Missing squirrel after soft release

[Radha]

Hia squirrel lovers! Does any one have a similar experience? Or if you guys know if its normal?
I found my baby squirrel (indian palm squirrel) when she was just 3 weeks old and raised her. She is very lively playful and totally adorable baby girl. On the 15th of June i let her play outside for the first time. I let her out from a window of my apartment. ( i stay on the ground floor in a very small town) She adapted well and came back quite soon. Then i kept releasing her for few days and on some days i wouldnt let her out because its rainy season here in India and plus there is another squirrel girl who lives around who bit my baby four times. As the wounds were mostly superficial i still would let her out on some days. So she came back home around seven times. when one day she just didn’t show up. Even during the day to get snacks. Even though it is rainy season I know she can survive rainy days because on one day there was a huge storm and rain and i was just devastated but she came home quite dry as if nothing happened. But the day she did not come back was a sunny day. No rain. Now its been two nights that she did not come back and I am still so worried. Why would she not pop in at least for snacks? The other squirrels that live around did pop in to my window for some snacks. Maybe the other squirrel girl that was aggressive to her didn’t let her come back? As squirrels are quite territorial. I have no clue. Or maybe she was eaten by a dog? Or some predator as even though her reflex of being scared was quite good in my opinion still she was less scared of humans than the other squirrels. I tried to look for her and i think i did see her not far from my house. I am 99 percent sure it was her. But if it was her why then she isnt coming back? Any idea?

[Radha]

PS- the smily face in the end was a mostake!! (( i cant smile when i think about someone eating my baby.. ;(((

[island rehabber]

Hi Radha. What you have experienced is totally normal and does not necessarily mean something bad happened to your girl -- although we must always be realistic and acknowledge that in the wild, things happen that are not like a Disney movie.
My guess is this: your squirrel was ready for the trees, but she was a newbie out there. The aggressive female (there's one in every neighborhood!) is keeping her from hanging around your window where treats are dispensed: the boss lady wants them for herself. Your girl may have moved a couple of houses away, not far, where the bossy squirrel can't pick on her.

The first few weeks after release most squirrels go delirious with their freedom, climb as high as the trees will allow, and just enjoy every minute. Most come back to visit at some point -- some even make a nest in the yard and stay for years. And others -- like my two beautiful black sisters this past spring -- leave the release cage and never come anywhere near it again. At some point, with some squirrels, human Mamma becomes "the Jailer". They don't want to be contained ever again.

Hope this helps!

[island rehabber]

PS- the smily face in the end was a mostake!! (( i cant smile when i think about someone eating my baby.. ;(((

I fixed it.

[Radha]

Thank you Island Rehabber i do feel much better knowing that it is normal for squirrels to do this, especially coming from you who deals with rehabilitating squirrels. I really hope she does come back to visit one day. Just to let me know that she is safe and alive. I will keep you posted if this happens.

[Radha]

BTw she came back on the third day.. i was so relieved... you can imagine. But now i feel like she might be developing symptoms of MBD. She sleeps a lot eats less and over all seems a bit less active. Though in the first half of the day i still let her out. Would you people suggest to keep her in while i conduct the treatment?

[TubeDriver]

She might just be VERY TIRED after her new adventures. You might keep her in for a day or two to allow her to rest up, get her filled up with food and water.

MBD is a result of poor diet. Quality rodent blocks are important to avoid this. You can offer her some Tums, the extra calcium will help. Once she is eating a diet from the wild, MBD should not be an issue.

BTw she came back on the third day.. i was so relieved... you can imagine. But now i feel like she might be developing symptoms of MBD. She sleeps a lot eats less and over all seems a bit less active. Though in the first half of the day i still let her out. Would you people suggest to keep her in while i conduct the treatment?

[Radha]

She might just be VERY TIRED after her new adventures. You might keep her in for a day or two to allow her to rest up, get her filled up with food and water.

MBD is a result of poor diet. Quality rodent blocks are important to avoid this. You can offer her some Tums, the extra calcium will help. Once she is eating a diet from the wild, MBD should not be an issue.

Thanks a lot TubeDriver! Yeah i think i am going to keep her in for a couple of days. The thing is though we don’t have calcium tabs “Tums” and i don’t know how to choose a right brand here in India. Do you have any idea? I have heard that if calcium particles are too large they will not get absorbed. And might even build up and harm the squirrel.

[TubeDriver]

Any calcium supplement is worth a try but avoid ones that also contain vit D3.

If you find something, take a photo of the ingredient label and folks here can look it over and let you know if it is safe.

Thanks a lot TubeDriver! Yeah i think i am going to keep her in for a couple of days. The thing is though we don’t have calcium tabs “Tums” and i don’t know how to choose a right brand here in India. Do you have any idea? I have heard that if calcium particles are too large they will not get absorbed. And might even build up and harm the squirrel.

[Radha]

Any calcium supplement is worth a try but avoid ones that also contain vit D3.

If you find something, take a photo of the ingredient label and folks here can look it over and let you know if it is safe.

What if i give her pup start instead? It contains 1000 mg of calcium per 100g. And only 700 mg phosphorus. And sometimes she likes it. She weighs about 100 g so she will need around 75 mg of calcium a day. This is a Table spoon. That means i will have to give her 1/5 of a tablespoon every 4 hours.

[Radha]

What if i give her pup start instead? It contains 1000 mg of calcium per 100g. And only 700 mg phosphorus. And sometimes she likes it. She weighs about 100 g so she will need around 75 mg of calcium a day. This is a Table spoon. That means i will have to give her 1/5 of a tablespoon every 4 hours.

She doesnt want to eat it.. i am so acared because i didn’t know about MBD and she grew up on nuts and seeds containing a lot of phosphorus. I am afraid she is very prone to MBD. I think i should keep her for few more months and make sure she has enough of calcium. Today i found a lump on her chest. With a tiny wound in the centre. I am really afraid its is a sign of her disease that her bones are weak. Maybe she fell and broke a bone? Ofcourse it maybe another squirel teeth mark of her agressive friend. But why a lump? Do you guys think that i should keep her for few months? Or maybe if i let her out then she would have a better chance to balance out her calcium absorption? The thing is though where i live many humans feed chipmunks and obviously they give them the unhealthy foods. So i really don’t know what would be better....

[Radha]

She doesnt want to eat it.. i am so acared because i didn’t know about MBD and she grew up on nuts and seeds containing a lot of phosphorus. I am afraid she is very prone to MBD. I think i should keep her for few more months and make sure she has enough of calcium. Today i found a lump on her chest. With a tiny wound in the centre. I am really afraid its is a sign of her disease that her bones are weak. Maybe she fell and broke a bone? Ofcourse it maybe another squirel teeth mark of her agressive friend. But why a lump? Do you guys think that i should keep her for few months? Or maybe if i let her out then she would have a better chance to balance out her calcium absorption? The thing is though where i live many humans feed chipmunks and obviously they give them the unhealthy foods. So i really don’t know what would be better....

she really wants to go outside though... also in this area there are 5 other chipmunks! Maybe it is too crowded to let her out in this area? I am just so worried and i don’t know what to do...