What in the world

[Peanuts mom]

Okay, here is the problem.... Peanut has been released for sometime now, he still came home off& on for a bite, still slept inside on occasion, raided the cookie jar and cuddled :Love_Icon ! After we took in a new baby, now also released, he stopped coming home as often but still showed up but now making this weird clicking sounds! As you may remember a while ago he bit me pretty good then acted as though nothing was wrong, though leery of him I still let him in, cuddled and it seemed fine. Next time he literally went after our oldest son, twice! He bite him pretty bad as well, it was then sadly:shakehead decided no more inside visits for Peanut! He stayed gone for over 2-3 weeks, I was starting to worry! Despite the fact he bite me & my son he was my little pinkie so I wanted him to be okay!
Now when he comes around, daily again for food, he seems ill or beat up, lost a lot of fur on the side of his his face as well as some whiskers, he will charge you, he will come after you :dono !!! Today he went after our youngest son when they came home from the store, my husband told him to run, he did and is fine but Peanut, who acted like.... whatever turned, laid in the grass as we just watched him and then turned and charged my husband!!! Let me tell you, he got him good!!! He bite him on his back, his side and finally as he tried to reach for him to get him off he took a really, really bad junk out of his thumb! I thought it needed stitches but you know, he is a guy but lord it bleed forever and looked horrible!
WHY????? Why is he doing this? Our youngest is now worried to go outside because he will chase you! I thought maybe he thinks of the whole yard as his and is defending it but then again, he has been gone for a long while and for stretches of weeks at a time! This worries me as we often have kids over playing and whatnot heaven forbid he goes after one of them!
What do we do? I love that he comes to eat/visit and let me see he is alive and well but not like this! I thought maybe he is ill but then again, he did this before too so what is going on?! I raised him from when he was days old and he fully part of the house until we slowly released him at his own speed and will and now..... I don't get it and I'm worried, I mean his bites really hurt!!
Any advise?

[astra]

hard to tell... I will be just making educated guesses...:thinking

it might have to do with territory... are there other squirrels in your yard? Is your second squirrel released in the same yard as well?...

... since it started after the second squirrel, Peanut might have started feeling threatened territorially...the fact that he disappeared for some time, then, showed up all beaten up and ill, with fur missing - very likely that he must have been fighting for his territory (in addition to mating, probably)...
very well might be that someone else has been trying to make him move and he doesn't want to...

It sounds like aside from that one biting incident, he has not been going after you, but only after you other family members, right?... that might be the case of when a squirrel, while wilding up/having wilded up, acknowledges only one human, the rest - had better stay away. Even though he lives a life of a wild squirrel, this might still hold true, especially, since he still comes for food and such.

Another thing - mating season. When did those biting incidents happen?... was it around mating season(s)?... that can also explain his aggressive behaviour...

So, my guesses would be a combination of territorial issues and mating season...

But honestly,,, :dono I have a hard time picturing a squirrel going after someone for no apparent reason, out of the blue... if you think intently and hard, maybe, your husband or sons have done something, unintentionally and unaware, that could have provoked Peanut?... :thinking

I really don't know what to suggest... so hard not knowing the full picture and all details...

I am sure, other people, with more experience, will share their insights and, possibly, will have suggestions...:grouphug :grouphug

[Peanuts mom]

Hi astra,
Well no he did come after me twice as well, days apart but yes, he went after our oldest, went up the stairs in the house and charged him! As for my youngest and husband.... they were coming home from the store and pretty much minding their own bee's wax, just ahhh look Peanut is home. We all love him so always happy to see him and he was always nice to all of us, playful, loving, okay me a little more but I also spent most time with him, 2 hour feedings for weeks:flash3 when he was a pinkie!
As I said when our youngest went inside and told me was home I went to the back door to see and he was laying in grass, my husband was behind driveway fence, just looking at him talking to me, I was still inside behind screen door and Peanut just suddenly got up and ran at my husband who at first didn't react because... well he didn't think he needed too and he started biting right away, on his back, his arm and like I said finally his hand! My husband kinda tossed him into grass. He just layed there and then went under the playground area for shade, chilled there for about 30 minutes then came to his cage wanting to come inside our house!! Of course that did not happen but I did give him some rodent block, there is always fresh water so.... what went wrong?:dono

