Calming thoughts please

[macytree]

So apparently we aren't moving until the 1st of January and we didn't want to wait that long to release her, she's really not happy living in a cage no matter how much we let her play inside.

So we've been taking her out for playtime at our current apartment complex every day. Today is the first day I've left her outside by herself. She's been out for about 3 hours and every time I check on her she's sitting in the same spot in the tree. I'm worried because she won't come down to me like she always does. I'm guessing this is how it's supposed to be but it's really making me nervous. Should I try to lure her down with food or just leave her up there and assume her squirrely instincts are kicking in?

Keep in mind that she's had several dealings with the other squirrels so she knows how to interact with them and she can find food on her own. My only real concern was how she was with other people. Well that and the natural concerns, what if she gets eaten by a hawk, what if she misses us, what if she gets cold, what if it rains, all that stuff.

Why am I so nervous?

[Mrs. Jack]

You're nervous because she is your baby and you want her to be safe and do well. :Love_Icon

squirrels can sit in one spot for an awful long time just checking things out. that is likely what she's doing.. She's not making any noise or seeming distressed and there's no threat around? Could be that she's working it all out in her head : "I want to be here... but there's mom... but this is really great.. but a little scary..." it could be taking her some time.. they don't all just take off willy nilly never to be seen again, some of them are more cautious.

I won't tell you not to be nervous, because I can't imagine not being. but it sure sounds like you've got her prepared for the world.. just try to hang in there and let it happen.

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

Are youmoving to anewlocation where tou could release her? She will be dependant on you for a while after release for food & just to know your there.

[scoobysnack]

I wish you all the best. I have no real experience with a release.

I did however rescue a baby squirrel from the clutches of my dogs about the time Scooby was 12 weeks old I think. Anyhow, he was uninjured so I brought him in, let him settle down and then took him back to the base of the tree where I found him.

He scampered up the tree and sat there for TWO DAYS!!! I thought I'd made a horrible mistake. Omgosh wrong tree, holy cow, he's totally lost. Then sometime after the second day he disappeared. I saw a small male like him a couple of weeks later in my yard doing squirrel things.

Like someone else said, they can sit in that spot a LONG time figuring things out.

[Buddy'sMom]

Any news? Has she decided to come back down from the tree and go inside for the night? Hopefully "yes" -- so Mommy can sleep tonite. :D

If not -- she will be fine. Perhaps not as comfy as her cage, but she will be fine. They are amazingly suited for staying toasty warm when we would be freezing. I see you are in the SE, so it won't be frigid. If she stays out all night, check on her in the morning and leave some nuts at the base of the tree if she is still up there and won't come down.

And give us updates!!!! :poke

:grouphug :Love_Icon :grouphug

[macytree]

She came down eventually, whew. Thanks for being here for me, I can't believe how nervous I was. Once she came in I felt really silly and this morning I was feeling pretty confident about the whole thing. Until I went outside this morning and there was a hawk sitting on my fence just waiting for me to put my baby outside. Stupid hawks.

so this is what I'm going to do, tell me if it sounds okay. We aren't moving for 3 weeks and 2 days. I'm going to let her out for a couple of hours, or more, every day. If she chooses to come home every day then we'll take her with us when we move and release her there. If one of these days she decides to stay out and go on her way then we'll just continue to leave supplemental food for her. How long do you have to do that for? We're only moving a mile or two away so I can keep doing that as long as I need.

[pamela lee]

It will really depend on her. If she keeps coming back for food then I'd keep leaving it out. Can you put one of those squirrel feeders out, you know the kind that the squirrel has to open to get to the goodies. That way the birds won't get everything. I remember how stressful and nerve racking it was when I released Peanut. I feel for you but she'll be okay. Release is always alot harder on us then on them.

[Buddy'sMom]

SOOO glad she came home!! :thumbsup :)

My two cents: I would wait until you can release her at the new place -- with a nestbox to live in (and hide in) until she can establish herself in a tree nest, if she chooses to. And where you can be there for her if she needs you for a while.

