) he disappeared. I'm not sure if someone relocated him without my knowledge or if he relocated himself. Either way, the following day the the game warden showed up at our house to confiscate him to "test him for rabies" since he bit the nurse and she reported the incident to the hospital.

Anyway, the ending to our story was tragic. I don't know if he's dead or alive. Several people were hurt in the process and I was left with all the what if's, feeling like I failed him, and a broken heart.

Which brings me to my questions for my current rehab (Penelope). Should I try to find a rehabber that currently has babies her age to rehab and release her? Do singleton's have a harder time adjusting than babies that were raised with their own? Are females less dominant/territorial/aggressive then males? If I cannot find a rehabber to take her I realize that I will have to overwinter her. I live in Missouri and it gets pretty cold here. Is it best to overwinter her indoors because she's alone or outside to ensure she has plenty of time to wild up before Spring?

(I overwintered my last rehab indoors and even though he had a minimum of 3 hours a day out of cage time, it was not enough. He paced so much the last month or two and it was devastating).

I truly want what's best for Penelope and will do whatever it takes and I realize no-one will have a definitive answer on this but, any advice is appreciated! I have also read numerous time how each squirrel personality is different and my faith tells me that we won't experience the same scenario twice. And it can't get any worse than the last time? Right? I can only hope.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this long post and for taking the time to assist.

[MeganRaye2020]

I can't help with your release issue and I'm very sorry about your previous baby. I've only had my baby five weeks and can not imagine one day just not knowing where my Myla went and if she was okay or not... But I was having the same thoughts because I live in Ohio and can't find a rehabber so I'll have to raise this baby girl this winter and scared that I'll have trouble releasing her (not because of me but because of her) so I hope I see some good answers on your thread. Thanks and good luck!

[Chirps]

Wow, I wish I had something positive to offer you! It's such a shame it turned out so badly with Wilbur. You're probably right in that you won't have a repeat with Penelope, but after all you've been through of course it has to worry you.

I only ever had one, also a female Eastern grey. It mostly went the way I hoped. On release she lived in a squirrel house in my yard, and came daily for food. My niece wanted to interact with her, and did, minimally, on the odd days she came to my house after school. I won't lie and say I wasn't nervous when Navvy jumped on her and climbed around on her bookbag. I also told her not to try to touch Navvy and to offer treats in a way that Navvy could easily take them, and to keep her hands tucked under her arms or at least fingers curled under if Navvy came close to check her out. My niece was never bitten, but she didn't see Navvy much either. And then Navvy disappeared the following summer. I haven't seen her for three years now.

[TubeDriver]

I remember when you released Wilbur and how tough it turned out. :( All I can say is that outcomes like this can happen but are not very common. I do think that the whole release process is harder for singletons. If I had a singleton and the option to turn him/her over to a rehabber who had a couple of similar age babies, I probably would. While people often successfully release singletons, I think that it is better that they grow up with some 'siblings' so that they learn how to behave like a squirrel. So while I think you can most likely successfully release Penelope as a singleton, its best if you can give her some siblings to grow up and be released with. If you decide to release her as a singleton, I would overwinter her inside and plan on giving her a good long soft-release outside once it is spring and the tree leaves start to bud. She should start to become a bit unruly over the winter as she becomes full sized and that process will continue when you place her outside. Limit your handling of her over the winter too. Good luck and I hope your naughty boy Wilbur is out there somewhere, maybe on a nearby street, living a good life as a wild squirrel.

[MissE]

I can't help with your release issue and I'm very sorry about your previous baby. I've only had my baby five weeks and can not imagine one day just not knowing where my Myla went and if she was okay or not... But I was having the same thoughts because I live in Ohio and can't find a rehabber so I'll have to raise this baby girl this winter and scared that I'll have trouble releasing her (not because of me but because of her) so I hope I see some good answers on your thread. Thanks and good luck!

Thank you for your well wishes with Penelope and your empathy regarding Wilbur. It has been very hard on me with the way that things turned out with Wilbur. I was a worried about so many things regrading Wilbur's release all Winter. I was so excited for him to be wild and free yet couldn't help but think of all the bad things that could happen to him and how much I would miss him. I never for a second contemplated what actually ended up happening with him. But, I guess that's the issues with being fearful. Things never turn out the way we fear them?! I can only pray that his timing was absolutely impeccable and he is wild and free living his best life.

Currently, with Penelope I am nervous but am trying push the fears aside and remind myself that she is a different baby. I have a second chance. With this chance though, I want to change any and all things I possibly can that will ensure a peaceful transition for her.

