Leddible
02-12-2013, 09:32 PM
Just wanna start off by saying it's great to finally have a place I can find reliable information, advice, and stories about flying squirrels! My girlfriend and I have owned our little Bruce (named after Bruce Wayne; we're huge Batman nerds) for about seven months now and while it's been difficult at times he has to be one of the coolest pets I've ever had. Sometimes I'm struck with disbelief at the fact that we can sit around watching TV while our flyer zips and scurries about the room to the point that we end up missing the show and watch him instead.
I love the little guy but he can be very difficult at times and I'm wondering if anyone can offer us some advice. We unfortunately bought him from a pet store in Colonie, NY and we're not entirely sure how old he was when we got him but I think he was around 12 weeks at the time. Whether it's because of his older age (I've read that 8 weeks is a better age to start bonding) or because we did something wrong I can't say but he's still terrified of us at times.
He's comfortable eating food out of our hands and he likes crawling over and jumping between us (I've even gotten him trained to land on any area I tap on) but he never lets us touch him. Even if we try softly stroking him he usually runs away terrified and won't let anyone near him afterwards. On very rare occasions he's let me pet him (usually just after he wakes up) but that's the exception to the rule.
I'm curious if I should try going back to putting him into a bonding pouch. When we initially got him we always had difficulty getting him into the pouch and he really despises being inside them. So far he's chewed his way out of three of them and on one occasion I swear he preemptively chewed on a pouch we had left near his cage so he'd have an exit later on.
What I'm really wondering, and would love if someone could answer, is:
1) Can you rebond with an older flyer? How old is too old?
2) Is there a way to make a flyer more accustomed or willing to be held/touched?
3) Is there such a thing as too much freedom for a flyer? Usually when he's out at night we let him climb wherever (the apt. is flyer-safe as can be) but would it be better or would he bond better if it were more closed off?
4) What kind of games do you play with your flyer?
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help and hello to everyone else here!
I love the little guy but he can be very difficult at times and I'm wondering if anyone can offer us some advice. We unfortunately bought him from a pet store in Colonie, NY and we're not entirely sure how old he was when we got him but I think he was around 12 weeks at the time. Whether it's because of his older age (I've read that 8 weeks is a better age to start bonding) or because we did something wrong I can't say but he's still terrified of us at times.
He's comfortable eating food out of our hands and he likes crawling over and jumping between us (I've even gotten him trained to land on any area I tap on) but he never lets us touch him. Even if we try softly stroking him he usually runs away terrified and won't let anyone near him afterwards. On very rare occasions he's let me pet him (usually just after he wakes up) but that's the exception to the rule.
I'm curious if I should try going back to putting him into a bonding pouch. When we initially got him we always had difficulty getting him into the pouch and he really despises being inside them. So far he's chewed his way out of three of them and on one occasion I swear he preemptively chewed on a pouch we had left near his cage so he'd have an exit later on.
What I'm really wondering, and would love if someone could answer, is:
1) Can you rebond with an older flyer? How old is too old?
2) Is there a way to make a flyer more accustomed or willing to be held/touched?
3) Is there such a thing as too much freedom for a flyer? Usually when he's out at night we let him climb wherever (the apt. is flyer-safe as can be) but would it be better or would he bond better if it were more closed off?
4) What kind of games do you play with your flyer?
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help and hello to everyone else here!