single released June 7

[pdurrett]

Hello again, I have really appreciated the responses I have gotten to questions thus far so - thank you.
Our boy was released June 7. He is living in my neighbors trees and is doing well. I put nuts out in one spot of the yard each morning between 7 and 8 am. Most mornings no one is there but I check back and he is there as well as others. I see him chasing the others so I now put peanuts on opposite ends of the garden so they can each eat.

He still comes towards me when I go out, but I understand this is because I feed him. I hate to stop feeding him but wonder if I am doing him harm by continuing to feed. I do like the fact that he will take the nuts and bury them - it gives me hope some of his instincts are intact and that he really will make it.

My question and I hope not too early is that he is probably living in some abandoned nests in the neighbors yard. Do you think they know how to build a nest instinctually? When I had him in his cage, he stayed in a parakeet nesting box at night once he got use to it.. He would take some leaves and sticks into the box, but for the most part he lived in the winter hat on the bottom of his cage since it was what he arrived in when someone found him on a construction site.

I am beginning to wonder what he will do when the weather turns cooler. Will he know how to build a home? Or should I provide the bird houses on the trees for him- with the risk someone else may move in? I bought a cockatiel nesting box because it is bigger and can put that up if you think that is a good idea.

So can someone please advise on providing additional housing for him and give advice on whether I should continue to feed. My daughter was out of town for 10 days and I had no verbal contact with him for 10 days and he is still here so I think we are his home for now until he decides to move on- which is ok with me.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Yes, the do have the instincts to build a nest. I watched a recent release build her first drey. She would cut short branched off the oak tree and take them to a fork in the tree. She brought more and more and then they would fall to the ground. She kept trying. They have the instincts but having the skills to successfully build a drey is a learned skill. I guess they learn by trial and error just like us. Eventually, they build a suitable drey.

Personally, I do feed my outside releases. I always feed my new releases but as far as the others I don't feel it's necessary but I do enjoy the interaction with them so I feed them. I usually stop when the oaks are full of acorns. A squirrel would rather eat acorns from the tree than anything I provide.

A cockatiel box won't work as an outside nest box if it's the type I'm thinking about. Is it the type that PetsMart sells for about $17? If so, they aren't predator proof. A suitable nest box needs a predator guard either inside the box or on the outside around the hole. Predators like raccoons will reach their arms inside the box. In a cockatiel box a predator could reach inside and the squirrel would be trapped inside and within reach of the predator. In a proper nest box the squirrel will be well below the opening and will be protected by an inside shelf that prevents predators from reaching inside. I did use a cockatiel box INSIDE the release cage once when I had 6 squirrels in the RC. I needed extra bedding area in the cage so I used one. Of course, it fell apart pretty fast because it's not designed for outside usage.

Nest boxes are nice for our friends but they aren't necessary. I have 5 in my yard. After spending the weekend cleaning them, I'm sorta on the fence about them. They absolutely must be cleaned at least yearly. 3 of the 4 I cleaned had carpenter ants in them. Once that happens the squirrels will abandon them. The reason I'm on the fence about using them is because I'm not exactly a spring chicken so climbing trees at 60+ will surely result in my breaking my neck at some point.

[TubeDriver]

HRT4SQYRL - Hire a local handyman to clean out your nestboxes. Wont be much $$$ and way better thanfalling and hurting yourself!

[HRT4SQRLS]

HRT4SQYRL - Hire a local handyman to clean out your nestboxes. Wont be much $$$ and way better thanfalling and hurting yourself!

Probably a better idea than flirting around with quadraplegia.

[JoanP]

My boy DASH has been out and about since July 17th. I thought it was longer, but it just seemed that since I worry about him so much.
He is all over our property, investigating every single tall tree, but always comes when I call his name and make a rapping sound on his RC. He still LOVES the BooBalls I put out 2x a day, gets veggies and fruit, and a few nuts before it gets dark. He still enjoys washing his face and feet as I did for him when he lived indoors as a baby.
Always climbs from a tree or the ground onto me first, and then into his RC where his feeding station is. Sometimes he takes a BooBall onto my shoulder to eat it, if I haven't gotten away fast enough. I try to not have him use me as his private gym, but at times, this does not work out.
There is a nesting box up in the tree opposite his RC, but I only saw him go into it as soon as he was released. Do not know whether he is using it at all now, but think that he has found the tree where he was born! He seems to prefer one special tree which is right next to the driveway area he found me at. I see him scampering down it when I call him for his meals.

