Accidental Hard release advice needed

[Universalove247]

I have two siblings, boy and girl, about 14weeks old. I’ve had them since they were about 2 weeks old. Yesterday my boyfriend got the great idea to take their cage outside and clean it. I stopped handling them when I weaned them at 10 weeks to prepare them for a soft release. So cleaning their cage became an issue due to them no longer wanting human contact. Which I thought was great until now.

We’ve taken them outside numerous times to play in the grass and climb the bottom of the tree. They’ve NEVER climbed up the tree or let us walk away from them. They’d come running right back up our legs.

Well yesterday they went straight up the tree and now refuse to come out. They will come down momentarily to get food or water but won’t let us grabbed them.

This is not how we planned to do this at all. We planned to slow release outside in a cage with nesting boxes for a couple weeks first. They had just started building nests in their hammock this past week and they’ve been burying their food for a while now in their cage.

Any advice on how to get them out of the tree? It already rained last night and today and is supposed to rain for the next couple days. I’m worried they’ll get sick. I got two boxes and put them sides bu side in the tree but they won’t go near them. Even put some rodent blocks (only one each) and a couple almonds to coax them in. I have their cage at the base of the tree with the door propped open against the tree. They will get close but won’t go in.

Any one dealt with this before? We have no other squirrels what so ever so I’m not worried about that but we do get raccoons and hawks.

Is this normal? Am I stressing out too much? Or not enough? I stayed out until almost 3am last night waiting for them. One even fell asleep in the tree and fell out. It was ok just a little stunned but I’m worried it will happen again since they aren’t making nests. Just chilling and chasing cicadas.

[Tuff]

I have two siblings, boy and girl, about 14weeks old. I’ve had them since they were about 2 weeks old. Yesterday my boyfriend got the great idea to take their cage outside and clean it. I stopped handling them when I weaned them at 10 weeks to prepare them for a soft release. So cleaning their cage became an issue due to them no longer wanting human contact. Which I thought was great until now.

We’ve taken them outside numerous times to play in the grass and climb the bottom of the tree. They’ve NEVER climbed up the tree or let us walk away from them. They’d come running right back up our legs.

Well yesterday they went straight up the tree and now refuse to come out. They will come down momentarily to get food or water but won’t let us grabbed them.

This is not how we planned to do this at all. We planned to slow release outside in a cage with nesting boxes for a couple weeks first. They had just started building nests in their hammock this past week and they’ve been burying their food for a while now in their cage.

Any advice on how to get them out of the tree? It already rained last night and today and is supposed to rain for the next couple days. I’m worried they’ll get sick. I got two boxes and put them sides bu side in the tree but they won’t go near them. Even put some rodent blocks (only one each) and a couple almonds to coax them in. I have their cage at the base of the tree with the door propped open against the tree. They will get close but won’t go in.

Any one dealt with this before? We have no other squirrels what so ever so I’m not worried about that but we do get raccoons and hawks.

Is this normal? Am I stressing out too much? Or not enough? I stayed out until almost 3am last night waiting for them. One even fell asleep in the tree and fell out. It was ok just a little stunned but I’m worried it will happen again since they aren’t making nests. Just chilling and chasing cicadas.

First of all they should have never been weened at 10 weeks they should stay on formula until they ween themselves. They need the formula until around 14-16 weeks when they stop taking it. They tend to stop wanting formula because we offer and feed them to much other stuff and they shy away from it. Veggies should be given sparingly until they self ween, just a piece of advice. As for them self releasing….it happens, I would say they are to young to be outside in their own. Normal outside activities of any kind should not be done until 16–20 weeks. That would be when you start the process of a soft release. If you have pieces of their fleece with their scent on it and maybe some nuts to try and coax them back in a cage until they are ready to go. I am sure they are wilding up just fine but at that age they are unpredictable and get scared super easy. I accidentally self released mine at 15 weeks, I didn’t wanna come back but I finally retrieved him and we don’t do that anymore due to the risk are to great. Offer them their favorite foods in the cage, things they know and hopefully you can get them back. If not just pray a lot.

[Rock Monkey]

I know you, Universalove, now realize this, but to everyone else reading this: Never take a squirrel outside unless it is in a cage. The older the squirrel the stronger the desire to be free, roaming around and leaping from branch to branch and ultimately being fruitful and multiplying. Eventually this desire becomes stronger than their bond with you.