[gs1]

:grouphug

i agree with astra ...

what kind of squirrel is this?

do you have a photo?

i'm wondering if it's a red squirrel... (sometimes they're more 'crazy' than the others)

i'm also thinking hormonal .... you belong to him and he's chasing away all other males etc....

rama rota ... a costa rican squirrel ... when hormonal goes after his dad very viciously.....


here is a photo of stoshs get up and also a link to the thread....

if anything it will help your boys/husband realise this is almost normal....

(not that all squirrels do this.... :)....)

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27141&page=349

[gs1]

and maybe you should stop feeding him and hope that he leaves the area....

if he's an adult squirrel....

only because if he keeps attacking your boys or another child i'm sure the authorities will be informed and that's not good .....

:grouphug

ps: his bites do hurt!!! he can bite through wires/plastic/nuts/branches etc....

[SquirrelsinSingapore]

Hello Peanut mum

I read your story, and have no solid answers to it.
Except you may start precautions like thick sleeved
jackets, protective garments and so on.

Until we found what is the case, it is hard to tell.
I would think there are sensitive spots where peanut
hid stashes. Could be several spots :dono

On your observations, did the 2 :Squirrel get along?
If both are males, it may be wiser to shift another
to separate the territory fight, if that is whats all about.

Another option is to have a big cage. But that I leave to
a last resort.

Well keep us updated and informed.

A picture of peanut would also be nice!

:thumbsup

[stosh2010]

Let me tell you, he got him good!!! He bite him on his back, his side and finally as he tried to reach for him to get him off he took a really, really bad junk out of his thumb! I thought it needed stitches but you know, he is a guy but lord it bleed forever and looked horrible!
WHY????? Why is he doing this? Our youngest is now worried to go outside because he will chase you! I thought maybe he thinks of the whole yard as his and is defending it but then again, he has been gone for a long while and for stretches of weeks at a time! This worries me as we often have kids over playing and whatnot heaven forbid he goes after one of them!
What do we do?
He probably needs to be humanely trapped & relocated, I feel. I can't imagine the inner turmoil of raising a wonderful squirrel ,only to have him not only wild up--which is fine--but return & repeatedly attack .If a neighbor or neighbor's child was chased or worse bitten--you would feel much worse. Is there a Large undeveloped area that you can drive him to? It seems that he feels threatened by "humans" regardless of size. This will probably escalate.

[Adventurista]

These stories honestly scare the heck out of me. I am so nervous that something like this could happen to my guy. I would die if he charged a neighbor kid or something.

One thing I'm wondering, and I have nothing to back this up other than just wondering: how long was the release period, and did you slowly disassociate yourself(ves) from the squirrel as you began the release process? My understanding is that you should slowly spend less and less time with the squirrel so that he's nearly startled or a little afraid when you come by to give him food and water in the release cage, over a period of weeks.

I think this is the third story like this that I've read, and I'm wondering if perhpaps the squirrels are still "human friendly" when they leave, go meet other humans who are scared of them coming right up, and they get hit or beaten with a broom or something, which makes them mad and go back home to say "What the HECK??!!! What is wrong with your whole dang species???"

Again, I have absolutely nothing to back that up other than just thinking and wondering.

[astra]

These stories honestly scare the heck out of me. I am so nervous that something like this could happen to my guy. I would die if he charged a neighbor kid or something.

One thing I'm wondering, and I have nothing to back this up other than just wondering: how long was the release period, and did you slowly disassociate yourself(ves) from the squirrel as you began the release process? My understanding is that you should slowly spend less and less time with the squirrel so that he's nearly startled or a little afraid when you come by to give him food and water in the release cage, over a period of weeks.

