Rush
05-13-2012, 12:23 PM
Hey all, its been about a year since I've posted on these forums, but i've run into another problem in my care of my furry friend.
My squirrel, simply named "Squirrel" for my lack of creativity (It suited him :-D)
has been living with me for almost a year now. I saved him from some dogs that were trying to make a snack of him over a year and a month ago, and we estimated that he was just a few weeks old at the time of this intervention. I doctored his wounds and syringe fed him milk until he was old enough to eat on his own. After speaking to somebody from these forums over the phone, it was decided that because he was having trouble walking that we would be unable to release him, and I would care for him. After a few weeks, he regained the ability to walk, though his legs are a bit crooked and his tail drags behind him, he has become a close friend and member of my household.
He has a cage that is in extremely good condition, but he only uses it when I am at work during the day, which is rare. When it is night time, or when I am home during the day, he is free to roam where he pleases, sleeping where he wants, or jumping from piece of furniture to furniture. Often times, at night, when I hop into bed he recognizes that it is bed time and will hop in with me, crawling onto my chest and falling asleep. He also knows that he has just a few seconds when I roll over that it is time to move haha!
That aside, this last two weeks he has been in a unique mood. It is hot in Texas and I have my windows open to try and cool off. He jumps from window to window, either staring outside for long periods of time or looking out, running 10 feet back, running back to the window, 10 feet back, repeatedly for over an hour before he heads up to my closet to take a nap (He has a bed on one of the shelves that he likes to curl up in).
And, while he only lightly gnaws on a finger when him and I are playing, he actually bit a couple of my roommates recently. He still hasn't bitten me yet, and as I type this he is sitting on my shoulder watching TV, very calm. The first incident was last week, in the very early morning, he left my bed, when next door, and bit my roommate on the hand while he was sleeping, deeply, drawing a lot of blood. When my roommate panicked from his sleep, he threw him off and Squirrel boomeranged for a second go. And just this morning he decided to bite my other roommate, also on the hand in the early morning, but he didn't come back for seconds.
Once again, he has never bitten me, save once, about a month after I saved him he bit me during a bath, but never again. My roommates both commented that immediately after biting them both, Squirrel let loose his loud teeth chatters.
Does anybody have any ideas as to why this sudden behavior is appearing? Is it matin' time and he longs for the outside? I am afraid that letting him outside would be a death sentance, he drinks water from a water bottle, he isn't going to know how to find water! Is he a vampire, and I found the only vampire squirrel? Your help would be greatly appreciated, I love Squirrel and he has always seemed happy here, I would love to keep him around longer.
My squirrel, simply named "Squirrel" for my lack of creativity (It suited him :-D)
has been living with me for almost a year now. I saved him from some dogs that were trying to make a snack of him over a year and a month ago, and we estimated that he was just a few weeks old at the time of this intervention. I doctored his wounds and syringe fed him milk until he was old enough to eat on his own. After speaking to somebody from these forums over the phone, it was decided that because he was having trouble walking that we would be unable to release him, and I would care for him. After a few weeks, he regained the ability to walk, though his legs are a bit crooked and his tail drags behind him, he has become a close friend and member of my household.
He has a cage that is in extremely good condition, but he only uses it when I am at work during the day, which is rare. When it is night time, or when I am home during the day, he is free to roam where he pleases, sleeping where he wants, or jumping from piece of furniture to furniture. Often times, at night, when I hop into bed he recognizes that it is bed time and will hop in with me, crawling onto my chest and falling asleep. He also knows that he has just a few seconds when I roll over that it is time to move haha!
That aside, this last two weeks he has been in a unique mood. It is hot in Texas and I have my windows open to try and cool off. He jumps from window to window, either staring outside for long periods of time or looking out, running 10 feet back, running back to the window, 10 feet back, repeatedly for over an hour before he heads up to my closet to take a nap (He has a bed on one of the shelves that he likes to curl up in).
And, while he only lightly gnaws on a finger when him and I are playing, he actually bit a couple of my roommates recently. He still hasn't bitten me yet, and as I type this he is sitting on my shoulder watching TV, very calm. The first incident was last week, in the very early morning, he left my bed, when next door, and bit my roommate on the hand while he was sleeping, deeply, drawing a lot of blood. When my roommate panicked from his sleep, he threw him off and Squirrel boomeranged for a second go. And just this morning he decided to bite my other roommate, also on the hand in the early morning, but he didn't come back for seconds.
Once again, he has never bitten me, save once, about a month after I saved him he bit me during a bath, but never again. My roommates both commented that immediately after biting them both, Squirrel let loose his loud teeth chatters.
Does anybody have any ideas as to why this sudden behavior is appearing? Is it matin' time and he longs for the outside? I am afraid that letting him outside would be a death sentance, he drinks water from a water bottle, he isn't going to know how to find water! Is he a vampire, and I found the only vampire squirrel? Your help would be greatly appreciated, I love Squirrel and he has always seemed happy here, I would love to keep him around longer.