Releasing adult w slightly crooked leg?

[applecrisped]

So the regulars have probably seen Little Sister's thread in the infirmary - I wanted to post here just to get more eyes. There were more delays on my part, but I'm hoping to get her outside Monday or Tuesday.

Briefly, one of the girls I raised in '21 broke her lower back leg in June. I have a squirrel friendly vet who splinted it, but for whatever reason we didn't get great alignment.

So, her leg is a bit crooked and her foot is turned out a tad. When she turns her back feet to hang, it doesn't quite turn right. When she pancakes it doesn't quite lay right.
She never acts like it hurts, but she does still favor it sometimes when hanging or climbing downwards. If she hangs off me, 90% of the time I can feel that she has more weight on the good leg.

Other than that, she runs, climbs, and jumps just fine. I give her a few hours a day to run around the room - there's tree branches of various sizes set up for her, including a couple hanging from the ceiling that swing a bit.

Having said all of that, how do we feel about releasing her? She's doing great indoors, but the 50' oak tree might be a different story.

I'm in the south so it's not too late in the year. Our lows will be in the low 60's all next week. And I don't plan on giving her too long in the release cage before opening it, because I know she's just going to try to chew her way out and I don't want her to mess up her teeth.

Blurry, but hopefully you can see what I'm talking about with her right leg:
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[Charley Chuckles]

I'm not sure, maybe if your in Florida but she looks like a Foxer ....
Bumping your thread 👍

[applecrisped]

Yes she's a foxer. I'm over in north-east-ish Texas. Latitude-wise, comparable to a bit south of Atlanta I think.
Everything is still green and the acorns haven't started dropping yet, so I just assumed we still had time for releasing. But if not please let me know!
Now that I think about the wilds have been scarce for the past few weeks. I guess they're already prepping for winter.

I'll take a look in the tree tomorrow too and see how many nests are up there. If wilds have moved into Sister's usual spots since she's been inside, that's a factor too. She'll have the release cage available of course, but I can't make her use it.

Here's some better pictures of her leg from the other thread.
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[applecrisped]

Bump.

I just put all of the bedding from the RC nestbox in the wash. Everything should be ready for her tomorrow.

I'm not 100% decided yet. I know she wants to be outside but I worry about her leg. It doesn't seem to being slowing her down or bothering her at all... I just don't have enough experience here to be comfortable in my judgment.

As for it being late in the year: our first frost is usually late November and we generally don't have stretches of below-freezing temps until Jan or Feb.
I see one maybe-nest in the tree. It's in a dead limb that's caught up there so it might just be a wad of leaves. Her winter nesting spot on the shed porch is also unoccupied.

[TubeDriver]

I say... release her. The leg sounds like it has a slight deficit but if she can run/jump and climb, she deserves a chance out there in the trees. This leg issue does NOT sound like it makes her an NR. That leg may never be 100% but it sounds like it has enough function for her to be successful in the wild. :great




Bump.

I just put all of the bedding from the RC nestbox in the wash. Everything should be ready for her tomorrow.

I'm not 100% decided yet. I know she wants to be outside but I worry about her leg. It doesn't seem to being slowing her down or bothering her at all... I just don't have enough experience here to be comfortable in my judgment.

As for it being late in the year: our first frost is usually late November and we generally don't have stretches of below-freezing temps until Jan or Feb.
I see one maybe-nest in the tree. It's in a dead limb that's caught up there so it might just be a wad of leaves. Her winter nesting spot on the shed porch is also unoccupied.

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Hi Applecrisped and Little Sister!
I'm sorry that your new post has not yet resulted in some comments but I'll offer mine now for what they may be worth. I know that you mentioned that Sister climbs on the branches in her room but do these branches adequately simulate the trunk of a tree in at least diameter if not with bark but preferably this as well and is Sister RUNNING up AND down these branches? One of my concerns in particular is that Squirrels run up and down trees ordinarily with little difference in speed and maneuverability between the two BUT the running down the tree (and this is necessary to escape from predators from above or sudden adverse conditions in the tree ) is what I am especially concerned with! Squirrels amazingly are ordinarily able to rotate their hind feet (at the ankle region) 180 degrees and run down a tree! Both of their hind feet must be aligned with their claws also aligned to permit this! I am concerned about Sister's ability to do this or is there a heightened (no pun intended!) risk of falling or maneuvering especially when running down the tree.