I think this is the third story like this that I've read, and I'm wondering if perhpaps the squirrels are still "human friendly" when they leave, go meet other humans who are scared of them coming right up, and they get hit or beaten with a broom or something, which makes them mad and go back home to say "What the HECK??!!! What is wrong with your whole dang species???"

Again, I have absolutely nothing to back that up other than just thinking and wondering.

good point, worth consideration...
... he must be sensing some threat... usually, animals do not attack for no apparent reason... there must be something that triggered that, maybe, not as obvious....
feel bad for all involved....

[Adventurista]

good point, worth consideration...
... he must be sensing some threat... usually, animals do not attack for no apparent reason... there must be something that triggered that, maybe, not as obvious....
feel bad for all involved....

In the three stories I've read that are similar, there is also a similar circumstance where the squirrel was fine, left for a time, came back and went all Cujo, usually on the person who was the main caretaker. There is usually an underlying issue, I'm just trying to speculate, I guess.

We adopted a rescue dog last November, who had been through four homes in five years. She ran away constantly (which is why she was passed around). When we got her, we had to keep her inside because she kept jumping the fence. She demolished our blinds, a window, and a screen trying to get out. It was obvious that the attempt was frantic. She also gave me five "warning bites" on the face---super scary, as I have NEVER had an animal bite me (and I've worked with a lot of animals). I did a bunch of research, and all the problems boiled down to the fact that no one had ever known to take the lead with her, so she assumed that she had to step up to the plate and be Alpha. I started working with her on dominance (making her lie down before giving her food, making her walk behind me, lie down to put her leash on, not letting her put her paws on me) and within three months, ALL problems disappeared.

There has to be something going on with these cases that can be solved. Even in the forest, I've never had a bird or squirrel or chipmunk attack, so I don't think it's just "wilding up," there is something going on, I think. Wish there was a Cesar Millan for squirrels. :thinking

I also agree with Stosh, that he should be humanely trapped and relocated, preferably to a place without many humans, for his sake as well as the family's (and everyone else).

[Adventurista]

Hmmm....I just read on this site that a lack of calcium/magnesium can cause a squirrel to become aggressive, or too much phosphorus.

So, I looked in my physiology book, and too much phosphorous can cause overexcitedness, and irritability in humans. There are high levels of phosphorus in nuts....like those people might feed to the friendly squirrel who happens to be suddenly visiting their backyard, perhaps? Other foods that contain high phosphorus are cheese, fish, and grains. Interesting.


http://animalpetdoctor.homestead.com/Squirrels.html

[Peanuts mom]

So far so good, that is to say he has not bitten anyone else but he has still been making the sound, that click/click, like his teeth come together really fast!
I have kept water out and toss a rodent block on top of his cage when he is home and he lets me open the door, or rather I feel safe to open it a crack! I do that because he looks so beat up, I think he can use the vitamins in them to get better! He acts like he used to do when he wanted to come in & visit but of course I can no longer trust him to behave! Makes me sad, he was my baby :Love_Icon , I worried about him all the time, heck we didn't even go on vacation because I had no one to look after him while we were gone :shakehead
So now he is a outside, mean, sick looking squirrel and it breaks my heart but there is nothing I can do for him if he wont let me touch him! I told my husband what if he comes back one day and is hurt?! I mean I would be afraid to try and touch him! He has bitten every time and everyone that has reached for him or not really! My husband did'nt do anything other then watch and make the mistake of letting him climb on him, same with my oldest who was always very gentle and sweet with him, heck he even slept with him a few times!!!

The other little guy, Stich, he has not come back at all and we worry about him because I fear that perhaps Peanut got to him :dono ! I sure hope not, I hope he found a tree and is happy as can be, he too was a sweetie but not with us as long as Peanut nor as young!
Guess we will have to wait and see what happens, he has not come back the last two days but that is not unusual so.... I will keep you posted!

