Why is my little guy doing this, Over & over & over....

[LuckyIsHisName]

Ok I have a little guy that is 6 months old, nothing has changed except for this new thing that he is doing. He will do this over and over and over again, all morning, until he stops to eat and then back at it. He will stop to nap time and then back at it. He used to stop when I or my wife would enter the room and he would want to jump on us or play or something other then what he is doing. Its driving me and my wife crazy. So here it is....
We have him in two rooms of the house blocked off with custom screen doors keeping him in the two and once in a while we let him out to the others with one of us, never by himself. The middle room is his room were his cage is that we used to keep him in, now its just a place were he sleeps for his Nap in his hammock hanging in the middle of it but the door has been removed. He has a fake tree with a nest in the middle of the tree that is a round ball like nest you buy from the pet store. Its in the middle of the branches and its at the top. We have also put a few real trees in his room and a few plants so he can bury his peanuts when we give him them as treats, he loves to bury them. The other room is our TV room that has a big picture window and a big shelf as a sill he likes to hang out and look out and see outside.
Now this is the problem, He will run back and forth from his room to the TV room to the big picture window. Once in the window he will go right to left dragging his bottom side across the sill and he will stand up bop up and down and go to the left and fight again. Then he will run back to his room does the same course and back to the TV room back on the window sill. He will go from left to right a couple times again and then back to his room. Now he will drag his butt sometimes or he will slide on his belly. Now we have newspaper on their cause he pees and poops, but it wasn't there for days.
So he has been doing this for about 8 days that I think I have noticed.
He would always greet you when you cam home and hang on the screen door, but now he will just keep doing the back and forth thing from one room to the next up in the window and right to left and then back again.
This is driving us crazy, is their something he/she is going thru. Its it mating season or is it just going thru a part of his life were he will do something like this. I'm not sure what to do, he is eating good and his poo looks good, nothing seems out of the ordinary.
Any help would be grate, I might post a thing on Face book or the other site "my Space" a video of what he is doing but its all right here in black and white and very detailed.
So lets get to the bottom of this before He/She drives us crazy and Him/her self crazy as well.
Also we dont know if he is a he or is she a she???
Cant tell if that's a little VJJ or is it a little Pee Pee. I think its a female cause I dont see any nuts just a little thing their that could be a female or a little male. Is it hard to tell, so if their is a way or a pic of a male and a female so I can see the difference that would be grate.
Thanks :thankyou :grouphug

[astra]

Welcome to TSB,:Welcome

Often, such behavior indicates that a squirrel wants to be a real, wild squirrel. Of course, there might be other reasons in individual cases, but often this is what it means - it wants to be out.
I am sure, more experienced rehabbers, who released many squirrels, will be here soon and give more information on such behavior.

As for determining whether Lucky is a "she" or a "he", pictures will be very helpful.

[Jackie in Tampa]

Yes...at 6 months old you would know f Lucky was a boy, so just guess ing Lucky is a girl!:)

have you thought about release?
I am not familiar with her story and physical status...but I bet she wants the trees!
Her rubbing her belly and butt on everything is her marking her territory.

[mugzeezma]

Yes...at 6 months old you would know f Lucky was a boy, so just guess ing Lucky is a girl!:)

have you thought about release?
I am not familiar with her story and physical status...but I bet she wants the trees!
Her rubbing her belly and butt on everything is her marking her territory.
Sounds girl to me a well. Girls have a nub, boys have a penis and the scrotum is usually pretty evident.
They have scent glands on their cheeks and on their bums. YOu would think they would stink!
It sounds like she wants the trees. Even with an entire house to roam they want the trees.
It's who they are :D

[LuckyIsHisName]

:dono hi everyone and thank you for the info!...on the TSB we actually went and cut down some trees...lol...cuz jackie thought that Lucky wanted out, so we put the tree in lucky's room but she still does the same thing and it only seerms to be in the morning that she does it the most.....by the afternoon she's playing and eating the branches etc.....I noticed too that Lucky doesn"t eat right either..what's the best way to get her to eat her blocks?