I hope my story doesn't discourage or scare you with your baby girl. I have been assured on numerous occasions that my situation is was not very common. I can say that no matter what, I will cherish our time together forever. He was a very special guy and I learned so much, felt tremendous joy, and laughed hard in the 1 year that he was in our lives. He made a huge impact on my life to say the least. I send you well wishes and hugs as you overwinter your baby girl. May you experience the same joy all Winter long. And come Spring time may her release be as beautiful as you imagine it to be. Thank you.

[MissE]

Wow, I wish I had something positive to offer you! It's such a shame it turned out so badly with Wilbur. You're probably right in that you won't have a repeat with Penelope, but after all you've been through of course it has to worry you.

I only ever had one, also a female Eastern grey. It mostly went the way I hoped. On release she lived in a squirrel house in my yard, and came daily for food. My niece wanted to interact with her, and did, minimally, on the odd days she came to my house after school. I won't lie and say I wasn't nervous when Navvy jumped on her and climbed around on her bookbag. I also told her not to try to touch Navvy and to offer treats in a way that Navvy could easily take them, and to keep her hands tucked under her arms or at least fingers curled under if Navvy came close to check her out. My niece was never bitten, but she didn't see Navvy much either. And then Navvy disappeared the following summer. I haven't seen her for three years now.


Thank you for responding and offering support. My heart says it will be fine. My head is definitely scared. I prepared all members of my family prior to his release that he once he was released to give him his space and to not touch him as he may be scared or territorial and possibly bite. That he's a wild animal with wild instincts and those instincts can be unpredictable. Everyone followed my instructions but after the first couple of incidents they were fearful (especially my kids) and I think Wilbur felt that fear paired with just the wrong movement on their parts = bite! One of my poor sons, was bitten twice :(. They were terrified to go outside for the longest time. We were literal prisoners to our home for weeks. Creepily watching him through the windows to make sure he was doing okay and to make sure he wasn't nearby when we had to exit our home. They loved him so much but felt so hurt by him. I get it. I did too. I had to remind them his wild instinct were taking over and to not take it personal.

Anyway, I'm happy to hear that your experience turned out good but sorry to hear you haven't seen her in such a long time. Sounds like she is off living her best life elsewhere.

[MissE]

I remember when you released Wilbur and how tough it turned out. :( All I can say is that outcomes like this can happen but are not very common. I do think that the whole release process is harder for singletons. If I had a singleton and the option to turn him/her over to a rehabber who had a couple of similar age babies, I probably would. While people often successfully release singletons, I think that it is better that they grow up with some 'siblings' so that they learn how to behave like a squirrel. So while I think you can most likely successfully release Penelope as a singleton, its best if you can give her some siblings to grow up and be released with. If you decide to release her as a singleton, I would overwinter her inside and plan on giving her a good long soft-release outside once it is spring and the tree leaves start to bud. She should start to become a bit unruly over the winter as she becomes full sized and that process will continue when you place her outside. Limit your handling of her over the winter too. Good luck and I hope your naughty boy Wilbur is out there somewhere, maybe on a nearby street, living a good life as a wild squirrel.


Thank you for your advice and wishes of luck. After our experience with Wilbur I can't help but think that as much as I'd love a do-over and to experience all the pleasures and craziness of raising a baby squirrel, that I really need to consider what's best for her in a different way than I did with Wilbur. I take excellent care of any animal I am blessed with caring for and knew that he had the best life that I could possibly provide. However, I am not a squirrel and only another squirrel could/can offer Wilbur/Penelope what I can not. With less emotion and worry too. Lol.

I too hope Wilbur is off living a good life somewhere else but the not knowing is so hard! I remind myself often when I feel this way that his disappearing was a possibility regardless of what happened beforehand.

I am definitely going to try to find Penelope a rehabber with other baby squirrels. I truly fee that its best for everyone. I just know that I may not be successful. I had no luck with getting assistance with Wilbur and so far no luck with Penelope. I ended up with her because her finders were unable to get in contact with someone to take her. Should I make a post on this board seeking help? Are all the rehabbers that may respond vetted? If, I am not absolutely sure that she will end up in the best hands, I will raise her myself and take the risk.

Thanks again.

[MissE]

** Update**

I have found a rehabilitation facility near me that agreed to take Penelope. She will be raised and overwintered with 7 other baby squirrels her age! I am so happy for Penelope but so sad for myself. You get attached so easily to these beautiful creatures! However, I only want what's best for her. God willing I will be volunteering at this facility to assist in rehabbing Penelope and babies of all species :)