Also, ideally a slow release cage should have an antechamber with two doors to allow the cage to be accessed without presenting a path to the outdoors (at lease one of the two doors is closed at all times).

[Universalove247]

Yea I had zero intentions of releasing them at all right now. Taking them outside has never been an issue and even the female got out of her cage accidentally the other day since I failed to close it correctly and it took some time but got her back in. I started weaning them at 10 weeks because that was the information I had been given. Slowly introduced kale and other veggies and rodent blocks. They stopped taking the formula and would refuse it so they’ve been on a full solid diet for a few weeks now. I was waiting a few more weeks to start the slow release. They’ve been building nests in their cage with full branches with leaves that I’ve been giving them. Along with cotton pillowcases that I cut up into strips.

I know “what should not have been done” but at this point it’s too late. And I’m trying to move forward and give them the best chance.

They come down to me still and take food and water and treats and jump on my boyfriend’s back but will not let us grab them. Refuse to go in their cage. I hung two nest boxes side by side in the tree that hinge open in the front and create a platform. I hadn’t introduced the boxes prior to them going outside, so I have the fronts open for now and keep adding a few treats and bedding for them to hopefully learn it’s a safe spot for them.

They honestly seem to be doing great just making me a nervous wreck.

How long will they possibly stay in the tree? They’ve been scoping out the ground around the bottom of the tree but they do it more at night than during the day and that makes me super nervous. I try to sit under the tree all day to get them comfortable to come down and inspect with me there.

They have their scent in their cage and snacks etc but they really are not interested in going back in. I don’t blame them, I love nature better too lol.

I will continue to give them food and water every day for as long as needed. I’m just curious how long this process could take? Anyone had similar experiences after releasing even after a soft release? Would they normally still be in the tree anyways if I’m the wild? I mean is the normal in a “wild” sense? They seem to be doing great, super fast skittish and great little cicada hunters lol. And they do bury their food and have been doing so for a long time. So they have the instincts but aren’t building a nest and that’s my absolute biggest concern right now.

Thank you all for your advice so far and going forward. Next time I won’t let my boyfriend convince me that cleaning the cage outside is a good idea. Ugh! Super rookie mistake over here. And super upsetting considering all the work and time I have put into these babies since they were on a few weeks old.

[Spanky]

Never take a squirrel outside unless it is in a cage.

Hopefully others will avoid this error by learning from your mistake.

They are unlikely to come down from the trees after dark, you'll have a better chance of luring them back during the day. Especially at dusk as night descends. Unfortunately they don't have the advantage of knowing the "safe space" of their release cage and learning the terrain which is the invaluable knowledge gained spending a few weeks in a release cage before their first days in the big, wide world.

It is largely beyond your control right now, but keep trying as they are too young and would benefit from a proper soft release. As it is, it they will be making the decisions... like teenagers, they can be some good decisions but also they can be disastrous.

[Rock Monkey]

I hung two nest boxes side by side in the tree that hinge open in the front and create a platform. I hadn’t introduced the boxes prior to them going outside, so I have the fronts open for now and keep adding a few treats and bedding for them to hopefully learn it’s a safe spot for them.

One of the main criterion they employ when selecting a location for a nest is: "Can a predator get in here while I am sleeping?" They prefer places with small opening which exclude larger predators. So, I would suggest closing the front of the nest boxes because in their current configuration, fronts open, the boxes would make them feel very insecure. It is the small opening that makes the nest box worthy of exploration. Also, these nest boxes should have predator guards, pieces of wood around the entrance, which would prevent a predator, like a raccoon, from being able to reach into the box.

It's great that they are staying in the tree, much safer than them being on the ground.

Also, the more relaxed, almost indifferent you are, the greater the chance they will come back to you.

[Universalove247]

I left the front open to the box to get them comfortable approaching it and understanding it is “their’s”. I now have one open to put food in and closed the other one next to it. The girl came down yesterday and was scoping out the ground, drinking from puddles on the ground etc. I tried to approach her and she scurried up the tree. Came back down and jumped on me then but my finger then jumped straight back into the tree. Not hard enough to hurt or bleed or anything, maybe a love bite? Maybe a “where’s my food mom?” bite? Lol I’m not sure. The only time one of them has actually bit me.

