New & need answers.

[squirrelly joe]

I am raising my first squirrel. We found him on a jobsite. He kept jumping on my husbands leg, when he would put him down he would jump right back up. He put him down and walked away and he ran after him and jumped on him again. Finally he curled up on his shoe and fell asleep. I stayed there for over two hours watching for "mommy" to come. To no avail. He was approx 6 weeks old. With the help of the internet, seven weeks later he has grown into a beautiful lil guy. But the problem is, he is constantly biting. It doesn't seem to be out of anger, he'll just be climbing around on us playing and just stop and bite then start playing again... Each day it's getting worse and nobody is wanting to handle him. I don't want to just leave him in a cage the rest of his life, thats not fair to him. If I can't figure it out soon, I'm gonna have to turn him over to a wildlife rehab center. I really don't want to, because we put so much time into him, and really don't want to give him up. But I'll have to do what's right for him.Please Help.... I Think I posted this in the wrong forum, but don't know how to change it...

[stepnstone]

First:wave123 , hello and thank you for rescuing this baby.

I would go ahead and re-post in non-life threatening to get more attention, we have many members that can help and advise you and hopefully someone in your area.

[SammysMom]

Oh boy hang on and we will get you some help. In the mean time, can you tell us about what exactly he has been eating and where he sleeps etc? It may just be that he is turning into a squirrel who will need to be SLOWLY readied for release back to the wild. They generally do bite and are not great pets because of it!
I will direct an expert your way soon! Thank-you for helping this little guy out!

[Nancy in New York]

I think you squirrel is just growing up and they do this. This is the way they play, and right now it's not out of anger....just testing the waters. When there are siblings, they do that all of the time, play....take little nibbles, yelp and play some more. The best thing for him would be buddies. Let me see if we have any members who have another one the age of yours. You are planning on release, right?
Whoa, I thought you were in Florida....ok where are you located?

[crazy4squirrels]

Where in Florida? There are alot of people that can help to slowly transition and release your boy or adivse you how to do so. He sounds like a normal growing boy. Mine bite when I play with them and yes sometimes they draw blood.

[stepnstone]

Where in Florida? There are alot of people that can help to slowly transition and release your boy or adivse you how to do so. He sounds like a normal growing boy. Mine bite when I play with them and yes sometimes they draw blood.

I'm kinda thrown by that "Florida/Wisconsin" also... :dono

[squirrelly joe]

We live in Wi, but own businesses in both WI and Florida. We travel back and forth. Mainly summers in WI and winters in FL. That also adds to all this. We are getting ready to go back to WI soon and if we have to turn him over to a rehab, we will have much better luck finding one here in FL than in WI. So time is of the essance....

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

How old is he now??
Don't just give him to any rehabber, lets find someone here on the board so we know he wont get put down, yes sorry but some do that.

[squirrelly joe]

We are in the Melbourne/Palm Bay area. I know ther is a wildlife ruge center right here in Melbourne not sure how they are with squirrels though. To start with, we fed him puppy formula. We were advised from an exotic pet store to give him primate biscuit, but he wont have anything to do with them, all he does is urinate on them. So now he should be approx 12-14 weeks old and is eating mainly cob corn, black sun flower seeds, a few unsalted peanut, and for a real treat an apple jack. I know he shouldn 't have then but he loves them so much. we have him in a large 2 story bird cage with perches to climb on, and hanging toys to play with. We have a pillow case in ther where he burrows into to sleep and he stashes his goodies in. A water bottle at all times. No formula anymore, I was going to offer it to him again to see if this would help the biting. We only stopped it about a week ago. We take him out several times a day to play with him, but he doesn't like to get put down. He will go on the floor in the house for only a little while but jumps back on us. He refuses to get down in the grass, the second he hits it, he jumps rite back on our leg. If we walk away from him he runs after us. We keep trying everytime we take him out. He is handled alot, and that is why it suprises me that he biting. Anything else I can tell you about him.....

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

well first and foremost , I am glad he has you for now, but his diet is all wrong, he can get very sick and his life threatened if you don't change it ASAP.
Please read the nutrition thread for guides to a better diet, in the mean time lets see if some one has babies his age he can get with.

[squirrelly joe]

These foods were in the squirrel food you can buy in the store and we assumed it would be ok for him ( except the apple jacks). I'm reading alot about biscuits, are they the same as the primate biscuits? If I can figure out how to post photos I will, and maybe you can verify if I have his age correct.

[squirrelly joe]

Pictures of him when we found him and now. Hopefully they post) Am I close on his age? Is he a grey squirrel or? Do you think his diet has anything to do with the biting? As of yet he shows no sign of discomfort or sickness. He is extremely active and fast. He will run circles around us and we can hardly catch him. Is this just him being a squirrel or is the sugar in the apple jacks making him hyper. Sorry for so many questions, I just want what is right for him. We would never want him to hurt...

