Soft Release Help: Traveling for health - need guidance on right time to release

[Simmerpop]

Hi team,

Thanks for all the help recently. Nutrition all sorted. My kids still are slow to take to vegetables but are chowing down on HHB like champions and trying more veggies every day.

If you've seen my posts, my boy and girl moved to a 8x4 cage on 4-16. They were found on 3-16 at I think 5-6 weeks old (both teeth, moving, eyes open, not sitting up). If they were six weeks, that would put them at about 12 weeks today. I originally thought that 13 weeks was the release age when you have siblings but now see that 15 is much preferred. Unfortunately I have two obligations out of town for medical reasons. Given this, I'm wondering if you could provide guidance on the following:

Question 1.
First, is the process where you open the release cage and then let them come in and out for 10-14 days kicked off at 15 weeks, or finalized at 15 weeks? I assume the latter.

Question 2.

• Window 1: I will be home for the next ten days, at which point I am then gone for 7 days (during the window I am home they will be hitting 13-13.5 weeks, seasonally this is the start of May).
• Window 2: I then am home for a 12 days and gone for 7-10 days (during the window I am home they will be 15.5 week, seasonally this is the end of May).
• Window 3: I am then back for 2.5 weeks and gone for 7 days (during the window I'm home they will be 17-19 weeks old, seasonally it's early through mid-June). After that I wil be home for a month (all of July).

Knowing that I should be available to help provide food and water after their release hole has been made, and knowing I have someone who can feed the babies when I'm gone, with the age assumptions I've made above, can anyone let me know which, if any, of these windows could work for release?

Question 3:
For when I release, I purchased them both squirrel boxes I plan on putting in my yard but they both stay together in one now. I don't have too many tall trees, is it okay if I put both boxes in the same tree a couple feet apart (it's a palm tree so I can only go up) - or is that not advised?

For context, I'm in LA and I would like to get them out a few weeks before the fourth of July of course, so they can be settled (I've been told that's important) but I would also add right now it's still spring with lots of trees blooming and buds and fruit and it is not yet sweltering during the day. It's a nice 75. This will change of course, but I'm really unsure which window above is most ideal.

Thank you!

[Simmerpop]

hey yall!

I know my post is long and I have a few questions but I really would love some
Guidance so I can get this right!

Thanks!

[Spanky]

Question 1.
First, is the process where you open the release cage and then let them come in and out for 10-14 days kicked off at 15 weeks, or finalized at 15 weeks? I assume the latter.

They usually do not go to an outdoor release cage until they are at least 14 weeks old. They stay there at least 2 weeks before the portal is opened. If they come and go another 2 weeks... that puts them at 18 weeks when the release process completes. There are variables of course, no the release is NOT ideally completed at 15 weeks. By ideally I mean what provides them the best chance to survive in the wild.

[Simmerpop]

Thanks. As mentioned, mine are already in their soft release. I guess I’ll go for window 2 or 3.

Spanky, how close can I put their nesting boxes? Also, most important, the boy just started trying to have get frisky with the girl - what do I do? He keeps trying to grab her and get busy.

[Clare]

Thanks. As mentioned, mine are already in their soft release. I guess I’ll go for window 2 or 3.

Spanky, how close can I put their nesting boxes? Also, most important, the boy just started trying to have get frisky with the girl - what do I do? He keeps trying to grab her and get busy.

That's just wilding behaviour. They don't necessarily mate at this age. But they do a back hug changing into a tight back hug semi humping sort of behaviour.

Even if there are two girls, this will happen. It's not mating or trying to get frisky.

This behaviour is just an indication that they are wilding up pretty well.

[Mel1959]

The behavior you mention is a form of play and affection. I have a mom squirrel that has a single baby that does this behavior with her since there are no siblings.

[Spanky]

Spanky, how close can I put their nesting boxes? Also, most important, the boy just started trying to have get frisky with the girl - what do I do? He keeps trying to grab her and get busy.

As others have said they are playing and it is all a part of their establishing the social hierarchy.... males *usually* are dominant until the females give birth and are caring for the little ones. At that point, females will ferociously chase off every male that comes around.

In my experience, I don't think putting 2 nest boxes in the same tree serves any purpose. They may stay together in the same box after release for quite a while (though this is more common in fall babies, I have even seen as many as 4 cage mates stay together for months through the winter). I've never seen a mature squirrel share their tree with another squirrels... just what I have observed. I have seen 2 females with babies with boxes 50 feet apart or so coordinate and defend the general area from males.

[Simmerpop]

Thank you all!! Good to know.

Last question - because I know I’ve used lots of SB’s time and THANK YOU for all the help so far.

Today three grown adults came to the release cage crawling all around and sniffing the babies through the wire. They didn’t seem aggressive. - just curious - sniffed their food stash of course - is this behavior I should be threatened by? The adults in my area and 7 are relatively friendly from my prior winter food storage I’d leave out but they braved a very new part of my yard to explore the release cage. Is this good? Bad? Normal?