I don't think that we can get a nesting box high enough for the squirrels to use them...at least I cannot. I did ask the men who clean our gutters to put it up for me, since I couldn't do it. Took them about 5 minutes and they did a great job.
Look online for instructions on building nesting boxes for squirrels, and have someone make it for you. You need tools that most of us do not have. The instructions were really good. The baffle is so important and the sturdiness of the box.
I plan on leaving DASH's RC where it is so that if he needs to, he has his own nesting box in there it's his fleece blanket which he loves, plus his fleece hammock, and his boa which he swings on. If I find that he is using it in the cold weather, I will move the entire RC into the shed near it, and leave the shed doors open. That way, DASH will have protection from the weather on 3 sides and top and bottom. Better than freezing blasts!
Only problem thus far, is that DASH has some fleas on him, although he got 1 drop of Revolution on his back when released. The fleas, of course, have gotten on me at times. There are many times when DASH is around the dogs' corral area at mealtimes, and he knows to stay where they cannot reach him, then gets himself over to he RC for his food. He buries some, but eats most. Have seen him eating mushrooms from under one tree, and stay far away from other mushrooms.

I will feed him as long as he comes for food since I think that the wild ones spend their time eating the fallen birdseed. Never see them eating anything else.
Sorry for the long post, but be happy that I cannot seem to download all the videos I have taken. I certainly understand the love so many have for their once captive squirrels friends.

[Mel1959]

Yes, the do have the instincts to build a nest. I watched a recent release build her first drey. She would cut short branched off the oak tree and take them to a fork in the tree. She brought more and more and then they would fall to the ground. She kept trying. They have the instincts but having the skills to successfully build a drey is a learned skill. I guess they learn by trial and error just like us. Eventually, they build a suitable drey.

Personally, I do feed my outside releases. I always feed my new releases but as far as the others I don't feel it's necessary but I do enjoy the interaction with them so I feed them. I usually stop when the oaks are full of acorns. A squirrel would rather eat acorns from the tree than anything I provide.

A cockatiel box won't work as an outside nest box if it's the type I'm thinking about. Is it the type that PetsMart sells for about $17? If so, they aren't predator proof. A suitable nest box needs a predator guard either inside the box or on the outside around the hole. Predators like raccoons will reach their arms inside the box. In a cockatiel box a predator could reach inside and the squirrel would be trapped inside and within reach of the predator. In a proper nest box the squirrel will be well below the opening and will be protected by an inside shelf that prevents predators from reaching inside. I did use a cockatiel box INSIDE the release cage once when I had 6 squirrels in the RC. I needed extra bedding area in the cage so I used one. Of course, it fell apart pretty fast because it's not designed for outside usage.

Nest boxes are nice for our friends but they aren't necessary. I have 5 in my yard. After spending the weekend cleaning them, I'm sorta on the fence about them. They absolutely must be cleaned at least yearly. 3 of the 4 I cleaned had carpenter ants in them. Once that happens the squirrels will abandon them. The reason I'm on the fence about using them is because I'm not exactly a spring chicken so climbing trees at 60+ will surely result in my breaking my neck at some point.

We had the same problem with carpenter ants in our nest boxes. We cleaned them all and sprinkled food grade diatomaceous earth inside them. I had been wondering why my boys moved out of their box!!

[lennysmom]

We had the same problem with carpenter ants in our nest boxes. We cleaned them all and sprinkled food grade diatomaceous earth inside them. I had been wondering why my boys moved out of their box!!

Yep we too had the exact same issue and the DE worked great in keeping the ants at bay once they were evicted. But just be forewarned, if you ever have to clean out a box with ants, wear long sleeves and gloves. My husband was bit multiple times when he cleaned out one of our boxes infested with ants and he said the bites are quite painful - I've never seen him come down a ladder more quickly!
That being said, it was well worth the fight to us, knowing that our singleton release was able to use his favorite box once again - with the predator guard on it, I just feel like he's safer from predators out there.