I raised a squirrel that fell out of her nest. i want to release her but i think she is too tame!?

I found her when she was four weeks old, and now she is about 16 weeks old! I have been waiting to realease her, but i have been holding back because she hurt her back leg. Now it is almost healed but i think she is way to tame to be let go. She runs around the house and is not afraid of humans or dogs and does not bite. My dad tells me to let her go from her outside cage and let mother nature take it's course...but i worked too hard to raise her and i'm not going to let her die. Please dont just say ';If she can climb and eat food then let her go'; because it is not that easy!





ThanksI raised a squirrel that fell out of her nest. i want to release her but i think she is too tame!?
give her away to a nature center they will give her the proper attention.I raised a squirrel that fell out of her nest. i want to release her but i think she is too tame!?
I know it is really hard to let an animal go! what you should do is let it go in your back yard but then check on it everyday and if the squirrel isn't doing well then take it back and help it more!!!





Thanks -Shayla
since it is tame, you may have a permanent pet. if you release it and it is not afraid of natural preditors, it may not last long. I know someone who found two baby squirrels and took care of them, but kept them in a cage outdoors and then started keeping the cage door open. they would come and go and then eventually didn't come back. I don't know what happened to them, but there was a squirrel hit by a car near the house which may have been one of them, or not.
I have a pet squirrel, too. I have had her for almost three years, now. I think it would be better to wait for at least another month before you release her, and believe it or not, they don't actually reach sexual maturity until about a year and a half old.





In Florida, where I am, it is legal to keep a squirrel as a pet. However, it would not be legal for me to release her onto the public being that I am not a licensed wildlife rehabber.





I have a link to an excellent guide on squirrel care, rehabilitation and release. It is an extremely well put together PDF manual.





There is a great section on how to properly release a squirrel in that PDF.





http://www.animaladvocates.us/squirrelma鈥?/a>





http://aero.livejournal.com/96666.html


(Preparing her for bed in my son's closet.)





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcLNyWnQ5鈥?/a>


(A video of me kissing her.)





http://aero.livejournal.com/97649.html


(My cat and the squirrel hanging out.)





http://youtube.com/watch?v=pn4OpGBDYOA


(A video of me feeding her a bottle.)





http://aero.livejournal.com/97092.html


(Her eating a dried up frog she found in the sliding doors.)





http://community.livejournal.com/animal_鈥?/a>


(What I wrote about properly caring for and feeding her.)





I have written much more than that about her. She is an extremely affectionate animal to me and my son. Though, she hates my husband. It is no fault of his own, and it was not always that way. She decided around 6 months of age not to like him anymore. It is normal for captive squirrels to pick one, or in my case two, people to be attached to.
it might e hard to let her go but i have an idea





ok so call a zoo ro sumthin becuz now that she is tame she might not be able to live in nature and adapt to it . there was a case in a nature center where they raised a squirrel a very similar situation to urs and they said that the squirrel was too tame and it couldnt live in the wild so they kept it and gave it to a zoo where they took very good care of it and it was soo tame every1 loved it and the old owners could visit it





that was was the best solution i could think of so i suggest calling ur local nature center or zoo!!! u can visit it!





its a great thing ur doing healing it





hope i helped!
You can let her go in and out of her soft release or outside cage. Hide food for her and let her find it in her cage. Always leave her cage outside open in case she wants to go. When I was younger I had the same thing happen and I raised a squirrel and he was my pet until he died at 15. They can make good pets but they need the proper nutrition and you have to make sure you get them plenty to chew on as their incisor teeth can get to long and they can grow into their upper jaw. Give them antlers, big blocks of wood, all kinds of things. Also have to make sure their diet is proper. While it is illegal to keep just dont tell many people. I am a rehabber now but I remember nursing and loving that squirrel (Gimp) and not wanting to let him go if I thought he would die. Another option is to call a local rehabber in your area being that he is young she can put him in with others of his kind and gently wean him from human imprinting. Do not let him go until you are certain he can fend for himself. the rehabber will know when to let him go. And sometimes if they cannot be released they use them to teach or keep them there. Follow your heart and do what you think is best. A lot of people may not agree with me but Im only saying this because I have been there.
its not a zoo animal so the zoo is the wrong way to go but contact the rspca ir ask yhur local vets about what to do with the squirell maybe start bye put outside in what ever yhuu keep it in and try slowy release btu do ask a vets for help about it :D
Try the nature center or zoo idea, otherwise. Dads house dads rules and dads right.
why not keep her? id like to have a pet squirrel. Thats soo cool.
Give her a kiss and a small hug and let her go. Her instincts will kick in later:)