Our little guy is starting to become aggressive.... is this normal?

[Beanie]

Our Beanie is now getting to be about 6 months old. Up until about 4-6wks ago he never showed any signs of being aggressive.

Now.. whats going on is it seems like hes storing a lot of food and treats in his cage. He is also fattening up, it seems, for winter? When ever we get near his cage he jumps up and darts to the cage side as if hes making sure we arent getting too close. When we open his cage we have to unlatch it quick or our fingers could get nipped. If we get close, and he realizes we dont have a treat for him, he becomes very annoyed and quick. He does this thing where he literally chases his tail jumping around.... sometimes even growling. Ive always kind of thought of it as a scare tactic. Like hes trying to show us how fast and mean he can be. The other thing is he chatters his teeth like crazy after hes done doing his "tail attack".

Up until about a week ago if he had his cage door open he would still do his "tail attack" but never bother to come out and act nasty. Last week I noticed he came out... while I was sitting with our cat about 10ft away... and started doing his "tail attack" on the carpet outside the cage. After about 2-3 minutes he ran up to me, bit my arm, then ran back to his cage. :thinking

Anyways... my wife and I are becoming very concerned and wondering what the heck is going on... and if theres anything we could do to fix this. Or... perhaps... maybe we're doing something wrong?

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated! :)

[CritterMom]

It IS normal for them to start showing their wild tendencies at his age but the biggest problem are the stashes. He is protecting them from you. Move him out of the room (don't do this with him in there unless you have armour) and clean out ALL of his stashes and keep them cleaned out. Don't give so many treats that he wants to stash them, he should be eating, not stashing.

[astra]

oh boy!...
a few things:
1. he can be wilding up... i remember Beanie very well (he needs more pics), but I do not remember if he can be released... because if this is wildling up, then, he might have to be prepared for release in the spring. Although, now that he has been exposed to the cat, it might be a problem

2. could be seasonal - i do not know when ground squirrels have mating seasons... if it is seasonal, it should pass

3. could be a combination of all of the above + stashes. Squirrels often get very protective of their stashes, so sometimes it helps to clean all of their stashes for them to calm down

4. scents?... have you and your family members recently changed their lotions, shampoos, air fresheners etc etc etc?.. they often react to a different smell, even if it is just a minor thing that you would not even think about

I'd think it is a combination of seasonal things, since he is also fattening up=preparing for his winter and stashes.

I am sure other people will be on here with more ideas.
:grouphug

[stosh2010]

My Rama Rota was a true Softie Boy until One Year old ..
I too, was surprized by listening to a rapid chatter ( teeth clucking ) and then a sudden lunge & face bite. Unprovoked and lightning fast.
This was followed by 4 months of peace ---and then again, a sudden surprize biting attack. Since May...I wear a helmet and welding gloves whenever interacting with Rama.. However RamaMama still plays for hours on end with the KING every day- they get along splendidly.
Squirrels are naturally wild. We are blessed with the opportunity to share some time & space with them. But they live and die by instinct. Some will calm down--in time--some wild up. It is usually up to them.
The only advice I can offer:
Please be careful and very cautious of yourself and family.

[Rhapsody]

YES, this is their normal AGE to show AGGRESSION!! -- and as a rehabber this is the age by which I make sure my babies are off and running FREE in the WILD...... so neither I (nor my family) have to worry about being caught up in the natural change of aggression that happens in Squirrels....... ITS ALL GOOD!!

[Beanie]

Thanks for all the info!

It seems as if I may have a few things stacking all at once... maturity, season change, and stashes.

I do recall the first time I went to clean his cage, after he had started stashing, he was really irritated. Literally jumped into the cage as I was scooping the bedding out and tried to stop me. However... after putting fresh bedding with no stashes in he was actually more pleasant. The more he stashed (longer time passes) the more aggressive he was.

My wife has a bowl in his cage... we keep it full. We are going to eliminate that, after cleaning his cage, and feed him only what he needs for a daily basis. Hopefully it helps. We'll see!

As for releasing.. well.. we cant. Its not something we would be against but our early ignorance in raising a squirrel has eliminated that option. :( He has been exposed to cats, children, and our dogs. They all have learned to coexist so letting him go in the wild would most deffinitely end up in failure. We dont mind keeping him even if hes a little bugger from here on out. We are in for the long haul, we love this little guy.

We werent seeking a squirrel as a pet... he was lucky to find us, and vice versa. Found in a horse stall abandoned by his mother. We werent even sure what he was when we found him... not that it wouldve mattered. :)

[astra]

We dont mind keeping him even if hes a little bugger from here on out. We are in for the long haul, we love this little guy.

well, then he is very lucky and so are you.
Because very often most of them do mellow down with time. They usually pick one person whom they "like", like RamaMama for Rama (poor Stosh), and the rest of the family is either tolerated or actively disliked ;-), but with time a lot of them do revert back to accepting other family members.

Just remember not to take these aggression episodes personally - he still loves you, but he is a wild animal essentially and his wild instincts control him to a significant extent.

Def. feed him daily food and clean his stashes.

If there is a way, try to clean his stashes so that he cannot see you do that. If possible, of course.

Keep updates posted.
AND HE NEEDS HIS OWN THREAD WITH LOTS OF PHOTOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fire-eyez]

What is his diet like specifically what are you feeding him ?

[PDXErik]

well, then he is very lucky and so are you.
Because very often most of them do mellow down with time. They usually pick one person whom they "like", like RamaMama for Rama (poor Stosh), and the rest of the family is either tolerated or actively disliked ;-), but with time a lot of them do revert back to accepting other family members.

Just remember not to take these aggression episodes personally - he still loves you, but he is a wild animal essentially and his wild instincts control him to a significant extent.

Def. feed him daily food and clean his stashes.

If there is a way, try to clean his stashes so that he cannot see you do that. If possible, of course.

Keep updates posted.
AND HE NEEDS HIS OWN THREAD WITH LOTS OF PHOTOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you were a tiny squirrel, who would you pick?

(lol love you, Stosh!)

[astra]

If you were a tiny squirrel, who would you pick?

(lol love you, Stosh!)
:D I am glad Stosh has a good sense of humour:D

[stosh2010]

If you were a tiny squirrel, who would you pick?

(lol love you, Stosh!)


Don't make fun of my BROTHER from Another MOTHER....

[stosh2010]

How is Beanie doing???
Still " FRISKY "???