Release help please

[toasty]

Merry Christmas everyone!! :) I have a question about releasing. I have a little boy, Rowdy. Two days ago he started a new thing. When I let him out of his cage, he gets so wild that I can't play with him. He has nibbled on me a few times, nothing major, but when I try to pick him up, he freaks! :dono He makes all kinds of noises and wiggles and scratches and bites. I've always been able to pick him up and carry him around with me. He did it again yesterday and today too. I had to lure him with food back into his cage because I couldn't pick him up. I'm thinking he is trying to tell me that he wants to go outside and play. I was planning to release him in the spring. Should I wait? Should I try putting his cage outside during the days? Would it be dangerous for him to be released in the winter? I'm planning to keep a house/nest for him in my yard and some food, still I worry about him out there. I'm in Florida, so it is not too cold right now. I just don't want anything to happen to him. My yard is not very wooded so he might not stay around. Any advice?? Thanks! I'm going to try an post a couple of new pics of him. He's so cute! :jump

[toasty]

Oh WOW!! I didn't know those pics were so big! :wahoo I don't know how to fix that. Not too experienced with the digital pic thing. Sorry.........:D

[pamela lee]

I know the rehabbers have said that squirrels can be released year around down in Florida. It was winter when I started moving Peanuts cage outside. I left it out just a little while at first and just kept leaving him out a little longer until he was wanting to be outside in his cage all day and night. You have to do it slowly so he can get used to the sights and sounds and temperature changes. Good Luck and Merry Christmas.
Sorry, BTW Rowdy looks wonderful.

[toasty]

You have to do it slowly so he can get used to the sights and sounds and temperature changes.

Thanks! Yeah that was another thing I was worried about. His cage is by a window and I try to open it whenever possible. But he gets really scared by the noises out there. I'll do it very slowly. I would never just put him out there without letting him get use to it. :thankyou

[TexanSquirrel]

Good luck! He sure is handsome!

[muffinsquirrel]

I have tried to resize your photos - maybe it'll work, maybe not????

[Mrs. Jack]

for sure take your time :) just because he behaved in a new way doesn't mean it's for 'keeps' everyone has their down "leave me alone" days. So go slow, get him used to it all, provide him a nestbox and food, and let him see what he thinks.

[Mrs. Jack]

and hey, just to make sure- is his diet strong in calcium? have read that sometimes post weaning/onset of adolescence can result in behaviors that are the beginning signs of mbd (irritation etc) besides being a precursor to the "i want to be free" instinct.

[Mars]

Also look around and see if something has been changed such as a new soap, purfume or scented candle. Squirrels are very sensitive to scents and any change from the familiar can freak them out.

[toasty]

I have tried to resize your photos - maybe it'll work, maybe not????
Please tell me how you did that!!! He looks so much cuter smaller....:crazy

[toasty]

Also look around and see if something has been changed such as a new soap, purfume or scented candle. Squirrels are very sensitive to scents and any change from the familiar can freak them out.

I hadn't thought about that. I have been using some scented oil in my home for Christmas. Although, I didn't have it on me. mmm...I'm going to let him out to run around his room today and see how he is. Yesterday I left the windows by his cage open all day.

He does get a good variety in his diet, including rodent block, so I don't think that's a problem.

I'll let you know how he is today after I let him out.

[aurora42245]

I am very interested in what everyone has to say as well. I am also wondering the same thing as my three little guys arnt so little and wont even let me touch them now.

Im in MA and work from 9 to 5 so its going to be hard for me to take them in and out plus with it so cold I just worry.

I just took it as they are getting older and growing more wild everyday. Once they started acting this way I backed off, I figured that this is their way of telling me they are wild and do not want to be an inside pet forever. Plus I figured that the less contact they get with me the better so they know to be scared of other humans.

