Not entirely sure what I did wrong...

[ForCatrachito]

But I want to make sure that I don't do it again.

A little back ground: I made a post the other day and mentioned, yesterday, in one of the replys to it that Catrachito was really freaked out after I vacuumed in the room with him.

I really should have thought it through, looked at me vacuuming from his point of view, but it didn't cross my mind. After I vacuumed on Saturday, he was wary of me- running all around the cage having a little conniption fit, his tail was bushy.. he wouldn't let me close to him. When he calmed down enough for me to get close to him, he barked when I picked him up. I let him chill for several hours before trying to handle him again and I had no problem. He was totally relaxed, docile and wanting to be loved on.

Issue to be addressed:
Sunday, all was normal in the AM. In the PM hubby took me out to eat, we wanted to try this Pub down town. We came home and I opened the cage to take Catrachito out so I could offer him some milk (he's approx. 11 weeks old). While hubby went to prepare the milk, I went to get Catrachito.

Normally when I open the cage, he hops right out to me- this time he didn't. He wasn't in the nest, he was in the back corner of the cage doing something, TBH I don't recall exactly what he was doing (it's all kind of a blurr now)- but I think he was moving around some kleenex I gave him. I reached in to touch him, not necessarily pick him up, more just to get his attention and he bit me hard enough to break the skin but not too bad.. he didn't let go immediately either, but (despite it hurting) I stayed as still/calm as I could because I didn't want to freak him out.

By the time he let go his ears were pointed back- now, I'm no expert on squirrel body language OBV.. but I know that in cats and dogs that can signify fear sooo, I very slowly started to draw my hand away from him and back out of the cage.... and he bit me again. This time harder, on the first joint after my finger nail... he shook his head as he bit, and scratched me quite a bit. There was a crunching noise from my finger that scared the crap out of me. I had to pull him off with my other hand, otherwise I am pretty sure he wouldn't have let go.

I know I should know better than to underestimate any animal but, honestly, I never thought a squirrel (especially one who is only 11 weeks old) could bite that god awfully hard! I was pretty sure it was going to be broken not only because of how hard the bite was, but also because of where he got me (and that scary crunching noise). After it was clean, no longer bleeding (that took quite a while) I checked to see if I could move it. It hurt like heck and made it start bleeding again, but I could definitely move it. I work in a Doctor's office and since I could move it, I decided to wait to show her before freaking and going to the hospital or anything. I'm taking Advil for the pain and Doctor checked it out today, its swollen but it should be fine.

Now the real problem... I am nervous to interact with him until I know exactly what I did wrong. Was it because I reached into his cage? I have done that a million times and never garnered this reaction... Is he just getting to an age now where he will become more territorial? It wasn't long ago that he started nibbling my fingers (a lot) but prior to this, it's only ever been after he's been playing with me for at least a good 10-15 minutes and is all riled up.. and it's never been hard enough to break skin before.

Could he still be wary of me because of the vacuum incident?

Did I maybe still smell like the pub (first time we'd ever been there) and he maybe just not recognize me?

I feel bad that I scared him so much that he bit me so terribly and I don't want to do that again. I also don't want to get bit like that again.. I understand that he was just defending himself, and I don't blame him- yea it's very painful physically but it hurt me emotionally too and now, I have to admit, I am wary of him. Most importantly, I do not want to put him in a position that he feels the need to defend himself, ever again (if I can help it).

If I have lost his trust because of the vacuum, can I gain it back? How?

Any insight, advice and/or tips would be crazy helpful. Thank you :)

[SammysMom]

I know it feels like emotional hurt but remember he is a squirrel. He didn't mean to make you sad, he was just reacting. Just give him love and try to not act afraid. You don't want him to get nervous and react to your emotions. Try to act the same way you dd before he bit. I must say that when we went through this, I began to wear those light knitted stretchy gloves. He could have bitten through them easily, but they seemed to make him stop. Good luck and welcome to the "Squirrel-bitten" club. You're in good company!:grouphug

[Squirrel Girls Mom]

First of all, I'm so sorry you were bitten so badly. IMO, it's all of the above. The vacuum incident, different smell from the pub, he may have been hiding a little piece of something and thought you were going to take it, and around 10-12 weeks they do start getting territorial; changing from snuggly sweet baby to a squirrel with sensitive hearing and very sensitive smell.

A couple of things to prevent getting bit in the future. I always wash my hands the minute I get home and I always use the same hand soap so my hands always smell the same.

Make sure that he doesn't have a "stash", especially nut bits or nutshells. Why they feel the need to protect a corner full of nutshells I'll never know. When you clean his cage, get rid of any stash (while he's not looking, of course).

I always talk and make sure they see me before I put my hand in the cage.

