To Release or Not to Release, that is the question....

[MissSuzie]

In August, my dog found a 5 week old squirrel in our yard. I tried to find the mother but she never came for Bee. Bee had puncture marks on her body and a bloody nose. I'm guessing she fell from a tree then was carried by a predator and dropped in my yard. I ordered squirrel formula and got to work.

For the first month and a half she stayed mostly in my pocket or a pouch around my neck so I would know when she stirred and wanted formula. When she reached toddler age she began frisking about and stopped sleeping in my arms. i provided cat trees and branches above my windows for her to play. Taught her to use a litter box, as well.

I've tried to keep her separate from my dog but anytime their paths cross Bee is all about engaging the dog in play. Whenever someone new comes over Bee is ready to make friends. She is afraid of nothing and no one.

When she first became frisky she would grab my hand and nibble it when i reached for her. She doesn't do that anymore. When i reach for her now she wants to be petted and often turns her back to me for scratches on the bottom. She approaches us repeatedly for petting and likes to lay across the back of my chair to press herself into me. She misses me when i'm gone and rushes to me for petting and milk when i return. She is six months old now but still wants the formula. I have learned to read her pretty well and I can tell when she wants her milk, or is getting tired and needs to go to bed.

She has a two level critter nation enclosure. She comes out every morning when she wakes at 8 to frisk about and eat and have her formula. She is out most of the day, closely supervised, and when i can't be home for the day my friend comes over to sit with her so she doesn't have to be confined. I am busy Saturdays so on that day my son stays home with her. The constant supervision is a huge pain in the butt! I love her company, but she does take a lot of time. And it will be more as the day length increases. Now, she goes to bed at dusk. In the summer, her days will be longer.

The idea was to do a soft release in the spring, but now I am afraid. I am afraid she will approach a stranger. We live on a corner and the street is busy. I am afraid she will be hit by a car. There are many cats, and dogs who walk by. I am afraid she will approach one of them and be devoured. I am afraid she will be lonely. She loves our company and feels a part of our family. So now I am trying to figure out what to do....

My thought, at this point, is that maybe i need to build an outdoor enclosure. Not for her to live outside, but for her to have a safe place to exercise and play as days get longer and I am unable to be with her for every waking hour. Perhaps outside of my bedroom window. Her indoor enclosure is next to my bed. She wakes briefly at night, pops her head out of her bed and blinks her sleepy eyes at me. She is so sweet. Anyway, i thought i could put an enclosure outside of the window, then put a piece of wood across the bottom of my window with a bit of duct work that leads directly to her indoor enclosure. So she has the option of leaving it to go to her safe space outside. That way I won't have to watch her continually. I like having her with me, I just need some flexibility.

I did not mean to create this situation. I was trying to help her. Now I don't know what to do. Just putting this out there to you much more knowledgeable and experienced people. Please give me advice. I want to do what is best for Bee.

[Rock Monkey]

Many rehabbers struggle with these same questions, especially first timers. She seems very sweet.

Is she trying to get outside, either by chewing on windows or trying to run out an open door? This would give some indication of what she wants.

A squirrel should not be released if at all possible until there are leaves on the trees. They chew off live branches with leaves on them and weave them together to make a drey. They will often make more than one nest.

With vast, vast majority of squirrels, the older they get, the more they want to be outside. There is a very strong drive to be fruitful and multiply.

An outdoor enclosure could be a good idea. It would allow her to become more familiar with her surroundings and the ways of the outdoor world.

The more time they spend outside and the less time they spend around humans, the stronger their wild instincts become. The more wary they become of humans and other creatures. These instincts are printed in them genetically. That is one the principle objectives of the slow release process, to allow them to safely make this transition, to become wilder, less tame.

I live on a very busy road and am surrounded by other serious hazards and struggled with many of the same questions with Helen.

There is a tradeoff at work in your decision: a steady year round source of food versus a reduction in man-made hazards. The survival value of the human provided food should not be underestimated. Out in the woods, the amounts of food available from year to year can vary dramatically. There are good reasons why you see more squirrels in suburbia than out in the woods, the food available is more consistent and there is almost never a year where there is nothing to eat.

After releasing Helen I began putting some food wedged into the bark of a pecan tree in my backyard. I decided to take a proactive approach to avoiding problems. The same squirrel squirrel, Theresa, has been eating this food everyday. She doesn't need to venture far and wide to make sure her basic needs are met. She doesn't have to go risky places to get food. She doesn't need to cross the road to find food. By putting food up in the tree she can retrieve the food out of harm's way from ground based predators. There is also a large shrub/bush (which I have pruned inside) next to the tree and she will climb inside to eat the harder to crack nuts. There she is also protected from airborne predators. I also put out water, changing it every day or two.