[gs1]

:grouphug

the click, click,click is a warning sound.....

he feels that he's the head squirrel....

i would consider not feeding nuts to him cause they can make them more aggressive....

maybe instead whatever other food he likes ...henrys blocks maybe....

as for him looking sick that is a problem....

maybe photos will help.....

and if you can be more specific....

i guess you'll just have to watch and see....

:grouphug

[Ronda]

:goodpost
He probably needs to be humanely trapped & relocated, I feel. I can't imagine the inner turmoil of raising a wonderful squirrel ,only to have him not only wild up--which is fine--but return & repeatedly attack .If a neighbor or neighbor's child was chased or worse bitten--you would feel much worse. Is there a Large undeveloped area that you can drive him to? It seems that he feels threatened by "humans" regardless of size. This will probably escalate.:goodpost

Please do consider this...if he charges or bites the wrong person..it might mean a death penalty for him if animal control is called. I think this is the hardest and most heartbreaking thing about releasing our babies - the worry about how things go for them outside!

[Peanuts mom]

GS1, no nuts, just Henry's blocks and fruit, water.... that's it! As for his looks... well he looks beat up, fur missing on face, whiskers missing, like he was in fight or maybe ...mange?! Not sure since I really can not get close enough anymore! I mean I wont even open the door since his release condo is right outside one of our back doors!

Moving him I don't think is an option simply because we can't get close to him! I guess we could try to get him into his condo but there is no way to move that, it is very big!
We will have to wait and see, I hope he relaxes again or sadly :shakehead stays gone into the wild, happy, healthy and free!

[pappy1264]

Take his 'condo' down. Stop feeding him, anything. You need to keep a spray bottle to spray him if he comes at you. I know this sounds awful, but he has to move on. He is the extreme of what can happen. He sees your house/yard as his and he is defending what is his. He probably got into it with another squirrel, from the sounds of it. This is a very serious and dangerous situation. As said, if a neighbor or their children get bit, it could be disastarous (and if you are not licensed and it it found out you raised him, that could be not good, either--not sure what the laws are where you are, but most places you must be licensed to rehab wildlife.) I am very sorry this has happened to you, although I have not personally been through it, I know others who have and know it is heartbreaking. But they are wild animals.

[Peanuts mom]

Pappy,
Taking down the condo, well rolling it away had occurred to us however.... we did have another release to consider but at this point I believe its a mute point as I am sure Peanut has run him off! I think we will do that tomorrow, even though it breaks my heart :shakehead ! But in light of what is going on right now.....
Peanut is at my front door! My son went to go out to go pick up his little brother from school and Peanut made a dash for the door or him :nono , not sure as he immediately closed the door! Poor thing, he is really scared of him now and of course I can't blame him, he got bitten twice, badly! I sent him out the back door and watched to make sure he got to his car but this is no good for anyone!!! Peanut is crawling on my screens now, he clearly wants in! He was at back door this morning trying to come in, this is the way he always came in, top of his condo so we could see him bobing his head up& down :Love_Icon
I feel just awful, I wonder if he is hurt, sick, wants me to help him :dono but he still is making that sound so I will not take a chance! My husband said to get the thick gloves but he bite him in several spots on his back as well as his hands so.... I just had surgery two weeks ago, had part of my lung & pleura removed so no way can I take a chance, can't move very well right now either!
God this is awful, I feel like I'm abandoning him and wonder if this will make him even more upset!? He was my baby, everyone's baby, he was days old for heavens sake! How could this have happened? Of course I can not have him terrorizing the house, yard..... I will move condo this weekend and stop putting out food, it will make me feel like crap but..... I see no other choice :(

[gs1]

:grouphug for what it's worth my wilds...are doing the same thing....

crawling on the screens ...ripping them to get into the house to get nuts to go bury.....

they're like junkies most of the time but this time of year is worse....

fall drives them super crazy ...all they want to do is bury nuts... all day ....

they won't even eat or rest ...just frantic burying....

so you feel like shiiiiiitttt and welcome to the club... and mine weren't even raised by me... but by their mothers.....