And a very wise rehabber told me to always offer the back of my closed hand first. If you put your fingers out and they're not receptive that's a good way to get bitten. It's hard to get a good grip on your knuckles. This advice was given to me very recently by jbtartell after I nearly lost a finger to my new girl Daisy. :rotfl

Just be more careful and try not to let him sense your hesitation or fear. The trust between you will grow better with time. My Lucy was 8 months old when she decided she wanted outside in the trees. She trusted me in all things and I trusted her not to bite me, but it took many months to get to that point.

[Garden71]

Good luck and welcome to the "Squirrel-bitten" club. You're in good company!:grouphug

:goodpost :bowdown

[Nemehoto]

This seems to work when Biff gets "mouthy" which he can bite and has, but only has drawn blood once (so far) He has a habit of wrapping around my hand in play and biting rather hard (bruises) The instant he clamps down on my finger with any pressure I reach around his shoulders and pinch the skin between his neck and shoulders and give him a stern NO. Just like you would do a kitten. As most animals do in "mommy carry hold" he curls up with all 4 feet out looking rather disgusted but he literally can't bite with any strength. Just don't pinch too hard, and you can feel their strength drain from them. This is a very heavy instinctive response to danger and mom carrying them. even works with adult squirrels.

[stepnstone]

First of all, I'm so sorry you were bitten so badly. IMO, it's all of the above. The vacuum incident, different smell from the pub, he may have been hiding a little piece of something and thought you were going to take it, and around 10-12 weeks they do start getting territorial; changing from snuggly sweet baby to a squirrel with sensitive hearing and very sensitive smell.

A couple of things to prevent getting bit in the future. I always wash my hands the minute I get home and I always use the same hand soap so my hands always smell the same.

Make sure that he doesn't have a "stash", especially nut bits or nutshells. Why they feel the need to protect a corner full of nutshells I'll never know. When you clean his cage, get rid of any stash (while he's not looking, of course).

I always talk and make sure they see me before I put my hand in the cage.

And a very wise rehabber told me to always offer the back of my closed hand first. If you put your fingers out and they're not receptive that's a good way to get bitten. It's hard to get a good grip on your knuckles. This advice was given to me very recently by jbtartell after I nearly lost a finger to my new girl Daisy. :rotfl

Just be more careful and try not to let him sense your hesitation or fear. The trust between you will grow better with time. My Lucy was 8 months old when she decided she wanted outside in the trees. She trusted me in all things and I trusted her not to bite me, but it took many months to get to that point.
Been there and agree with everything Squirrel Girls Mom has said! :thumbsup

:( It's hard not to get emotional or feel betrayed after such an experience but it happens for various reasons and a squirrel, even the most loving one, is still a wild animal. As with most four legged it's their natural instincts of expressing fear, displeasure or defending what is theirs.

Mine got so mad at me after handling another squirrel of a different species, she not only attacked my hands like some kind of haywire blender she accelerated to come flying at me like some kind of ninja. Having a 1-1/2 pound squirrel come flying at ya with teeth a chattering sure ain't pretty... :nono

The lesson for us humans is compromise. We learn to coexist with their natural instincts as well as expecting them to coexist with ours.
:poke ....Of course for us squirrel peeps, being a reasonably intelligent species, we do learn what their triggers are and we do not ever do that again! :rofl4

[kastillo]

I don't know about the laws in your country, but here I know you've got to be careful who you tell at the doctor's office about a squirrel bite. Just my opinion.

[ForCatrachito]

I know it feels like emotional hurt but remember he is a squirrel. He didn't mean to make you sad, he was just reacting. Just give him love and try to not act afraid. You don't want him to get nervous and react to your emotions. Try to act the same way you dd before he bit. I must say that when we went through this, I began to wear those light knitted stretchy gloves. He could have bitten through them easily, but they seemed to make him stop. Good luck and welcome to the "Squirrel-bitten" club. You're in good company!:grouphug

Thank you, it's quite the interesting club to belong to. At least I can say there's never a dull moment, lol. I'll give the gloves a shot.
Also- I don't have any, ATM, but I am about to order some Bach's rescue remedy-- can I get some for him, too?

[ForCatrachito]

First of all, I'm so sorry you were bitten so badly. IMO, it's all of the above. The vacuum incident, different smell from the pub, he may have been hiding a little piece of something and thought you were going to take it, and around 10-12 weeks they do start getting territorial; changing from snuggly sweet baby to a squirrel with sensitive hearing and very sensitive smell.

A couple of things to prevent getting bit in the future. I always wash my hands the minute I get home and I always use the same hand soap so my hands always smell the same.

Make sure that he doesn't have a "stash", especially nut bits or nutshells. Why they feel the need to protect a corner full of nutshells I'll never know. When you clean his cage, get rid of any stash (while he's not looking, of course).