[LuckyIsHisName]

:bowdown Ok I guss she isn't eating very well, I thought she was but Jackie said she hasn't but she does for me, so miss communication.
AS for the TSB, What does that mean???????
TSB, ... Tree Syndrome Boredom"??????
Also she is peeing all over that window, is that marking the spot or does she have a UTI?????
Can a squirrel get a UTI???
So like I said we have Cut down a tree, put the hole dam thing in the room and I mean a TREE!!!! not a Bush, a Dam tree that a chain saw had to cut down and limb to fit into the house. LOLOLO
She used to play every morning and now she dont, she differently changed.:thankyou :goodpost
ya she is peeing a lot on the paper in the window, I mean a lot. she would normally pee a couple times a day but in a corner and in the same corner or in a couple corners but always in the corners never all over the place.

[SquirrelLove]

TSB stands for The Squirrel Board. It's not a disease lol. I wondered too when I was new here. And when the folks say she wants the trees they (most likely) mean she wants to be a wild squirrel, not a tree in the house. However you can't just put the squirrel outside and expect her to do well. It has to be a "soft" release, meaning slowly. You put a cage outside and put her in it so she's safe and gets used to the sounds and smells of all the dangers outside.
I let my squirrels out in a cage during the day when they are being released and bring them in at night during the first week. The 2nd week I leave them in their outside cage day and night. The 3rd week I open their cage and they come back at night to sleep and I shut the door to make sure they are safe at night. About the 4th week I leave the door open all the time and they come and go until they have built a nest and no longer come back to stay in the outside cage. I put food and water out in the cage so they can come any time and feel like there is a home base if needed. I would also let them in the house if they wanted to come in.

It sounds like your girl wants to be a WILD squirrel. And unless there is something physical that makes it so she can't survive in the wild it's probably best if you start a slow "soft" release.
Hugs and best of luck to you!
Joanne in Jax FL.

[Wonkawillie]

She is marking territory! And she wants to be free for sure. My released girl has been free for 2 months now. She still comes in my house to grab peanuts. But she eats and runs. If she finds the door to outside has been shut and she can not take off with her nut, she freaks and starts doing the same kind of thing. pacing the window sill, marking, etc.
Time to release your squirrel. Try a soft release, or bring her to a safe place for a soft release, if you happen to feel your not in a great squirrel area for release. She is really trying to tell you this.

[Skul]

As others have mentioned, she is indicating she wants her freedom.
It's very rare that a squirrel will accept living in the confines of a house.
(even if they have several rooms to roam)
Her behavior is quite normal, even the peeing.
Hard part....you're going to have to make a descision.

[astra]

:I noticed too that Lucky doesn"t eat right either..what's the best way to get her to eat her blocks?

People have different ways of helping their squirrel get used to eat blocks. Most try to start since early days, and blocks are the first solid food introduced to a squirrel.

If a squirrel wasn't not given blocks in ealry "childhood", then, what some people do is they clean out all stashes (i.e., if your squirrel hides/caches food), and don't give any nuts and/or junk, but healthful food only, including block.
Other people break/grind a block mix it with some Fox Valley formula, making sort of a cereal, add a nut butter dollop (e.g., almond butter), warm it up and give it this way.
Yet, others break blocks into smaller pieces. It's best to give the blocks first thing in the morning, they are more likely to eat it this way because they are mst hungry in am. Some people leave blocks in the cage overnight, just in case a the squirrel wakes up early, feels hungry and will be more likely to eat it then.
So, there are different ways. Everyone is trying to be creative and adjust to what works for each individual squirrel.
People share them in Baby Squirrel/Nutrition sections, as well as in other forums. You can also start a new thread by posing your question(s).
It might not be easy - to get your squirrel eat blocks/healthful food, but with enough patience, persistance and much love it can happen!:)

[Ronda]

Good Luck with your little squirrely girl!
My grey loves her Henry's Healthy Blocks.. BUT she wants them cut a certain way,.. she likes hers sliced thin and kinda dried and crispy-i have tried other shapes but she likes them best in crispy chips. She is picky.. and spoiled:shakehead