Sister squirrel scared the tar out of me!!!

[cascy]

Holy cow!

I was feeding sister her afternoon snack, all was good, she was gulping her food down so I'd make her stop and take breaks every little bit...

Well the last time I did it, she fluffed up, Looked twice her size! Flickered her tail, and starting making the most unusual noice and bouncing toward me!!!

I don't know if she was still hungry or pissy that I took her milk away or what,,, but boy is she ever a bossy little thing!! :osnap

[TinyPaws]

Sounds like she was saying LEAVE MY FOOD ALONE....They get very protective of their food..She gave you a warning...:rotfl

[cascy]

Only 5-6 weeks old and already handing out warnings?!?

I knew she was a bossy little thing but geesh... :osnap

Hand me scared for a sec. there... Wondering if she was a rabid baby squirrel or something :poke :rotfl

[Sciurus1]

Did she chuckle or Rooo at you, or both They do that, as well as dance like a butterfly, and sting like a bee! :rotfl

[cascy]

ummm... I don't know LOL, sounded like a cross between a cat's purr and a bark maybe?

And she's also started chattering lately... apparently she's figuring out she can make noise now :thinking


I just can't get over how "bossy" these little guys can be! I mean, you mess up and she'll let you know in NO UNCERTAIN terms your wrong! :nono


wow... I can only imagine the handful she would be full grown!

She's also taken to trying to nibble on my hair, my shirt, and anything else she is not supposed to (she has grapes, apples but doen't touch them) and she'll get puffy and mad if I don't let her chew on me wither :nono

[Momma Squirrel]

:jump pinkie is growing up fast :thumbsup All good signs :)

[JLM27]

Sounds like she needs to know who is boss. You better establish your hierarchy fast.

Nice to hear she is feeling well enough to assert herself. Poor little thing.

[cascy]

Now wait a sec.... How exactly do you establish control over a squirrel???:thinking

If this was a horse I could handle the situation... size it down to a little fur ball squirrel and I'm clueless :dono

[JLM27]

Well, I don't think you can control them, but when you got afraid of her act, I'm sure she knew and thought: "Oh boy, I'm the boss!" just like a little kid throwing a tantrum.

[cascy]

She did catch me off guard... I never expected it from something her size!

[squirrel princess]

You can do like the mother if she starts biting too hard or chewing on stuff by cuffing her head and holding it down:poke these guys will run all over you if you let them:rotfl

[Sciurus1]

Like a series of loud barks and then mubbles sounding more worried, like 'whar whar whar wha". That is typically what they do when they are upset, and the tail with is as you described. It is fun when they first poof the tails and flick them around; but wait till she goes totally helicopter with it, that is really fun to watch. As for this, you have been challenged. Food as mentioned, is a big deal, and be careful not to do anything to make her feel threatened while she is eating, but leave her be.

[Sciurus1]

I used my voice not cuffing to stop them from bitting. I had to at times remove them from what they were after, if the startling effect of the sound of my voice, saying AHH sharply, didn't work. I also used empty cardboard tube rolls, left over from wrapping paper, as a shepherds staff to move them out from under furniture at times. Just moving it towards them effectlivey gets them to going in the direction you desire, and out from under or behind furniture. If stubborn, then one little bop on their fuzz butt worked well to get them going.

To pick them up, do not just lift with the hand on their back, but hold them still with a hand on their back, and then lift them from the tummy with the other, keeping the top hand as a guard, but putting the grip on the underside moreover. This way it mimics what the mother squirrels do, by lifting them from the tummy, just not in the upside down position they do. My husband would carry our squirrel around that way, just holding her in his hand as she rested on it, and she felt secure and fine with that, got some pets too, which she liked. To hold them by their back primarily, or pick them up that way translates to mean you are acting like a predator. Some squirrels can get past it, but some will always find it to relate to what a predator does, so lifting them by the tummy with a hand on top as a guard, but grip on the underside of the belly, works far better. I have seen a squirrel totally relax in this grip from below, and hang the arms and legs off like it was a branch they were hanging out on. That is what you want, for them to be comfortable and secure enough to relax in your hand, and trust you will not drop them, or hold them like a predator does, but the squirrel way instead. The more you handle them, that is correctly, the more they will learn to trust you, and become more docile.

For more on their sounds, another member has posted a thread in the Off Topic forum on that. My post is number 2, where I hare my knowledge of what the sounds they make mean moreover. Do note I had a Foxer, so the sounds correlate with that species, not as much the gray, though they are very similiar, there are some distinct differences. As for flyer behavior and sound, that you would have to ask MuffinSquirrel or Tinypaws to interpret for you, for they have the flyers.

[cascy]

hmmm.... I wasn't trying to 'take' her food away, I was just worried about her choking from drinking so fast...

As for the holding from the bottom up, I never thought of that!! Good advice, I'll have to try it...

Although usually when I hold her with my hand under her, she trys to crawl to the other side of my hand....

Thanks for the info!!

[Nutkin]

Just wait til she squeaks and her teeth sound like a mini woodchipper!:D Try saying "AAAAKKKK" similar to the uhuh don't you do that sound you would make to a child. Works on NutNut and she's three. Glad she's doing so well!