:grouphug


as for what your son can do....

i've never had one attack me....

so i'm not sure....

but i am wondering if a super squeaky dog type toy will work ... enough to startle the squirrel into stepping back from this big human?

or a water pistol?

if he's trying to get into the house make sure there's no nuts available for him to find anywhere.....

try not to stress yourself out....:grouphug

you've raised him to adulthood ...he'll be ok.... he's a squirrel... in his own environment

[pappy1264]

This happened to Jodi, another member on here. This squirrel would attack her or anyone that came into her yard (I know, I got chased by him, but thankfully got to the house before he got to me!) That was last year. He is still around, but he stopped acting this way. She had to force him to go, find his way and in time, he did, was gone for some time. but he came back a changed squirrel. He still waits for her to come out and give him treats, but he has not reverted to the crazy, aggressive squirrel he was. I hope you will have the same outcome. Thankfully this is not a very common outcome, but it is not the first (and sure it won't be the last) time it is seen. Stay safe.

[Peanuts mom]

Thanks everyone! He left again, I got a water bottle and hubby said condo will be moved tomorrow! So sad but he has to go, I can't have him act like this around us, kids..he was gone for.sometime, 3-4 weeks and when he came back he was stand offish but not mean and we just left him alone, after all, that was the plan! Help him grow and set him free, even through tears! Then he was gone again and this time came back mean!
Guess its good to know it has happened to others, sad but at least I no longer feel like I did something bad! I love him to pieces, still do and I hope I don't have to spray water :( at him but.....he can't act this way!

[tazzy]

hard to tell... I will be just making educated guesses...:thinking

it might have to do with territory... are there other squirrels in your yard? Is your second squirrel released in the same yard as well?...

... since it started after the second squirrel, Peanut might have started feeling threatened territorially...the fact that he disappeared for some time, then, showed up all beaten up and ill, with fur missing - very likely that he must have been fighting for his territory (in addition to mating, probably)...
very well might be that someone else has been trying to make him move and he doesn't want to...

It sounds like aside from that one biting incident, he has not been going after you, but only after you other family members, right?... that might be the case of when a squirrel, while wilding up/having wilded up, acknowledges only one human, the rest - had better stay away. Even though he lives a life of a wild squirrel, this might still hold true, especially, since he still comes for food and such.

Another thing - mating season. When did those biting incidents happen?... was it around mating season(s)?... that can also explain his aggressive behaviour...

So, my guesses would be a combination of territorial issues and mating season...

But honestly,,, :dono I have a hard time picturing a squirrel going after someone for no apparent reason, out of the blue... if you think intently and hard, maybe, your husband or sons have done something, unintentionally and unaware, that could have provoked Peanut?... :thinking

I really don't know what to suggest... so hard not knowing the full picture and all details...

I am sure, other people, with more experience, will share their insights and, possibly, will have suggestions...:grouphug :grouphug


WOW! THis sounds so familiar with Ziggy! He was released in May and didnt come around for a few weeks. I would still see him but he didnt come too close for awhile. THen all of a sudden in Late July he started hanging around the deck on and off all day long. I too had a second guy I released in late july (Fez). Ziggy continually chases him off and last week my husband was walking out in the yard, reached down to give Fez a nut and Ziggy came from out of nowhere and jumped on his leg and bit his claf. No provocation what so ever!~. I was devistated. I know he can not be biting people! SInce then he has been better and not so aggressive and I am really keeping a good eye on him while he is out on the deck. But I do know exactly what you are going through and I cant help think that it is partly due to Fez being let out in July.

[SquirrelsinSingapore]

letting him grow and setting free, the act itself is simply the greatest gift you can ever give to peanut. he is free now, I believe he will appreciate his freedom and will remember you...

:grouphug