Aggressive male.....?

[YamahaGirl]

Hellooooo!!

Things are going well with the squirrels until about a couple weeks ago. Lately the male is becoming aggressive towards the female. He chases her away from the food and wont let her come take nuts from us. He will hold his food/nut in his mouth and not let her come out of the nesting box. Eventually we fool him into coming to one side of the cage and this gives the female a chance to run over and grab something.

Is this normal? I had always thought it would be her to kick him out of the nest, but nooooope!

She is still able to eat and get things, but he growls at her all the time, even at us at times.

Any suggestions?

Thank you!
Heather

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

Yep! Rippie did it to Little Girl after release when they would come to eat, he'd chase her terrible to keep her away. I would feed her on the other side of the deck. He would growl while he chewed:shakehead Its a mans world!:peace
As far as your siguation I have not dealt with it while being caged. I will let a rehabber answer. Good luck & we have missed you here.

[YamahaGirl]

Thank you!!

I know, I have not been on here like I should be. I got engaged right before Christmas, found out some not so good news about my father (he has a brain tumor) and things have been really hectic....but we have our fingers crossed!

The squirrels really love it outside, it has been a pretty mild winter so far, they are getting really chubby and fuzzy, its cute! I cant wait for spring to release them, I can only imagine what will go through their little heads...WOW where should I go, its big out there, no cages!!! Lol.

[island rehabber]

Hi, YG -- nice to hear from you again and glad the squirrels are healthy. Yes, Roadie did it to poor Sheila for weeks while in the pre-release cage. Finally one day she whupped him good -- she just really snapped and went loco all over his butt! After that things were much better. But while Roadie was being a creep, I would have to distract him in order to get some food near Sheila, or I would 'sneak' food to her when she was in the nest box. You may have to do the same for your female. Sheila grew up just as strong and healthy as Roadie, and as I said, eventually she evened the odds. :wott

[atlantasquirrelgirl]

After release, I had 2 brothers that would not let their sister near the nuts. She would sneak in while they ran off to bury. I made a point to go over to her to give her some nuts. Eventually the males found new homes, and she is now the aggressor. She doesn't like any other squirrels on her turf.

[Critter_Queen]

Add a second nestbox and at least two more dishes of food placed as far apart and away from the orginal dish as possible. He can't guard or sleep in them all! LOL! That seems to work for us, anyway.

I'm glad you came to visit! Congrats on the engagement!! :)

I'm sorry to hear about your dad's tumor. My dad had brain cancer, so if you need any support or information I'd be glad to help. The anti-inflamatory drugs can be tricky to deal with when it comes to brain tumors... I hope he comes out A-OK and gets to live out a long and full life!

[Buddy'sMom]

Welcome back, YamahaGirl! Glad the squirrels are doing well! I seem to recall that you set up the outside cage so it could be divided in half if needed? Maybe it's time if he's making life too miserable for his sister? He would probably still growl, I guess, but she could ignore him easier. :dono