Omg!! Serious root damage!!!

I have been vegging my 7 Armageddons and 4 power skunks for a little while now, indoors under one 600w hps. I've been prepping for putting them outdoors so yesterday with the tallest one reaching 19 inches tall and the weather finally letting me be able to put them out, I made the transplant. Everything went well...but when i looked at them today to see how they weathered their first overnight in the wild....6 of my Armageddons were dug up!!!by some animal!! the plants themselves were not eaten or anything its like something just wanted to dig in the freshly disturbed dirt around the plants.... When I transplanted them the roots took up the entire space inside of like a 6 inch pot and now i only have a root structure of about the size of a dixie cup!! Im pretty sure they are toast so i topped them all and cloned the tops and have my fingers crossed... I put the plants back in the ground and watered them really good with a water/root stimulator solution and hoping for the best, there really isnt anything else i can do now....But I was just wondering if anyone out there has ever had anything crazy like this happen and do these plants have a chance?

well thanks for the help, i guess no one has had anything like this happen before, in which case, if you've stumbled upon this thread looking for help on root damage I can tell you that after a week they still look good as new and are starting to show signs of new growth already. I think the root stimulator helped alot. All and all I guess it was just a minor set back, good thing I was ahead of the game anyway.

I'm glad they pulled though for you.
I don't grow outside but I have the same problem with flowers and veggies.
IT'S THOUS DAM SQUIRELLS!!