Always choose tree which are interconnected so the squirrel doesn't need to travel on the ground.

Also, if Bee gets hurt or needs treatment for something you have the chance to provide that.

[stosh2010]

WE have raised and released many squirrels. Every release is a heart wrenching time and a tough decision. I have had some just disappear same day as release, some come back for a week or two and then gone,,, and some come back regularly for over A YEAR.
THEY DESERVE A CHANCE TO BE IN THE TREES...
But that does not make it any easier on YOU>

[Chirps]

I won't weigh in on the release question, but must ask-- Are you in a squirrel-friendly state? If you're not, and if anyone can see your outside enclosure, the gestapo may show up and take Bee. I think it's a great idea to build one, IF it doesn't compromise her safety. Please keep us posted.

[Lighten-Up]

I will add these thoughts for you.

All the squirrels I have raised, have been loved on very much. I'm not convinced it's a bad thing. And every situation is different so it's hard to make a rule about it. Some prefer to make sure squirrels are wilded-up and afraid of humans. On one level this makes very good sense. And if that is what a person feels strongly then they should do that. I feel differently, I feel that a squirrels confidence, sense of well-being and health comes from a secure relationship to it's mama caregiver, and that the more intact that is and stays, the better for that squirrel psychologically/emotionally. AND, provided that doesn't cause a physical problem for the squirrel i.e. what the "wild-up" people are validly concerned about, then all is well. Since my squirrel babies lost their mama, which is already a trauma issue. I want them to feel secure knowing they are not getting abandoned again. So I love on them until released. I feel they have thrived under this situation. This is my view.

I have never had any go to a stranger or neighbor that I know of. I have had a few bolder ones of them come up to friends of mine I am chatting with outside in my backyard. But many fully bonded-to-me releases will disappear once a stranger-to-them comes into my yard. I have called to them to have them come say hello to a friend and they stay hidden. I praise them for this, it makes me feel they are safe this way, to be my friend but regard others with caution. But since none of this can be guaranteed, that is why to me, it's fine to let people choose whether to go route a or b with this.

My other thoughts that may be helpful to you are these which have been my experience. For instance, this progression of changes; my fully bonded squirrels let me rub them all over like they were a cat, even after release, they loved it, but they would eventually start pulling away little by little the older they get, like a natural progression of growing up. For instance, I released a squirrel at about 6 months of age. It stayed around and would sleep in my lap outside for hours during the afternoon. As time passed it would do this less and less. When it was a year old, it would find me, and still enjoy all over body rubbings. Once it was a year and 6 months old, it loved to come to me, but wasn't wanting as much rubbings, but loved ear rubs, shoulder and butt rubs. And I got bit a few times by this loved-one. I'm sure it was mating season hormonals. Because then it was sweet again. But I have learned to expect that though we might be bonded forever, the relationship does change as the seasons go by. It transforms and becomes different. As we all know, almost nothing stays the same as it is. I loved that cuddle 6months to 1 year old squirrel, but I had to realize that time changes things and that is not a bad thing. I need to respect that process. I do believe it is possible to have a cuddlebug forever too, because this life gives us never ending options to experience. I just haven't had that one.....yet anyway.

All that to say. You are the one to make this decision. But just consider that the squirrel as you see it today, if it stayed that way as in a time warp which isn't reality, would make a great pet, but chances are as the months and years go by, under normal progressions, the squirrel is going to long for autonomy and freedom, no matter how much it loves you. Kind of like, I love my mother, but I do not anymore wish to remain living in her house with her all the time. I have my own goals and dreams and bucket lists to accomplish. And I feel the squirrels feel the same way.

There are exceptions to every rule. So that is why you will only know how your story will go as it progresses. Some people let their squirrels have their freedom and in time the squirrel lets them know they prefer living in a house. That is rare. I've not had it happen, but I think that is the best way, to let the squirrel choose. "Set something free, if it comes back to you it is yours, if it doesn't, it never was."

Examine all the issues that relate to you in this. Talk to your head (logic), and talk to your heart (intuition). I feel that the best decisions are made when both sources are involved.

I wish you all the best in this.
As it has been said. Releasing a squirrel can be the best and worst day of your life. Courage to you if you choose release. As hard as it is to allow the unknown results to unfold. I wouldn't choose any other way. 'Do unto others as you would have done unto you' includes squirrels in my life and ultimately that gives me the courage to let them go, hoping always that they return for relationship, but also, letting them choose and respecting their choice. It isn't easy. I'm still learning.