Maple the Squirrel and her new harness!

[vegas0917]

Hey guys! So update on Maple, her tail that hot picked has healed and she is doing amazing! She is almost 5 months old now, and is the sweetest girl I've ever met! Only gets fussy when she protects her henrys block and sweet potatoes! We just got her a new harness and after multiple tries this one seems to work great! We're getting her used to it, it's on when she's out of her nest (her cage). She is so much calmer with the harness on, its amazing! My question is, whats the best way to introduce a leash to her? Any advice? Thanks so much! Pics included!

[Charley Chuckles]

Now she's adorable sporting her new vest🤗
You say shes calmer with the vest, that reminds me of the thunder jackets for dogs, my sister uses one on her dog during thunderstorms and she is calm as can be, her dog actually brings it to them to put it on her as soon as weather gets bad 👍
I guess put the leash where she can see it and In time she may not mind it. I would also just put your finger though the loop and kind of hold her in place so she gets use to the tension.
I however would never trust a harness if going outside, if they wiggle out of it you may never get her back😳

[vegas0917]

That makes sense, I do want her to be able to experience the outside...I'll need to think of something

[Scooterzmom]

Now she's adorable sporting her new vest🤗
..... I however would never trust a harness if going outside, if they wiggle out of it you may never get her back😳

I totally agree. I have a harness almost the same and tried it on different Nos of mine. Each and everyone of them managed eventually to squeeze ou of it - except one guy who ended up partially out and got himself entangled in it, don't ask me how *sigh
Because their head is small and they can move their body and so many disjointed ways, I have yet to find one that is totally secure, unfortunately

I had one of my boys wear one when I took him outside to rock him - he was blind - and i put a leash on it but I never put him down. It was more as an insurance in case he'd startle and would jump ouot of my arms. Just an insurance, in other words; not for walking him or have him out of my arms.

[vegas0917]

That's fair, so I should rephrase my question then and ask what is the best way to let them get outside time other than an outdoor cage? To feel grass and dirt and trees?

[Scooterzmom]

That's fair, so I should rephrase my question then and ask what is the best way to let them get outside time other than an outdoor cage? To feel grass and dirt and trees?

An outdoor cage is the only thing I would trust, personally. And even then, You would have to make sure there is hard cloth wire on the bottom, or else he could dig his way out from under. They are smart little cookies.

we have built an outdoor cage which we placed right outside our dining room window, and a tunnel we can install between the indoor cage and the outside one. We use it to let some of our NRs enjoy the sunshine on nice summer days and the sigh t of their "cousins" or previously released friends. We put branches in there, a box with grass in the bottom... Seems to make them quite happy.

Note, however, that when you bring the fellow back in, he might be stressed, might take a real strong liking to it and act wilder.

[Charley Chuckles]

I have a cage I call a sun cage. I will post a pic tomorrow. My husband made it and I can take mine out in it without worry of them getting away, just getting sun.
Also on a leash even if they can't get out of a harness a hawk could easily grab them in a heartbeat. That has happened to small dogs.
If they are on the grass most likely they would get fleas.

I promise to post the carry cage I use, its roomy yet I can still manage to carry it 👍

[vegas0917]

Okay, awesome! Thank you guys! We are planning on building her an outdoor enclosure, but I didn't think about wiring the floor too. Thank you guys!

[island rehabber]

Okay, awesome! Thank you guys! We are planning on building her an outdoor enclosure, but I didn't think about wiring the floor too. Thank you guys!

Oh yeah, got to wire the floor, DOUBLE. Burrowing animals, including snakes in FL where you are, can get in there.

[Charley Chuckles]

Oh yeah, got to wire the floor, DOUBLE. Burrowing animals, including snakes in FL where you are, can get in there.

Exactly!
My outdoor release cage is on concrete, we have the regular hardware cloth 1/2". We then put on the outside of the hardware cloth, all the way around including the roof, 1/4" wire because we had rats getting in and the do kill squirrels
Also that protects from snakes getting in. We have large corn, rat snakes in our yard.

[vegas0917]

Would it be better then to out a tiny but of dirt and garden in her cage so she can feel the outside? Like a garden bed?

[Charley Chuckles]

Here is our sun cage.
Conker loves it, I tried to take a pic and he jumped in lol.

[Charley Chuckles]

Also we have a safety pin which goes though the top, so it's not just the springs and lack on the sides preventing the door from opening.
I do set it out under my loquat tree on a bench by my back door so he gets filtered sun not directly in the sun, and I monitor him BECAUSE I'm a worrier 🙄

[Charley Chuckles]

Ok here is what we use on our release cage, which sits on concrete. The wire/hardware cloth we use, it's 1/4 inch not 1/2 inch.
Some say they could get their toes cought but that's never happened, I'll risk that over a snake getting in 😬

[Charley Chuckles]

Would it be better then to out a tiny but of dirt and garden in her cage so she can feel the outside? Like a garden bed?

I use a metal pan and I put sand in it so they can play, sure dirt grass would be fine as long as no pesticides or fertilizers have been used👍

[Rock Monkey]

I suppose you could plant some grass in container or transplant it into a container and put that into your outside cage. A lot depends on the size of the cage.

As to the harness, their skeletons are very collapsable. Most rodent have the capacity to enter spaces with holes no larger than their heads. Plus, a squirrels can chew through most materials quite quickly if the inclination takes root, even fine stranded wire.

Most members have concluded that harnesses and leashes are insufficiently reliable and are problematic for a variety of reasons where trips outside are concerned.

Helen sleeps in a location who entrance is 1 1/2 (horizontal) by 6 inches (vertical). The location is of her choosing tops all other locations she has access to. I am pretty certain the overriding concern for her is security where nesting locations are concerned.

[vegas0917]

Okay, that makes a lot of sense. I didn't know that the skeleton was so fragile, I'll make sure not to do walks and whatnot with the leash like I was planning. The outdoor cage we are building will be an 8ft by 10ft by 10ft cage, built with nontreated wood and 1/4 inch wiring. We plan on putting a lowes garden tree in there for her to climb, as well as a nest box and ramps, ropes to swing on, bridges, all the works. Basically a catio but for a squirrel. We plan on having that be for playtime outside when the weather is nice, but bringing her back to her indoor "nest" (her indoor cage) at night, rain and cold weather. We wanted to let her walk and play and climb trees, but after reading some of the posts, I don't think it's a good idea. We can make a squirrel wonderland without the chance of her getting hurt.

[Rock Monkey]

When I said their bones are collapsable, I wasn't saying that they were fragile, but rather that the bones are joined in a very flexible way, allowing them to get into very small spaces. So, if they can collapse their bone structure in order to access a small space, they can collapse their bones to escape a harness if they choose to.

When you build her big outdoor cage, it should have two doors at the entrance. One door, then another. Like you find at large retail stores. It acts like an airlock. You don't open the inner door until you have closed the outer door on the way in. The processed is reversed when you leave. The squirrel is transported to the outdoor cage in a small cage. This way the squirrel cannot escape as they are being transported to and from the outdoor cage.

[vegas0917]

I didn't even think of that, but it makes sense! Zoos have that for bird enclosures. Thank you, I'll add that to the blueprints we're making! Good call!