Release location? May have made fatal decision :(

[jessijuju]

Would it be better to release my girlies in a park (where i wont be able to provide food, water, nest box, or rescue them if needed)?? Or nearby in small wooded area where i can hang their nest box & keep eye on them? Problem is its located between 2 streets and has many cats around. I released them 2 days ago & within 5 mins was chasing a cat away that was stalking them 😧 Yesterday i was able to get Blue (the fattest & most tame) back home to safety. Was gonna feed her, love on her & take her back and let her make the choice. She ate and then went straight to bed. She slept and slept and slept. I took her over this morning and she jumped on tree and then startd snoopn around down low and on ground. Way too risky!!!! So i took her back home. She wants to be free tho I see one of my other squirrels up high in tree but it wont come to me and havent seen the 3rd squirrel since few hours after release. So should i let Blue free in same place or take her to the park where there is several squirrels to compete with but no cats and little traffic?

[Spanky]

Squirrels require a slow release which means they are in a large outdoor cage for a couple weeks with limited human contact. This is to allow the squirrel to wild up, observe other wild squirrels and the dangers of the wild. After a few weeks (some do 2 some do 4 weeks) a small portal is opened to allow them to start to come and go freely from the cage. But the cage will serve as a safe space until they have been able to establish themselves the wild... similar to what mom's nest provides wild babies.

I don't see how you can do a proper soft release in a public park. Their release cage should be in the same place they are being released.

Squirrels do not do well (hi fatality) with a "hard release".... a hard release is the kind where you place them on a tree and abandon them.
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...-How-to-Sticky

[jessijuju]

Living in city limits and avoiding law enforcement/game wardens makes it impossible to do soft release. They did have a cage on the porch that they could out in and watch their surroundings and hear outside noises. As far as contact with people goes, they dont like strangers anyways. And when the cat appeared when we released them, Blue actually spotted it first and was already barking and flagging her tail. Im just worried one will sneak up on her when im not around to protect her.

[jessijuju]

I just want my girls to be happy and safe. Living in city limits and in a state where it is illegal to have a squirrel as a pet, makes things difficult. I even looked for a house in the country to move to, so that I could do a soft release. Had no luck though. They deserve a chance to be free, but im afraid i basically set them up for failure & a quick death sentence 😭 Now I have a sad and depressedbBlue that is stuck in prison and I just dont know what to do. Guess i shouldnt have saved them as babies if I couldnt correctly release them later. I just couldnt walk away & leave them to die though.

[BCChins]

Can you fond someone in a reasonable distance from you that can do a soft release?MAybe even a rescue for Squirrels?

[jessijuju]

i searched for a rescue nearby when i first got em and didnt have any luck. And i dont know anyone that i trust enough that is close enough to use their property.

[Chirps]

I just want my girls to be happy and safe. Living in city limits and in a state where it is illegal to have a squirrel as a pet, makes things difficult. I even looked for a house in the country to move to, so that I could do a soft release. Had no luck though. They deserve a chance to be free, but im afraid i basically set them up for failure & a quick death sentence �� Now I have a sad and depressedbBlue that is stuck in prison and I just dont know what to do. Guess i shouldnt have saved them as babies if I couldnt correctly release them later. I just couldnt walk away & leave them to die though.

Well I am very glad you saved them. Before you they had NO chance. If the place where you released them has a food supply, there is always hope they'll survive. Can you be reasonably sure no one will mess with it if you hang the nest box? I guess on the side of a tree that doesn't face the street? And maybe put food out, in a tree crotch if there's one handy, or somewhere up off the ground to help them be less vulnerable when coming for it? Even a bird feeder or squirrel feeder, anything that will hold block that you can hang up. Maybe try using it as her "food dish" so she knows to go to it when she's out and about? If her sibs are still around and hungry they'll see her go to it and learn. Is there a way you can set the nest box up inside for Blue to use now so she'll know it's hers when you hang it? If the others are still alive they may join up with her and all use it.

And meanwhile keep looking for that person you can trust?

Praying for a good outcome.

[jessijuju]

I did hang her nest box in tree and built a squirrel feeder that also has her water bottle attached to it that is also hung in tree. Pretty sure she stayed in the nest box that 1st night. I think it needs to be higher in the tree just to be on the safe side. Or at least have another opening to escape if needed. My bf thinks he spotted Pink (one of Blue's sisters) yesterday. I want to make sure, that way i know there is hope for survival before I let Blue be free again.

[jessijuju]

Seen one of Blue's sisters yesterday so going to wish her luck and release her again 😔 The fear of something bad happening to her is almost too much, but she wants to be free so bad. My concern now is the forecast... Any suggestions?

