What happened to my squirrel? Change in temperament!

[booboo]

Hi everyone,

almost 2 years ago i found this baby squirrel and has been nursing it and also glad i found this forum seeking for advices.

my squirrel is a really sweet male and will never attack me even when playing "fight", but im not sure why, today it just did!

and both my hands now are badly scratched and bitten!

never happened before and i even stayed calm and not move my hands, hoping it will stop but it just went berserk!

i supposed wild animals are wild animals?

are they supposed to be like this after maturing?

should i release back into the wild? (which i dont think it can survive as there are many cats in my area and it is used to eating good food..)

[Kristal]

I am wondering if this is inevitable, too. Rifa has always had a very strong personality, and I can already see her wanting to become more independent at just 6 weeks. She likes me quite well, likes to climb around on me, be petted and sit on my shoulder but she also wants things done her way. If I ever deter her from something or don't do something she wants, she just gets annoyed with me and can get pretty insistent. She is even starting to refuse the feeding syringe as of today. It's like she is impatient to be a big girl and kind of resents me feeding her like a kid. I had to offer her food probably 10 times before she could be persuaded. I think she is probably precocious what with wanting to explore already at her age, and I wonder if this is a window into things to come. I can already see that she would never be happy as a pet and would have horrible behaviour problems if anyone tried to make her one. Yet some people, on this board, too, keep greys as house squirrels. Do they always wild up like that? Do you always run into problems like the one in the original post? Of all of them, I think Nibbler might be a pet squirrel candidate. I do like the idea, but I intend to let them lead me in the direction they want to go. Rifa is going to be wild, for sure. It's like she can hardly wait for her chance. I am curious how you guys make it work to have a house squirrel, to be honest.

[CritterMom]

Well, yes, wild animals are wild animals...but I would look at what my hands SMELLED like at the time. They have an amazing sense of smell and rely on it more than sight. My one year old Mister P bit me for the first time (no blood but the first bite that wasn't playing) the other day...I had been out tossing peanuts to my wilds and failed to scrub my hands after.

[Jackie in Tampa]

I am curious how you guys make it work to have a house squirrel, to be honest.
My house pet sqs are NRs...with the exception of Palmer, who was released and injured. She is just not interested in freedom, she loves fine linens and breakfast in bed...:D

Keeping wilds and domestics seperated is how to prevent imprinting, nothing else will insure their safety.

PLEASE keep your rehabs away from your pets! Thank you!:thankyou



:thinking what was the question...

[Kristal]

PLEASE keep your rehabs away from your pets!

Err.... I do... aside from telling my dog that the "squirrels" are "mine" and that he is not to touch them. He knows both of those words, now, and appears to respect my word to the point that he gives them quite a wide berth. I am worried on their behalf since he is a proven hunter. Did you think otherwise?

[Jackie in Tampa]

when you release an imprinted sq and they know and accept your dog...OO when they accept and love your neighbors sq eating dog...
:peace
I have never seen a trust worthy cat...they are all hunters...it's instinct!

[Kristal]

No... like I was saying a couple of days ago, I am really pleased that the squirrels are very wary of my dogs, so far, and of strangers, too, despite being ok with me. I hope they don't habituate to them, actually :) I did expose my dogs to them by scent after feeding them, and later by sight in hopes that my half terrier would understand that these are not to be attacked like any mice and invading cats are for him. It seems to work so far as Rifa once made an escape when she was young and wandered blind and unmolested on the kitchen floor for quite a while before I came back to scoop her up. Thank god for small miracles!

[booboo]

well, im glad it finally calmed down now.

will try to bring him out again tomorrow.

btw how long can they live in captivity?

[Mars]

Did you change hand creams , soaps or nail polish ??? Any new or strange scent and cause an attack.

Greys can live 15 years or more.

Hope this helps
Mars

[astra]

Squirrels pick up cues and learn from their squirrel mother, or mother figure in the form of a human, who is raising them. If they see their human 'mother' interact with the pets, they will pick up on it.
Just being wary of pets does not mean that they know to fear them (squirrles can be wary of food bowls and unfamiliar objects, too). If they constantly find themselves in the same room/place with the pets, they won't fear them as much as they should. Being wary and take chances is not enough, being fearful and run away is safe.

[Bravo]

i suppose wild animals are wild animals?

Exactly. I'm not a rehabber, but have seen time and time again posters asking "what happened to my little angel?"

As far as I can see, it's the natural process of maturing and seeking territory. Squirrels are generally solitary. Being raised in captivity, even with the best of intentions, runs absolutely counter to the instincts and drives of a healthy, mature squirrel that has not been imprinted from infancy. Exceptions to the rule are rare, and that's why they become so special to their owners- they are the exception to the rule.

Wildness is impossible to understand. These are not dogs and cats with thousands of generations of breeding and familiarity with humans. Your squirrel reacted to something, maybe not even intentionally, and this may continue. Or not. :dono

[Pierre]

Newbie newbie question, apologies: Let's say your babies have seen your dog but never interacted with it. Once these babies are ready for release, and once they start hanging with the other squirrels, wont they run with the squirrel group when an alarm is sounded? Isn't learning the local squirrels' alarms, behaviors, and such part of why they are housed outside for weeks before release?