As far as releases in GENERAL (not in regard to Sister's unique hind limb issue which may pose other general functional issues as noted above)) that occur as Winter approaches; I believe that you are in the "maybe" zone as far as climate goes! Again, Applecrisped, these are my opinions and others may not agree with me and certainly it is worth continuing to solicit others' opinions; I'll give you mine and that is in areas with there is a regularly expected frozen, snowy and inhospitable Winter; I would kindly urge overwintering rather than release now! For other regions where Winter is mild and food and liquid water sources are readily available and bitter cold temperatures are far from reality such as in many localities in Florida; successful releases can expected throughout the year! We now come to the "maybe" zones and I live in one of these also! I'll just make my statement and let it rest while others chime in (hopefully) but I would at least seriously consider overwintering. I just don't like the thought of a potentially rapid approach of a Winter that is often unpredictable and can possess some elements of harsh Winters and I just don't feel pressed to do a release! I don't know if you were in one of the wide regions in Texas where the "Great Texas Freeze" of 2021 occurred; and granted, that was an extreme rarity but shorter periods of similar temperatures and conditions are definitely NOT rarities in areas of Texas! The bottom line in my opinion would be that assuming that a release done at this time; all would be ok! I just never have half a million babies to contend with as some do here on TSB and it really doesn't make a bit of difference to me to hold a baby or two over the Winter and give them three seasons to further adapt to the wild before Winter. The other issue is that while a Soft-Release is absolutely necessary for a successful introduction to the wild, the Squirrels still have much to learn and IMHO, the Soft-Release results in enough acclimation and activation of natural instinct to permit the baby Squirrel to survive long enough to learn more and become maximally adapted to the wild. My personal belief is that a "real" winter relatively early in release is a survival risk! Well, there, I said it! I may be as wrong as wrong can be but it's what I believe!

Please tell Sister that I said hello!

I just posted this and then noticed TubeDrivers post. There's another opinion right off and it is probably more valuable than mine because for my recommendation was more emotionally based than experientially based and TubeDrivers was far more of a "healthy" recommendation becuase his rationale was more experientially based than emotionally based!

Regards,
SamtheSquirrel;

[applecrisped]

Thank you both!

Little Sister and Sweetie are the only ones I've raised, and they were pinkies, so I'm understandably attached and, well, over-protective.

But I think TubeDriver has it right. Sister's deficit is minimal and she's had plenty of time to adjust to it in a safe environment. There haven't been any slips or falls or anything like that.

One of my backyard regulars is missing a whole front leg and she is doing just fine - I saw her on the bird feeder this morning. Which is encouraging to me; they're more adaptable than I expect.

StS, running down is my concern too. All of the branches have bark and the largest one is set up vertically. It's 4-5" across. So, not wide enough to mimic a tree trunk.
However, she does climb all over me - up and down and scooting around me like I'm a tree.
I think my back is wide enough and flat enough to be tree trunk-ish, but obviously I can't see her back there so that's no help! :rotfl
On the occasion that she stops for a second during this, I try to gage how her weight is distributed and it always seems to be more on her left. She definitely uses both feet though.

I have another slow motion video of her going up and down said branch: https://youtube.com/shorts/QzIBnm5C3-w

And a picture of her feet while hanging off my knee.
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Funny you mention the great Texas freeze, Sweetie and Sister were 2-3 weeks old at the time. We didn't lose power but it did delay my fox valley delivery. I had to drive to the store in icy slush for goat milk and yogurt.

Addendum: if/when I release her, I'll be keeping an eye on her for at least a couple days. If something doesn't look right, I'll bribe her back into the RC with sunflower seeds and we'll reassess.

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Thank you Applecrisped for posting the video of Little Sister going up and down the tree trunk so very well and jumping and even doing so flying! That's quite convincing evidence of Sister's funtionaliy! Has the FAA found out that Sister is flying without a pilot's license?
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[TubeDriver]

Yea, after seeing that video I am even more sure she is fine to be released! There is always a big adjustment period that lasts a couple weeks following release. The newly released squirrel builds muscle, fine and gross motor control, coordination, situational awareness etc etc as they explore their new, much larger world. So it is common for newly released squirrels to return to their soft-release cage in the evening completely exhausted after a hard day of running, climbing and jumping. But as long as they remain injury free and they are eager to exit the cage in the morning, they are good to go. Just keep a close eye on her for the first week or two!

[applecrisped]

So I'm really just being an overly worried squirrel mom! Lol :embar

After everything I said yesterday about not having seen Sister hang/climb on anything comparable to a tree...
This morning she spent some minutes hanging down my back so she could examine something new in the nearby chair. Completely still and in just the right spot that I could turn my head and get a good look at her right foot. It looked just fine.:w00t
Her back feet were down closer to my scapula this time, as opposed to gripping over the curve of the top of my shoulder... so I now have confirmation that she can grip on a flat-ish surface like a large tree trunk.

The RC is ready and she'll be in it tomorrow. Sister says thank you for giving me the push I needed to get her back outside.

Any further, non-help-needed, updates will be on her other thread. (https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?70650-Little-Sister-s-thread&p=1372714#post1372714) :peace