I know you said she is not happy being caged, and it is good to "listen to your squirrel" when she decides she wants to be free. However, it is only a few weeks to January, and she will be ok if she has to wait that long (if you lived in the north, she would now be waiting til spring). The few weeks will give you a chance to get her used to a nestbox, so she is comfortable with it and it smells like her. Then when it is outside, she is more likely to recognize it as "hers." (it helps to stash her blankies and some nuts inside :D ) If you can, bring her outside IN HER CAGE so she can get used to the air and smells and sounds.

If you simply can't wait, would it be possible to get permission from the owner of the property you are moving to -- so you could put the nestbox up there and visit that property with food, even before you move in?

Again, just my two cents, but letting her go in a high-people-traffic area where she has no place to live and will have no one to look out for her, just doesn't seem like the best choice you have. I would not take a chance letting her outside until you can provide her with at least a temporary place to live in case she doesn't come back this time. She may have all the right survival instincts, but she will need a bit of help since she is not starting out in her squirrel-momma's nest. :Love_Icon And it is best if she can get used to it a little before being on her own.

Please keep updating us. I'm sure you will get some other ideas and suggestions and with a bit of brainstorming will come up with the right plan for you and your baby.

:grouphug :Love_Icon :grouphug

[pamela lee]

Dang, I guess I was just assuming she had a nestbox. If she doesn't have a nestbox and you haven't seen her building a nest then you don't want her being out (mostly all night) all by herself. Peanut came back to his cage and nestbox every night and everyday at noon (for his midday nap) for about a month. It took him that long to have other sleeping arrangements.
GOOD LUCK!

[Buddy'sMom]

How are we doing today? Any more thoughts as to the release plan?

:grouphug :Love_Icon :grouphug

[macytree]

Well I freaked out yesterday, got her in the house as soon as I could, and haven't let her out again yet. I've mentioned the hawks in nearly every post I've made here. Well yesterday I swear one of the hawks was out to get her. He went from roof top, to fence, to tree, to fence, and back again all day. I've never really seen them do that before, they usually fly over or perch in one spot for a bit, this guy was clearly hunting. And I'm pretty sure he was hunting my baby!

So I tried my best to get her out of the tree and of course she didn't want to come. She was having a blast up there dropping acorns on my head. Little punk. I stood outside and tried to keep the hawk away until my husband came home and got her down for me. Thank goodness he wasn't out for that long and of course she ran right down to him.

So I'm taking everyone's advice to heart and we'll hold off on releasing for a couple more weeks. I don't think there are as many hawks at the new place as there are here. We have a nest box for her but she never uses it for some reason. She prefers to build a nest in her hammock and that's what she uses. It's what she's used since she first learned to climb. I'm going to put the nest box on hubby's desk, keep it stocked with her favorite foods, and hopefully that will encourage her to use it. I guess I can always put her hammock in there before we release her to make her even more at home. the hammock is just a cloth diaper I tied to the top of her cage.

gosh being a squirrel mom is hard. I can't even imagine trying to be a human mom.

[Mrs. Jack]

LOL. I do think squirrel mom is harder.. there's so much less time to guide and prepare them, and once they're gone.. they're gone. It sounds like a good decision :thumbsup I think both you and Hunny will love being able to keep in some contact after release.

[Buddy'sMom]

Macytree, I'm glad you decided to wait -- the new location sounds so much better for release! :thumbsup

Thought I'd let you know that Buddy didn't sleep in a nestbox until he went outside. We let him get used to it in the living room, though, where he could sniff it (very suspiciously!!) and climb on it when he was playing. It took a while before we could get him to check out the inside, even with a couple of well-placed nuts :) . Then we put some of his blankies in it with pine straw, leaves, etc. when it was time to put him in the release cage. He had no problem starting to sleep in there -- it already seemed familiar -- it was "his." (Plus, I guess, his usual bed was nowhere to be found :thinking )

There are some hawk-deterrent ideas on these threads:
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8076&highlight=hawk
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3287&highlight=hawk

Also, we have put out a few realistic-looking rubber owls on stakes. We don't know whether the Flannel Army or the owls have helped, exactly, but have not seen as many hawks through the yard as before.

