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View Full Version : Pinky biting her brother / Chewing off her brothers' whiskers!



Skalar
09-18-2011, 03:53 PM
I'm kinda' perplexed, so I'm asking what you guys think.


For a while now I've noticed that the 2 boys (chipper and squeaky) were losing their whiskers. It wasn't a slow thing at all, just one day I noticed they didn't have their whiskers, but pinky had hers (she still has hers).

I thought it might be something in their diet although I am feeding them properly. Then thought it might be perhaps due to the galvanic reaction with the cage, or something else I don't know about.

But then I saw it.

The other night, Pinky bit chipper on the face pretty hard. They had a pretty bad fight in the nest and he flies out, with his face bleeding from a bite mark on his face, as well as his cheek swollen, where pinky was chewing on the side of his face where his whiskers were.



He didn't want me to touch the side of his face, and avoided me. Then I gave him an almond, in which he became oblivious to the world and I scooped him up and took this photo.

http://gallery.skalar.org/var/resizes/Animals/squirrels/IMG_1382.JPG?m=1316144358

you can see the bite and the sore spot on his cheek and utter lack of whiskers.

I don't know what to make of this, has anybody had squirrel chew the whiskers off of another squirrel?

island rehabber
09-18-2011, 04:07 PM
I have never seen this before. Of course cagemates have squabbles but not where faces are being scarred and whiskers removed! I think you are going to have to separate them....sorry. :(

Skalar
09-18-2011, 04:08 PM
That was the first time i've seen them fight in the nest and I always thought that Pinky was simply grooming the other squirrels. (but she was chewing off their whiskers)

so bizzare.

Rhapsody
09-18-2011, 06:04 PM
Oh poor little baby :grouphug ...... Yep sadly they will need to be separated..... :(

Jackie in Tampa
09-19-2011, 07:23 AM
again, not sure why she is doing this...ugh

however, on another note...
the chain saw boys are doing great..
big ole husky boys...
Buzz does not even realize he is missing his toe..
he is a very lucky sq!
They are both precious!:Love_Icon :Love_Icon
:thumbsup

mousehole
09-19-2011, 09:48 AM
I don't know if this helps but I once owned two rat sisters - Tic and Toc.

Tic was the bigger one and frequently forced groomed poor Toc who looked like she had been attacked by a mad barber.

After doing some online research and speaking with some breeders I found out that this was an occurrence aptly called "Barbering". It was a dominance thing.

I had to separate them until Toc's hair grew back and she was completely healed and then applied "Bitter Apple" onto a cotton ball and lightly brushed this onto her fur. For the facial area I'd use a q-tip being careful not to get it into the eyes or nose.

This completely took care of the problem - I've not come across any instances of this occurring among squirrels during my research but the principle is still sound.

Skalar
09-21-2011, 02:01 AM
Oh I'm so glad they're doing well, Jackie. I'd love to see them when they get older. I think about them, and I really wish I had the time to take care of them (I barely have time to reply to this)

I thought about bitterant, but with my luck, chipper himself might get it on himself when he washes himself, and i'm sure that would be unpleasant.

All I can think of is perhaps she wants to chew on something like whiskers, and perhaps I could put something like that in the cage. I don't know what, though.

Jackie in Tampa
09-21-2011, 04:50 AM
a clean broom...:dono