New here and in need of help.

[bloodlord77]

My wife and I are raising a female flying squirrel. I found her inside a tree limb while I was trimming last march. Her name is Gracious.
This is a photo of her when we first found her:
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k261/Dark_shrine/DSC03570.jpg


And this is her now:
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k261/Dark_shrine/DSC03742.jpg

I have two questions, First I'd like to know if she is a northern, or Southern flyier? We live in Virginia, and I've read that both kind are found here.

Second, it's starting to get cold here, and she is insanely stashing her nuts, and acorns, and she has become brutally agressive. Is she protecting her stashes? should I remove them? or is it just that time of season? Any help would be GREATLY appreciated..Thanks in advance.

[virgo062]

Hi Bloodlord...I don't know diddly squat about flyers but Greys will get aggressive if they have a stash...Oh and :Welcome Gracious is beautiful

[mugzeezma]

I have two questions, First I'd like to know if she is a northern, or Southern flyier? We live in Virginia, and I've read that both kind are found here.

Second, it's starting to get cold here, and she is insanely stashing her nuts, and acorns, and she has become brutally agressive. Is she protecting her stashes? should I remove them? or is it just that time of season? Any help would be GREATLY appreciated..Thanks in advance.


:Welcome

I don't know a great deal about flyers but I can tell you this much,

Northerns are slightly larger, up to a foot in length including tail.
From what I have read the Northerns prefer altitude and conifer forests. The only way to really tell the difference is by DNA testing.
They do not interbreed.
We actually have an SFS at the wildlife center that is pretty big.

Nuts
It's that time of year and they don't like sharing. Sexual maturity will cause their attitude to change too.

[bloodlord77]

hmm...Thanks for the replies. So should I remove her stashes, or leave her be? I can handle the biting. Blood has been drawn only a few times.

[mugzeezma]

hmm...Thanks for the replies. So should I remove her stashes, or leave her be? I can handle the biting. Blood has been drawn only a few times.

Depends on how how good her diet is. If she's not eating and then running back to fill up on her 'junk food' you'll need to clear them out.

[Rhapsody]

Your little girls looks like a SFS.... I use to have two male SFS and they looked just like your flyer.
I would remove the stash to ensure that she continues to eat a well balanced meal when you feed her.

Aggression can appear for a short while when flyers are around six months old.... how old is your girl?

[bloodlord77]

She's 8 months old. I kinda thought she was a southern flyer, but I read that they were more grey, and mine is brownish. I'm hoping the aggression is temporary, she has a nasty bite...lol

[Skul]

The little girl is being protective.
Perfectly normal.
When you "invade" her home....POW!:eek:
Best to reduce the volume of the stashes.
You might also consider hanging a couple more nest pouches.
Gives the girl a choice.:D

Yes, definately a Southern.:)

[muffinsquirrel]

On a SFS, the belly fir is white all the way to the skin - on a NFS, the belly fur is white when you just look at it, but turns grey close to the skin.

muffinsquirrel

[bloodlord77]

Thanks for the help, and advice. I was starting to worry because she just recently started acting that way. I was cleaning her cage, and she immediately attacked my hand with a vengeful fury..lol. would it be too early for her to be coming into season? I've found great info on these boards, and as my knowledge grows, hopefully I can help someone in return.

[JLM27]

Take her stash away completely and see if she calms down.

[mugzeezma]

Thanks for the help, and advice. I was starting to worry because she just recently started acting that way. I was cleaning her cage, and she immediately attacked my hand with a vengeful fury..lol. would it be too early for her to be coming into season? I've found great info on these boards, and as my knowledge grows, hopefully I can help someone in return.

Who knows,,,you may become our nest flyer expert! You have some pretty big shoes to fill though :D

Almost any wild animal I can think of will get become instinctively wild and occasionally aggressive as it gets older. if you plan keeping her handle her gently and frequently. Earn her trust.
You have to tune into their ways and to some extent they will tune into you.
The ways of the wilds are old and are hardwired into them for reasons of survival. Bringing a wild animal into a manmade environment that's it's not adapted for, you are forcing your human values upon it.
They all have ways of coping with things that seem odd to us but are very normal to them. Actually survival behaviors.

[bloodlord77]

I removed her stashes this evening, got my fingers crossed....I know this may sound silly, but could someone please tell me what HHBs and FV is?:thinking