I put a radio in their room which is currently playing x-mas music. I figured that this would atleast get them used to some noise because its not quiet outside all the time like it is in their room...

mjs

[Mars]

Up here in the north we must wait till the leaves unfold in the spring to release as otherwise there is no food out there for them. The process is the same. We open the windows and then move them outside into a release cage with nest boxes. After a week or so, and they are well at home within the outside cage I open a small release door near the top of the cage and they are then free to come and go as they please. I continue to support feed moving their food outside of the cage as they start spending more and more time exploring. In my experience it's at least a week or more before they will completely move out on their own. :)

[aurora42245]

Any Yet I still worry that they will not make it once they are on their own.... Many more sleepless nights a head..mjs

[PBluejay2]

I'm in Florida too, and I have three that are adolescents. I plan on wintering them over. But about the behavior, I've fostered about twenty now, and it seems when they get about the age yours looks, they have an overabundance of energy they want/have to expend and are as rowdy as young teenagers. When I let them out of their cages, my three won't let me hold, grab, touch them, and they fly all over their room like little rockets with claws, but once they've had time to exhaust themselves and are ready for bed, they go back to being the sweet, affectionate little angels they were just a few weeks ago. Maybe it's just a stage.

[toasty]

Well, things are pretty much back to normal here. He does have a huge amount of energy and a "rocket w/ claws" is a very good way to describe him. :wahoo But he will usually let me hold him for a few minutes and pet him and he loves to play. He does make his new noise sometimes but not like he was for those few days. I'm glad because it is cold here right now! It was chilly in our house yesterday, we were having a problem w/ our heater. (all better now :alright.gif ) He did NOT like the cold!! He stayed in his hammock most of the day under a blanket. I finally moved him away from the window and covered up the back and top of the cage some. I was kinda worried but, he is just fine today. Ran around the room like a madman! He's so funny!:D

[Isis]

Where were you thinking of releasing him? You mentioned your lot wasn't very wooded. How old do you think he is?

I raised a baby grey for almost 2 years as a completely 'inside pet' & have done a 'soft release' with him since last May. He can go in & out at his own whim... but my circumstances are pretty unigue as far as a release site goes, huge forest in the mountains.

If you're interested in what I've done to release him, his thread is: http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5822

Maybe his story will give you some ideas... good luck with your baby... he sure is cute :thumbsup :Love_Icon :jump

[toasty]

Where were you thinking of releasing him? You mentioned your lot wasn't very wooded. How old do you think he is?

I raised a baby grey for almost 2 years as a completely 'inside pet' & have done a 'soft release' with him since last May. He can go in & out at his own whim... but my circumstances are pretty unigue as far as a release site goes, huge forest in the mountains.

If you're interested in what I've done to release him, his thread is: http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5822

Maybe his story will give you some ideas... good luck with your baby... he sure is cute :thumbsup :Love_Icon :jump


Where to release him is a huge part of my worries. My yard is not very wooded. We have some trees and bushes in a fenced-in part of our front yard, right off of our porch. A few trees in back. My neighbor has a couple small oaks in her front yard where some squirrels live. I have a good sized oak but it is out close to the road. (55mph...people fly down my road) Maybe I'll get him a bigger cage and keep him. We really love him and I would feel so bad if I released him and something happened to him. I just want to do what is best for him. I've become very attached to him. And my family is great about it too. We went out of town in November and I packed him up and took him to my parent's house. They cared for him while we were gone. My dad loves animals. It didn't bother Rowdy at all, even the ride in the car! :D

Thank you for the link, I'll check that out right now!! :thankyou :thankyou :thankyou

[toasty]

It sounds like Rowdy may be a keeper. :thumbsup If he isn't, there will be no doubt in your mind. He will let you know! :icon_devil We have had a few squirrels on here that were tried to be released, but wanted no part of it. :Love_Icon :Love_Icon


A friend told me that if I do release him, the other squirrels will laugh at him with his beanie babies and he will come back knocking on the door to come home. :jump