Trooper
03-05-2012, 04:59 PM
Hi Forum;
Some of you have been of instrumental help during last week, when my 6 month old Eastern squirrel decided to ditch the only home he knew and venture to the wild on his own.
Much to my dismay at the time and the hopes that he would make it out there, he returned on his own five days after his escapade without once having seen his cute face in between.
Now that he is home again, I couldn't overlook that Trooper's behavior has changed. And once again in hope that you more knowledgeable people might shed some light on the subject. To minimize writing a long speech, I will bulletize his behavior for easy interpretation:
1) He does not look at a window or door facing the outside world anymore since he came back.
2) He is brought to alertness with snapping tail flicks when he hears a dog bark, yet he can get nose-to-nose to my Dalmatian, so I deduce he has been frightened by dog barking but does not yet connects the bark to the dog.
3) He seems skittish when I pick him up until he recognizes is me and then settles down.
4) He is more playful with me at our regular meeting times than before.
4a) He seeks my affection forcibly (asks to be scratched on his head or belly by grabbing fingers or hand and throwing them to his body, putting my fingers in his mouth's diastema and motioning them to soothe him, etc.).
5) Even though my wife was always second banana to him (he definitely has imprinted on me and I am his designated human mentor) he had begun playing with her too, yet yesterday he gave her a nasty bite on her finger when he was being held by me.
6) He has a incessant drive to stash all his non-perishable nuts and some veggies in the scatter hoarding manner, outside his cage (my laboratory, living room couch, garbage cans, loose clothing, cracks on furniture, etc.).
7) Today for example after I said good by to him for the day, he stood in his cage with a hazelnut in his mouth, sitting in his nest porch. At noon time my wife found him still sitting there with the hazelnut in his mouth doing nothing, and when she approaches him he starts running around the cage trying to get out to stash his nut.
8) He seems to want to stash nuts outside the cage more than inside, like he did before.
9) I made bark chips baskets out of basket type garbage cans. He uses them to stash his nuts. I did that because he goes around and around trying to locate the best stash hole.
10) After stashing the nuts, he approaches me for play like nothing happened and seeks my affection again.
I theorize the following:
1) It was mating time and he had to go out and do his thing.
2) Window was left crack open, he said this is my chance and he got out without knowing what was out there and without any food supplies.
3) No food and probably little water (it rained two days of his 5 out) made him think about the lack of supplies (he lost actually 65 grams in 5 days not 35 grams as I initially quoted).
4) He has decided inside life is better than outside one and he is scatter hoarding his indoor lair for future famine to come.
I have decided not to give him whole nuts (with shell) in his cage anymore, so he would not be forced to hold them until I get home to let him out and enable him to stash them (my wife is still sore from his bites and for the time being does not want to be in contact with him).
Aside from this any comments or advise?
Thanks, Trooper's dad:thankyou :bowdown
Some of you have been of instrumental help during last week, when my 6 month old Eastern squirrel decided to ditch the only home he knew and venture to the wild on his own.
Much to my dismay at the time and the hopes that he would make it out there, he returned on his own five days after his escapade without once having seen his cute face in between.
Now that he is home again, I couldn't overlook that Trooper's behavior has changed. And once again in hope that you more knowledgeable people might shed some light on the subject. To minimize writing a long speech, I will bulletize his behavior for easy interpretation:
1) He does not look at a window or door facing the outside world anymore since he came back.
2) He is brought to alertness with snapping tail flicks when he hears a dog bark, yet he can get nose-to-nose to my Dalmatian, so I deduce he has been frightened by dog barking but does not yet connects the bark to the dog.
3) He seems skittish when I pick him up until he recognizes is me and then settles down.
4) He is more playful with me at our regular meeting times than before.
4a) He seeks my affection forcibly (asks to be scratched on his head or belly by grabbing fingers or hand and throwing them to his body, putting my fingers in his mouth's diastema and motioning them to soothe him, etc.).
5) Even though my wife was always second banana to him (he definitely has imprinted on me and I am his designated human mentor) he had begun playing with her too, yet yesterday he gave her a nasty bite on her finger when he was being held by me.
6) He has a incessant drive to stash all his non-perishable nuts and some veggies in the scatter hoarding manner, outside his cage (my laboratory, living room couch, garbage cans, loose clothing, cracks on furniture, etc.).
7) Today for example after I said good by to him for the day, he stood in his cage with a hazelnut in his mouth, sitting in his nest porch. At noon time my wife found him still sitting there with the hazelnut in his mouth doing nothing, and when she approaches him he starts running around the cage trying to get out to stash his nut.
8) He seems to want to stash nuts outside the cage more than inside, like he did before.
9) I made bark chips baskets out of basket type garbage cans. He uses them to stash his nuts. I did that because he goes around and around trying to locate the best stash hole.
10) After stashing the nuts, he approaches me for play like nothing happened and seeks my affection again.
I theorize the following:
1) It was mating time and he had to go out and do his thing.
2) Window was left crack open, he said this is my chance and he got out without knowing what was out there and without any food supplies.
3) No food and probably little water (it rained two days of his 5 out) made him think about the lack of supplies (he lost actually 65 grams in 5 days not 35 grams as I initially quoted).
4) He has decided inside life is better than outside one and he is scatter hoarding his indoor lair for future famine to come.
I have decided not to give him whole nuts (with shell) in his cage anymore, so he would not be forced to hold them until I get home to let him out and enable him to stash them (my wife is still sore from his bites and for the time being does not want to be in contact with him).
Aside from this any comments or advise?
Thanks, Trooper's dad:thankyou :bowdown