I always talk and make sure they see me before I put my hand in the cage.

And a very wise rehabber told me to always offer the back of my closed hand first. If you put your fingers out and they're not receptive that's a good way to get bitten. It's hard to get a good grip on your knuckles. This advice was given to me very recently by jbtartell after I nearly lost a finger to my new girl Daisy. :rotfl

Just be more careful and try not to let him sense your hesitation or fear. The trust between you will grow better with time. My Lucy was 8 months old when she decided she wanted outside in the trees. She trusted me in all things and I trusted her not to bite me, but it took many months to get to that point.
:goodpost

Thank you, some great advice there- some are small things that I feel like I should have thought of (like showing him my knuckles first) but I guess it's one of those "hiding in plain sight" answers, lol. Thank you so much :)

[ForCatrachito]

This seems to work when Biff gets "mouthy" which he can bite and has, but only has drawn blood once (so far) He has a habit of wrapping around my hand in play and biting rather hard (bruises) The instant he clamps down on my finger with any pressure I reach around his shoulders and pinch the skin between his neck and shoulders and give him a stern NO. Just like you would do a kitten. As most animals do in "mommy carry hold" he curls up with all 4 feet out looking rather disgusted but he literally can't bite with any strength. Just don't pinch too hard, and you can feel their strength drain from them. This is a very heavy instinctive response to danger and mom carrying them. even works with adult squirrels.

Lmao, I had no idea you could scruff a squirrel- I will keep that in mind, thanks!

[ForCatrachito]

Been there and agree with everything Squirrel Girls Mom has said! :thumbsup

:( It's hard not to get emotional or feel betrayed after such an experience but it happens for various reasons and a squirrel, even the most loving one, is still a wild animal. As with most four legged it's their natural instincts of expressing fear, displeasure or defending what is theirs.

Mine got so mad at me after handling another squirrel of a different species, she not only attacked my hands like some kind of haywire blender she accelerated to come flying at me like some kind of ninja. Having a 1-1/2 pound squirrel come flying at ya with teeth a chattering sure ain't pretty... :nono

The lesson for us humans is compromise. We learn to coexist with their natural instincts as well as expecting them to coexist with ours.
:poke ....Of course for us squirrel peeps, being a reasonably intelligent species, we do learn what their triggers are and we do not ever do that again! :rofl4

:rotfl

Flying blender ninja squirrel- sounds like the first time Chito and I met. In a nutshell- my husband is the one who found him and brought him in, then he went to work and didn't even bother to call and tell me. When I came home and saw the spare cage in use, I opened the door (thinking one of the ferrets had been put in time out) only to have a 6-7 week old squirrel come flying at my face chattering like a nut case, lololol. Good times, gotta love learning experiences!

[ForCatrachito]

I don't know about the laws in your country, but here I know you've got to be careful who you tell at the doctor's office about a squirrel bite. Just my opinion.

We've been working together for years, I trust her :)

[jbtartell]

Been there and agree with everything Squirrel Girls Mom has said! :thumbsup

:( It's hard not to get emotional or feel betrayed after such an experience but it happens for various reasons and a squirrel, even the most loving one, is still a wild animal. As with most four legged it's their natural instincts of expressing fear, displeasure or defending what is theirs.

Mine got so mad at me after handling another squirrel of a different species, she not only attacked my hands like some kind of haywire blender she accelerated to come flying at me like some kind of ninja. Having a 1-1/2 pound squirrel come flying at ya with teeth a chattering sure ain't pretty... :nono

The lesson for us humans is compromise. We learn to coexist with their natural instincts as well as expecting them to coexist with ours.
:poke ....Of course for us squirrel peeps, being a reasonably intelligent species, we do learn what their triggers are and we do not ever do that again! :rofl4


yes I have had this happen a few times once over her stuff and another over different smells...My Analiese bit me to the bone and I was in shock and it hurt soooo bad.:soapbox . also broke my heart.. I was soo scared and nervouse to put my hand back in but an hour later she was back to normal.. soo alwas wash hands with the same sope and change shirts after being out somewhere. lol they know us mainly by smell then site and sound.. but the smell is the big deal breaker..:Love_Icon

[ForCatrachito]

yes I have had this happen a few times once over her stuff and another over different smells...My Analiese bit me to the bone and I was in shock and it hurt soooo bad.:soapbox . also broke my heart.. I was soo scared and nervouse to put my hand back in but an hour later she was back to normal.. soo alwas wash hands with the same sope and change shirts after being out somewhere. lol they know us mainly by smell then site and sound.. but the smell is the big deal breaker..:Love_Icon


Lol thank you, from here on out I definitely will!