At this point I plan to consider this a “medium” release. Not a soft or hard release, a little in between. I can see them from my door and windows and they seem to be doing great actually. I only wonder if their first experience with cicadas is driving them nuts. We just had our first BIG emerge of them yesterday. The tree and yard and everything is covered in them. They are devouring them! But I only wonder if it is also driving them nuts. They’re used to their nice quite cage lol.

I plan to move their boxes higher up in the tree today. Right now they are at the base of the branches and leaves and I KNOW they need to be way higher for multiple reasons. I plan to make them much bigger boxes with the safety shelf at the entrance, especially after watching a cat scope out the tree last night. Luckily there are a ton of branches in the tree they can climb onto but not a cat. I’m just afraid they’ll be caught off guard while sleeping. They’re extremely alert and skittish but ya never know.

I really do believe they will do fine as long as I can keep the predators at bay as they get older and bigger. I handled them a lot before their eyes opened but once their eyes opened I only held them to feed them and help them go potty. Once they could go to the bathroom on their own I limited handling them as much as possible. My boyfriend would want to hold them all the time and I refused to let him because I told him we had to teach them to fear us and not get super attached or they would not survive on their own. We were getting ready to build their outdoor cage this week and start their slow release process now that the heat wave disappeared a bit. But unfortunately they decided to run off faster than I truly expected them to. But they are much happier in the tree. I even thought it would be nice if I could cover the tree in bird netting but I know they could either chew through it or worse, get stuck in it and that would be a disaster.

Doing what I can in the meantime to still be their foster mom. Teaching them when they are on the ground if any predator appears or cars drive by (we’re next to a road as well) to scurry back up the tree. Trying to do my best to mimicking what their mom would still be doing had they had that chance. I’ve been leaving their blocks in the tree to make sure they are eating properly but put nuts on the ground and slowly putting them further and further out from the tree. It makes me super happy watching them already burying their food! They did so in their cage but makes me happier seeing them do it outside. Just wish I could teach them to build a nest! I’ve been grabbing branches from the pear tree I used to pull from for their cage since they are used to using it to build a nest in their cage. I’m going to cut up more fabric scraps for them as well today and see if they hopefully start remembering what to do with it.

And here I thought the most exhausting part was the every 3 hr bottle feedings… this is way more mentally exhausting! Kudos to everyone that has released numerous babies time and time again! It is emotionally really hard!

[Rock Monkey]

I’m just afraid they’ll be caught off guard while sleeping. They’re extremely alert and skittish but ya never know.

I even thought it would be nice if I could cover the tree in bird netting but I know they could either chew through it or worse, get stuck in it and that would be a disaster.

Just wish I could teach them to build a nest! I’ve been grabbing branches from the pear tree I used to pull from for their cage since they are used to using it to build a nest in their cage. I’m going to cut up more fabric scraps for them as well today and see if they hopefully start remembering what to do with it.

And here I thought the most exhausting part was the every 3 hr bottle feedings… this is way more mentally exhausting! Kudos to everyone that has released numerous babies time and time again! It is emotionally really hard!

First, their senses remain active while they are sleeping and will startle awake at strange sounds.

Second, I think the bird netting is a bad idea, nice in concept, but bad in the actuality. A squirrel's primary defensive weapon is fast, random movement, pedal to the metal speed. The risk that they would get caught in the netting is way too high and then they would freak out and just get injured worse.

Third, knowing how to build a nest is wired into them genetically. If there has been some rain I would definitely think that they would be motivated, that they wouldn't like sleeping out in the rain. Yes, the houses will be much more appealing if they are located higher in the tree. Providing fabric scraps and pieces of plain paper towel and napkins are a good idea. If they take those they are definitely interested in making a nest. I would place them up in a tree.

Lastly, if they want to do harm, you will definitely know it. I would say that the bite was a warning, "Back off!" was what she was saying. If they intend harm you will be wounded deeply, bleed readily and it will take close to a week to heal fully.

I would strap a water bottle up in one of the trees. If you don't have a water bottle, I would use a shallow dish but these quickly get nasty outdoors.

It is great that they are staying nearby where you can help them and know how they are doing. The 'not knowing' can be brutal.