[I do mean, BTW, that they have seen your dog, not that they were ever friends with it.]

[NutmegsMommy]

My male squirrel who I have had for a little over a year has started acting like a brat :( and attacking me, even when I am putting food into the cage or his favorite toy. He even slammed the door shut on me today by jumping and landing. This behavior started about a month ago and has been getting worse ever since. How do I get this boy to calm down and go back to my loving, sweetie pie who got tummy rubs every night?

My issue is that I have a NR female and he is the brother- he's bascially getting a free ride because when I seperated them, trying to get him ready for release, he got depressed and stopped eating, and so did she, so I had to put them back together and all was right in squirrely land. Go figure. I spoil him rotten. I even bought him a new toy today and he stilly "per per per'd" me and ran at me nasty.

If he doesn't straigten up I told him I'm gonna have to call the Swedish Chef,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCxpQ5sjo8s


All kidding aside, is this behavior reversable? What would prompt this? Is there something I can do to make him sweet again? My little girl is sweet as ever...but he's got a severe case of PMS. Sigh :(

[Squirrelis]

Funny someone brought this up as my little squirrely was acting "possesed" too. Seems like the week that we had all this crazy rain in Florida is when she went nuts(no pun intended:D ). Also I noticed she had some nuts stashed nearby and my hands might have had some peanut smell. So now I always wash my hands after feeding the wilds and stay clear of any of her nutty stashes nearby and she is back to normal:)

Still a wild animal is a wild animal and they deserve to be with their own kind--even though our hearts break at the thought of letting them go out in the wild, "how will they make it on their own?" we ask ourselves-"I need to be there to protect them from hawks, cats, dogs, I'm the only squirrel momma my squirrel has ever known."
But in the end what is the best gift to give something you love:Love_Icon -freedom--freedom to choose

Yes my squirrel loving friends I am a big fat sap:shakehead --here I am writing this and on the other hand it's really me who needs the "release" pep talk--:violionist --

[Bean]

[QUOTE=booboo;561315]Hi everyone,

almost 2 years ago i found this baby squirrel and has been nursing it and also glad i found this forum seeking for advices.

my squirrel is a really sweet male and will never attack me even when playing "fight", but im not sure why, today it just did!

and both my hands now are badly scratched and bitten!

never happened before and i even stayed calm and not move my hands, hoping it will stop but it just went berserk!

i supposed wild animals are wild animals?

are they supposed to be like this after maturing?

should i release back into the wild? (which i dont think it can survive as there are many cats in my area and it is used to eating good food..)[my squirrel does this too...I had him 3 years, he's good most the time, but in the mating seasons and season change, he gets a temper and starts hoarding food and will bite and attack me...then the rest of the time, he makes oinking happy sounds, wants to play and gives me hugs, like literally grabs my fingers and squeezes...it's just the time of year, he will calm down again. Mine is also a male, he was good for a long while and suddenly one day attacked me and now it's just at those times when he's protective of his house and food But he's the sweetest guy ever otherwise.]

[Diggie's Friend]

No he will not calm down now that has reached puberty. As for keeping them in the same enclosure that is no go, for they would mate, if they haven't already so. Beyond this, if housed with a pregnant female should would attack him to drive him off, resulting in mayhem if he then has no where to go.

With the cat issue, I would encourage you to locate a local rehabber to take him to support his wilding up in a release cage they would provide towards his release back to the wild. Do not share you address with the rehabber, for part of their license requires that they release if at all possible where the squirrel originated. Also, should you not want to likewise release the female, you don't want them arriving at your residence to find you have a squirrel in your possession, as all the West Coast States do not allow private possession of captive wild squirrels.

[CritterMom]

[QUOTE=booboo;561315]Hi everyone,

almost 2 years ago i found this baby squirrel and has been nursing it and also glad i found this forum seeking for advices.

my squirrel is a really sweet male and will never attack me even when playing "fight", but im not sure why, today it just did!

and both my hands now are badly scratched and bitten!

never happened before and i even stayed calm and not move my hands, hoping it will stop but it just went berserk!

i supposed wild animals are wild animals?

are they supposed to be like this after maturing?

should i release back into the wild? (which i dont think it can survive as there are many cats in my area and it is used to eating good food..)[my squirrel does this too...I had him 3 years, he's good most the time, but in the mating seasons and season change, he gets a temper and starts hoarding food and will bite and attack me...then the rest of the time, he makes oinking happy sounds, wants to play and gives me hugs, like literally grabs my fingers and squeezes...it's just the time of year, he will calm down again. Mine is also a male, he was good for a long while and suddenly one day attacked me and now it's just at those times when he's protective of his house and food But he's the sweetest guy ever otherwise.]


You should never let your pet squirrel have food stashes. It is guaranteed to cause this behavior. Most of us feed the Henry's foods which have no preservatives in them and SHOULD be removed daily. Part of my normal morning job is a thorough cleaning of his enclosure, removing ANY stashed food from the day before. They don't NEED them, we feed them probably more than they need (!) and depending on what they have stashed it can make them absolutely savage. Stashed healthy food doesn't cause drama, but stashed TREATS, especially nuts must be defended at all costs!

BTW, put them elsewhere when you are crashing the stashes so you have plausible deniability. Yes, I am serious!