Squirrel mania!

We are all still a little overrun with squirrels!

 On top of a lot of late babies coming in, there are several people who have called with single  older squirrels that they took in and raised themselves, and now that they are older and ready for release they want some place to send them. Once again, very well intentioned people, and great job raising them, however detrimental in the end. So back up on my squirrel soap box I go, forgive me! You can't just throw strange 13 week old squirrels in together and expect them to get along. Had we gotten them younger, we could have easily incorporated them into a group. At this age they can be very territorial and downright nasty to each other.

We rehabilitate a large volume of squirrels that we want to fear humans, so they don't get a lot of personal quality time with us. That is what their siblings are in there for. We have barely enough time to feed, potty and clean them and move on to the next group anyway! As they wean, they get less and less attention from us and wild up quickly. By the time they are ready to go outside they are impossible to catch, nasty, and eager to beat the crap out of any strangers.....of any species! They have all the tools they need to give them the best chance to survive out there. A strange singleton added to an established group like that runs the risk of some serious stress and being attacked and injured. 

Because of all the late babies, we still have a lot of our own squirrels, and as a result, all of the outdoor pens are full with more waiting in the indoor pens to go out there! There just aren't any empty pens to put any extra singles into!

There is so much more that goes into rehabilitating orphans than just getting them to live.....they need to learn to survive out there so they can be released. So please, as awesome as it is to rescue and save a baby in need, contact an experienced rehabilitator when you find an animal so it can have the best chance to be raised and released properly. 

You are awesome for stepping in and making the effort to save a little critter in need....(not many people would be bothered). Now give us the chance to make the time and emotion you put into helping that critter worth it!!