Something is wrong with Karen

[Somebody's Mother]

he is testy and doesn't want to be held. i have been letting him have free run of the back porch for several hours each day. but now when i try to catch him to get him to eat he screeches at me and runs away. if i try to hold him he twists and tries to get free. i know this isn't good for our working relationship. what have i done wrong?
even yesterday he still liked me. he climbed on top of my head after i finished feeding him. silly squirrel.:shakehead

[Secret Squirrel]

This is just my opinion but it sounds like he is a healthy squirrel and is longing to be on his own. Since you found him and it's eyes were open then he knows what wild truly is. Injured squirrels will allow us to help them but just as soon as they start feeling better...WAMMO!!!!....back to being wild.
Just take each day as it comes, but I would limit his free run and confine him to a smaller area like a 3X6 cage until you release him. Keep us posted!!:grouphug

[island rehabber]

This is just my opinion but it sounds like he is a healthy squirrel and is longing to be on his own. Since you found him and it's eyes were open then he knows what wild truly is. Injured squirrels will allow us to help them but just as soon as they start feeling better...WAMMO!!!!....back to being wild.
Just take each day as it comes, but I would limit his free run and confine him to a smaller area like a 3X6 cage until you release him. Keep us posted!!:grouphug

Yup I agree with Secret....he's just a normal squirrel feeling the call of the wild. You may need to use gloves to handle him soon....don't think he won't take a nip out of you, just because the day before he was sweet & cuddly....be careful.

[Somebody's Mother]

I was afraid of that. It is so easy to get attached. I had put him on the back porch with the one sliding glass door open and only the screen between him and the outside. I wanted him to be able to hear his fellow squirrels. And I do believe that it is in his best interest to be returned to the wild. But I feel kind of sad. He was so loving and cuddly. It is like the tranformation between adolescents and puberty. one day they are your sweet loving child and the next they think they know everything and don't need you anymore.
:( :(

[island rehabber]

I was afraid of that. It is so easy to get attached. I had put him on the back porch with the one sliding glass door open and only the screen between him and the outside. I wanted him to be able to hear his fellow squirrels. And I do believe that it is in his best interest to be returned to the wild. But I feel kind of sad. He was so loving and cuddly. It is like the tranformation between adolescents and puberty. one day they are your sweet loving child and the next they think they know everything and don't need you anymore.
:( :(
It is sad, but when he goes you'll know that you did exactly what you were called to do: rehab him and return him to the trees where he belongs. This is what we mean when we say most squirrels do not want to be pets....and those squirrels shouldn't be pets. There are those who choose to be pets and that's great. Your sweetie probably is not one of them, but you've prepared him for a great squirrelly life. Just like there are some kids who never leave home....but most do. :)

[GhosTS]

Oh ya..he is getting squirrelly...perfectly normal.But when he is fully released..and when he realize that you are not caging him again, he will start to trust you again.little by little.

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

Uh Huh, Personally out of my 5 I have had now only Baby girl would have made a possible pet.
And then when I see her with her fellow squirrles it would have broken my heart to keep her from her life, her normal habitat.
I think Karen may be getting his first dose of hormones?
They start to get rammy (thus how the name Rippie Boy) came about.
Not to say you wont ever see your sweet little one become babyish again. They know how to work it!

[thundersquirrel]

oh i'm so sorry it happened so suddenly. the little tyke just became a real wild squirrel.

i suggest you take things verrrrrry slowly from now on. you need to earn his trust back if you want to keep track of him. obviously chasing him around the porch is no longer an option, lol. offer him the treats he used to eat when he was with you.

my mother and i have built a relationship with wild squirrels in our backyard; we provide peanuts, they come to us and usually sit close enough to take a picture. i think they understand we don't want to hurt them as long as we stand still. if they're in control, they'll show their appreciation. ;)

[Somebody's Mother]

thanks everyone. yeah karen is giving me heck right now. he will quit eating if he hears a noise. he is very nervous with humans and animals. this will be good when he is ready to be returned to the wild but it makes it very hard on me right now. i worry he won't get enought to eat.
also where he was burned by the lightning the fur is peeling off the skin. it is not an open wound or sore but just the hair is coming off. i keep watching the skin for any breaks or infection.
i think he may be getting hormones he is now putting off a very offensive odor. (i'm not a squirrel so i don't really appreciate it.) we have a guinea pig and when he gets excited he puts off a similiar odor. elvis the guinea once drove us all out of the car because the vibrations of travelling got him excited and he sprayed. eewwwwww!! :rotfl