PEBBLES APPEARS ALL STRESSED OUT

[Scooterzmom]

Well I'm not entirely sure what is going on here but Pebbles is acting very strangely. Yesterday I found her sleeping on her pancake shelf instead of inside her nest box with Hansel. Today she's been crying out and "barking" in alarm for absolutely no reason. Nothing new in the room, not a thing outside the window at all, nothing whatsoever. It even looks like she's barking at me, except that she does not attack me. She's also refused her boo-ball last nite, and again today... and THAT is definitely not normal for her: she's usually CRAZY about those. She had some avocado for dinner but the whole time she was eating she was perched on the hutch and barking while eating. Then tonite again she's been refusing to go inside the nest box and she's been crying - the call baby squirrels do when they are scared and call for their mother. I've hung a cube near her pancake shelf, thinking if it's because Hansel doesn't want to let her in the next box at least she'll have a nest... but in vain. She went inside of it for a bit, but now she's back out on her pancake shelf. I've watched and watched, and Hansel has not shown any sign of preventing her from using their nest box, he has given no indication at all of being aggressive with her at any time. I'm at a loss here and my poor little girl seems miserable. :(

She's a grey, about 7 months old. Can anyone help me figure this out? Could this be that she's come into heat? Is my baby girl a grown lady squirrel now? If that is the case, how long can I expect this behavior to go on? I know they don't usually breed in captivity yet I have seen him trying to mount her, I must say. Well that didn't work out for him, poor guy :) she doesn't let him.

[JLM27]

She might be hearing something that you can't hear that is scaring her.

[djarenspace9]

She may be scared of something you don't see or hear, like JLM27 said. :shakehead

It could also be hormonal. :thinking

So many things to consider with these nutty squirrels!!! :dono

I always offer several nest boxes and hammocks for my NR's
so they have options of where they want to sleep and with whom.
Sometimes even a bug or spider can set them off.

One of my 7 week old babies had a fit one day growling at me,
and after 10 minutes trying to talk her down and figure out
what her problem was, I realized that her beef was not with me...
there was a tiny moth fluttering around inside the cage
that totally ticked her off. :rotfl

[astra]

One of my 7 week old babies had a fit one day growling at me,
and after 10 minutes trying to talk her down and figure out
what her problem was, I realized that her beef was not with me...
there was a tiny moth fluttering around inside the cage
that totally ticked her off. :rotfl:rotfl

[Twi_prime]

She may be scared of something you don't see or hear, like JLM27 said.
One of my 7 week old babies had a fit one day growling at me,
and after 10 minutes trying to talk her down and figure out
what her problem was, I realized that her beef was not with me...
there was a tiny moth fluttering around inside the cage
that totally ticked her off. :rotfl

:jump

[Scooterzmom]

Thanks guys... but I don't think it's anything she hears or sees. Well unless there is a mouse in the attic somewhere - and I seriously doubt this could even be, I'd see more evidence of it in the room I would think... like poopies etc :D I checked every single thing and nothing at all is out of place or out of the ordinary. Besides, again tonite she refused her boo-ball... that is what has me concerned because it's not at all like her to do that. As for a spider or moth or such... I really don't think so. Not the way she was behaving. She acts the same way whether the room is brightly lit or dark. Besides, she started "fussing" like that this morning and it's been going on and off all day, gradually getting worse. So...

I'm beginning to suspect something hormonal, as you suggested. Mostly because of her age (7 months). Anyway... my fuzzers always do have an alternate place to sleep - they had a couple of hammocks also already... but I figured she might want something to hide in and that's why I put up the cube... which she finally did use tonite. Still, I can see that my baby girl is feeling bad and I hate to see her this way. It worries me.

Could she be in heat??? If that is so, how long does that usually last? I mean, since it seems to effect her appetite to some degree it worries me. How much longer before this could develop into a more serious concern? When I went in to offer their boo-balls she was asleep in the cube I put up for her, but still she came out and she looked scared. If it is hormonal at least she's not aggressive with me - not so far anyway. She even let me pet her - which is something she rarely lets me do, and at least never by day - but I could see in her eyes that she was very tense. Like scared, poor thing.

I hope it's nothing more than hormones and that it's only because it scares her to experiment all these changes. :dono