[jessijuju]

Here i go.... letn Blue be free again. Hopefully she can handle the heat. Im so scared for her well being.

[Mel1959]

Provide a water source and you obviously have trees where they can get out of the sun. I’ve heard of folks putting large flat rocks in the freezer then placing them in areas where squirrels can lay on them to cool off.

It’s hotter than that in Florida right now and the squirrels seem to be doing fine.

[jessijuju]

Provide a water source and you obviously have trees where they can get out of the sun. I’ve heard of folks putting large flat rocks in the freezer then placing them in areas where squirrels can lay on them to cool off.

It’s hotter than that in Florida right now and the squirrels seem to be doing fine.

The heat index is supposed to be around 109° today. I have a water bottle on the squirrel feeder up in tree. Once again, she wouldnt stop snooping around on the ground, so i brought her back home again. Its just too risky with all the cats around. It would be different if she was up in the woods on the ground, but she keeps getting on ground out in the opening. Maybe she will be content with living at home and just going out to "play" a little each day. Or should I stop being an overprotective momma and just let her be and figure it all out?

[Spanky]

The first day or too of release they spend almost all their time on the ground exploring. Yes, too much time but it is natural until they discover the trees (and what they were born for).

Squirrels that get raised in the trees naturally understand the trees provide them security and protection, our releases need to learn that...

I love it when first day out my releases climb to the tree tops and explore... of course, that does not stop me from worrying about their falling almost as much as I worry about them exploring the ground.

Are you doing a hard release? WHen it comes to teh weather, we have pop-up thunderstorms almost every day during the summer. I try time their first few days int eh release cage to coincide with lower thunderstorm chances... I want their first experience of a thunderstorm to be while they are in the release cage, but not the first couple of days and nights if I can avoid that.

[jessijuju]

The first day or too of release they spend almost all their time on the ground exploring. Yes, too much time but it is natural until they discover the trees (and what they were born for).

Squirrels that get raised in the trees naturally understand the trees provide them security and protection, our releases need to learn that...

I love it when first day out my releases climb to the tree tops and explore... of course, that does not stop me from worrying about their falling almost as much as I worry about them exploring the ground.

Are you doing a hard release? WHen it comes to teh weather, we have pop-up thunderstorms almost every day during the summer. I try time their first few days int eh release cage to coincide with lower thunderstorm chances... I want their first experience of a thunderstorm to be while they are in the release cage, but not the first couple of days and nights if I can avoid that.

Im unable to have a release cage but i do have her house up in a tree along with a squirrel feeder & her water bottle. And i definitely know the worry of her falling! I swear she picks the smallest branches to climb around on. Im usually underneath her ready to catch her if she falls. Lol.

[jessijuju]

*UPDATE*

After going out to "play" a few times and even staying out all night one night 😳🥺, Blue said she was ready to be a squirrel. As much as we really bonded this last month, it was hard to let go knowing our playtimes and watching her be silly playing in blanket would never happen again. But knowing she would be happy freely exploring the trees and eating all the twigs she wanted, was well worth it. I let her be free friday 8/14. In the meantime, her sister, Runt, finally came to me for a snack and sat on my shoulder eating it 😍. She still wont let me pet her, but she climbs all over me if I have food for her. I also saw their other sister, Pink, while searching for Blue. She keeps her distance as she sees us as the jailers. She always did want to be free. She chewed her way out of the cage many times. Well today has been 5 days since Blue's release and I was losing hope that I would ever see her again. This morning I went over to put feed in feeder and saw "Runt" waiting above me on a limb. As i was opening container of food, she came down tree and climbed around me and in arms to get piece corn out of bowl. I reached down and put hand on her and she stayed and ate in my arms. It was BLUE!!!! 😍🥰😁 Not Runt. She sat in my arms and ate while i loved on her and kissed her. It was such a relief to know she is still alive and ok! All of them are alive... it's a wonderful feeling inside. Now I guess the next step is to claim my house back. Lol

[Chirps]

Thank you for the update. I hope Blue and Runt and even Pink, from a distance, stay around and interact with you and let you know they're all right. Who knows, maybe in another year they'll be bringing their babies to show you.

It may be different for everyone, but from personal experience I wouldn't try to pet a release, especially if they're eating. My baby bit me deep on a pinky when I tried to pet her after she'd been free for about a month. Climb all over, sit on us to eat, cache food under our shirt/coat collars, but hands can be seen as competition for the food they just gave out.


Please, pics and videos whenever you are able!

[jessijuju]

[jessijuju]

[jessijuju]

[Rock Monkey]

Aah. The small, fury pleasures of life.