[SammysMom]

Oh he is so cute! Just a word of advice though...he is too little to have him outside loose. He is too young to be on his own and he will surely be tempted to dash and could easily get lost.:sanp3
I would start by trying to give him some veggies from the safe list in our nutrition forum. Welcome to the best place a squirrel-person can be!!!

[Nancy in New York]

You should order some blocks for him too.:thumbsup
http://henryspets.com

[Scooterzmom]

Thank you for caring for this little one. The world needs more people like you. :thankyou

They can and will dash off unexpectedly at the slightest threat or perceived threat... and you might lose him and/or he may fall prey to a predator before you can retrieve him. He's just being a squirrel :) Please keep him inside until he is old enough for a proper release. Another bit of advice if I may...

When you feed him, try to hold the syringe shooting UPwards... he may suck hard at some point, or the syringe may stick and you might squirt more formuula in one shot and he may end up aspirating liquid in his lungs - which could lead to pneumonia and be fatal. So try this... like in the pic, and placing the plunger against your hand instead of pushing with the thumb as many of us are tempted to do :)

168492

[quagmire]

Where in Florida are you and when do you plan returning to Wisconsin?

[djarenspace9]

Welcome Squirrely Joe.
I agree with what others have said about his diet.
It needs to be improved to provide him with the right nourishment for him to stay strong and healthy,
whether he is released or remains in your care.

I think I know of the rehab facility that you mentioned because I live north of Orlando
and where I volunteer with wildlife we have sent some animals that needed special care down there because they have a larger facility.
I am not sure how well they are set up for squirrels though.
I'd recommend just visiting and checking it out first.
If you do take him there make sure they know his history so they can properly prepare him for release.

If you'd prefer a smaller setting I'd be happy to have him come and stay with me a while and be released here once he is ready.
You could come and see how healthy and happy our squirrel population is here. :tilt

[squirrelly joe]

I can't believe how wonderful and careing everyone is! Thank You! More questions, here we go.... Are the biscuits he needs the same as primate biscuits? If not what are they called and where do I get them? If they are similar to the primate buscuits not sure if he will eat them, he urinates on the primate bisuits. At what age do they normally get released? He is so trusting, how do you keep all the roaming cats in Florida away from him? Will his apple jacks hurt him just as a treat only? He loves them so much! He runs to the top of his cage real fast and sits on the perch, puts his nose on the cage begging for one. (this is where we give them to him) One more, if we were to take him back to WI with us, would this be to hard on him since he is from FL. Such a huge climate change, would he know what to do when winter comes? Now answers to your questions, I no longer feed him with a dropper, he drinks water from a small bottle with a ball on the end. Time is really of the essence, we plan on leaving either fri or sat and alot of decisions have to be made fast! I have had several offers already to take him for us and finish getting him ready to be released. I am so happy to know there are so many people out there that is so loving and willing to open their homes up for him! Most look at them as just rodents. Thanks everyone for careing and loving him as much as we do.

[Jackie in Tampa]

I can't believe how wonderful and careing everyone is! Thank You! More questions, here we go.... Are the biscuits he needs the same as primate biscuits? If not what are they called and where do I get them? If they are similar to the primate buscuits not sure if he will eat them, he urinates on the primate bisuits. At what age do they normally get released? He is so trusting, how do you keep all the roaming cats in Florida away from him? Will his apple jacks hurt him just as a treat only? He loves them so much! He runs to the top of his cage real fast and sits on the perch, puts his nose on the cage begging for one. (this is where we give them to him) One more, if we were to take him back to WI with us, would this be to hard on him since he is from FL. Such a huge climate change, would he know what to do when winter comes? Now answers to your questions, I no longer feed him with a dropper, he drinks water from a small bottle with a ball on the end. Time is really of the essence, we plan on leaving either fri or sat and alot of decisions have to be made fast! I have had several offers already to take him for us and finish getting him ready to be released. I am so happy to know there are so many people out there that is so loving and willing to open their homes up for him! Most look at them as just rodents. Thanks everyone for careing and loving him as much as we do.
I would love to vouche for djarenspace..
I know her well enough to know..if she offered to help out...she's choice!:thumbsup
wouldn't give it it a second thought..
remember joe, sqs are wild animals..
only the ones that decide to stay can be tamed and treated as pets..
it's their choice..
would hate for him to get up north and HAVE TO BE RELEASED when he could be home in Florida where he is genetically suited.
They have a way with hearts for sure..they will widdle right in!
Sounds like you already know:bowdown
idea is to filll their little bellies with ONLY good stuff..
an apple jack could be replaced with something that will actually benefit him...
no one likes to give their kids junk food ..knowing it will cause hyper activity etc..
as others have shared, the veggies and fruit plates are much better for them..
brocolli is usually a hit!:thumbsup
If I can help, I am in Tampa..
good luck with your decision...but I think you know what's best!:grouphug
:thankyou for being there for him, you Rock!!!!:alright.gif