Very tense?

[MaxX]

This morning I woke up and Steve seemed to be acting weird. He was just, I dunno how to describe, like he was disturbed by something. He sits next to the back window, so I don't know if he saw something outside he didn't like, but that'd wouldn't make him act like this. I gave him a pecan, but he didn't seem interested, so I cracked it for him and then he started eating it, and I let him out and he just ran around me making that little "irritated" noise that sounds like a quiet motorboat. You guys know what I'm talking about. And usually he doesn't put up so much fuss when I hold him or whatever, but he was just really squirmy. So, I dunno what's wrong. I put him back in his cage and gave him a pecan still in the shell, and he went to work on that and I came in here. Any thoughts?

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

Could he have been frightned by the wind?
That motorboat sound is a purr sort of. I have been told rodents do this when playing or happy.

[MaxX]

Could he have been frightned by the wind?
That motorboat sound is a purr sort of. I have been told rodents do this when playing or happy.

Well, he flips his tail and makes it bushy when he does it, and that action is irritation or fear, so I guess a frightened sound would accompany it.
I don't think it was the wind because actually there was a storm last night and small tree limbs were falling ontop of our house and he just acted like normal and then went to sleep.

[island rehabber]

Well, he flips his tail and makes it bushy when he does it, and that action is irritation or fear, so I guess a frightened sound would accompany it.
I don't think it was the wind because actually there was a storm last night and small tree limbs were falling ontop of our house and he just acted like normal and then went to sleep.

Maxx don't worry, all my fuzzers have done this at one time or another. He may have seen or heard another squirrel, a dog or cat, or a machine sound he really didn't like. Sometimes this makes them go into freeze mode, or sometimes they get agitated and flick their tails and do the "nnrrrrrr" sound, or the "high alert" sound. Roadie would carry on for 20mins at a time from one corner of his cage...we finally figured out it was a wild squirrel on the fence outside -- very far from our window! -- that was annoying him. Others have had squirrels overreact to the sound of the dishwasher or a chain saw in the neighborhood. (Can't blame 'em.)

[MaxX]

Maxx don't worry, all my fuzzers have done this at one time or another. He may have seen or heard another squirrel, a dog or cat, or a machine sound he really didn't like. Sometimes this makes them go into freeze mode, or sometimes they get agitated and flick their tails and do the "nnrrrrrr" sound, or the "high alert" sound. Roadie would carry on for 20mins at a time from one corner of his cage...we finally figured out it was a wild squirrel on the fence outside -- very far from our window! -- that was annoying him. Others have had squirrels overreact to the sound of the dishwasher or a chain saw in the neighborhood. (Can't blame 'em.)

Probably true. He keeps sniffing when I take him out of his cage though, so I dunno if a household smell could be bothering him. :P That'd be bad seeing as I have no idea what it could be as my nose is stuffy and I probably couldn't smell it anyway.