:grouphug :Love_Icon :grouphug

[macytree]

thanks for the hawk deterrent ideas! i always liked the hawks before and never minded them even when i saw them eating a bird or a fish, a squirrel or other small mammal probably would have bothered me though. i just can't have my baby eaten, that's too horrid to imagine.

i have her outside in her cage right now and that will have to be good enough for awhile. between that and playtime indoors i think she'll be alright. i'm going to set up the nest box while she's out there and see if i can get her interested in it. my poor bad baby.

i'm glad that i'm not alone with thinking that raising a squirrel baby is nerve wracking. it seriously is one of the hardest things i've had to do. i'm thinking the next one will be easier, assuming I have the guts to do it again.

[macytree]

So my friend the hawk is still hovering around. it's weird, i've seriously never seen them so persistent before. i've seen at least one squirrel who looks a little younger than hunny outside though so i'm guessing the hawk knows what he's doing.

hunny was hating being trapped inside all the time until i packed up the closet in the studio the other day. now she's having a blast climbing around in there, it has one of those wire closet organizers. she thinks it's a giant squirrel playground. she's also using her nest box! i made the whole bigger, which wasn't easy as I don't know how to use power tools, but i thought it was maybe too small for her. i also put it on hubby's desk and stuffed it with her favorite foods. now she's in and out of that all day long too. she hasn't slept in it or anything, she prefers digging around and hiding her food, but i'm glad she likes it.

[FLUFFYTAILNUT]

Ive come in here..at least a dozen times..It's not that I dont want to post..ITS..just Im not really sure..what to post..IM NOT REALLY a calm person..lol
Im not wanting to say any thing ..to freak you out..:poke
I think it's because Ive been married and in an Italian family.for 18 years..married..for 16 of..them...IM AS wild as they are..arms and hands always going a mile a minute..even..on the phone(when no, one ..can even see..me)...:poke
I hope all goes well..with Hunny..how's that?...:poke :thumbsup :D

[macytree]

Ive come in here..at least a dozen times..It's not that I dont want to post..ITS..just Im not really sure..what to post..IM NOT REALLY a calm person..lol
Im not wanting to say any thing ..to freak you out..:poke
I think it's because Ive been married and in an Italian family.for 18 years..married..for 16 of..them...IM AS wild as they are..arms and hands always going a mile a minute..even..on the phone(when no, one ..can even see..me)...:poke
I hope all goes well..with Hunny..how's that?...:poke :thumbsup :D

Your post cracked me up. I'm obviously not a very calm person either. I tend to paranoid, overprotective, and occasionally downright hysterical, except in the case of an actual emergency. Give me an emergency and I'm fine. I'm feeling better now though. We have a couple more weeks before I let her out again, so you have time to practice that calm thing!

[FLUFFYTAILNUT]

Your post cracked me up. I'm obviously not a very calm person either. I tend to paranoid, overprotective, and occasionally downright hysterical, except in the case of an actual emergency. Give me an emergency and I'm fine. I'm feeling better now though. We have a couple more weeks before I let her out again, so you have time to practice that calm thing!

Thats usually how I leave an actual room..people laughing..and saying..okay..she's a trip...HOPEFULLY..in a good way...lol:sanp3
IM even better..to under pressure..I can rush rush rush...
BUT..if I have too, much time to plan on stuff..THATS when I get my self INTO...lol..trouble.....
I am such a worry wart..too!!:shakehead :shakehead
You have a great night!:alright.gif :alright.gif :peace :rotfl :wave123 :osnap :crazy :D :D