Aggression

[katiebug]

Hi all, (not sure where to post this)

My squirrel is hitting about the one year mark in age. She is aggressive to everyone that isn't me, but they still enjoy her (in the cage). This is nothing new. However, I let her out the other day and she jumped at me and attacked me. I had to grab her and throw her back in the cage so she wouldn't bite me all over -- but I suffered a deep and painful bite to the thumb for doing so. Leading up to the attack, she was playing extra rough with me and seemed to want more alone time than human time. She was moody for the rest of the night and mostly stayed in her hammock.

Now I'm kind of apprehensive about sticking my hands in the cage to see if I can rub her. She seems sketchy. She even does the aggressive leap on occasion which makes me more apprehensive. I was considering letting her out and having a towel nearby, along with thick clothes, in case she aggressed again. Could she be hormonal? Could this be permanent? I've heard that some squirrels turn "wild" around the one year mark. Do they stay "crazy"?

Thanks

[MollyBear361]

She could be having a mood swing...or hormones...but have you changed anything lately.
soaps, lotion, shampoo, laundry detergent, perfume? They usually react to something that has changed or is "off" on you. Even the smell of a new shirt. Or another animal. OR she may have a stash of nuts somewhere she thinks she is defending. Have you cleaned out her stashes?
I wouldn't judge her by one incident or one day. They get moody just like we do. If she is playing too hard, make a loud noise and turn your hand....some people say "ow!" or "ehh" or something. Squirrels play with eachother and they let eachother know its too rough in this same manner. Don't just yell and yank your hand back and leave her feeling rejected and confused.
They can also sense apprehension or fear so act like you would normally to her. She may have had a bad day.

[katiebug]

I think she is now sensing my fear and is playing off that. I don't think I have done anything different, although I may have been wearing perfume? I haven't been able to let her out as often lately because I've been really busy, but I wanted to start letting her out more. I'm not going to let her out again though until she seems less sketchy.
She may have been eating something she found on the floor when she attacked me. She is very food aggressive. I want to clean her cage out and maybe clean some of her old scents out. She tends not to stash the good stuff, and instead eats it right away. I'm just worried that this might be a permanent behavioral change, which makes me very sad since I'm her human :/

[katiebug]

She's just seemed off lately. Lots of wandering around her cage searching for things and less play.

[farrelli]

MB had the usual spiel, all right on. Just keep checking. Something small as new hand lotion can cause them to become vicious. If it's hormonal, it could last a day, or two months.

[MollyBear361]

My girl will be vicious even to me if she has a nut.
And yes they do play off your feelings. My girl hates everyone except me. She will tolerate my husband once in awhile. She has nipped at any stranger that has come in our house. But I Will Tell YOU I had a friend came over recently and walk straight up to her with no fear, no stuttering, no questioning, and just starting petting her. And Jill let her. She didnt growl. She didn't bite. I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it myself. So they can sense fear.

[rusty's mom]

If there is nothing wrong with her, then she may be letting you know it's time to release her. no matter how great of a cage you have for her it is still a cage nothing and no one wants to be caged it simple isn't natural. She has no other way of telling you and sometimes we just have to love them enough to let them go.

[farrelli]

Does she get enough out of cage time and stimulation?

[katiebug]

Does she get enough out of cage time and stimulation?

Honestly, no. I've been wanting to start letting her out more, with a goal of at least an hour each day. I also want to change around her cage and add new toys, hammocks, ect so it is more interesting.

[farrelli]

She could be unhappy, and probably is. They should ideally get a lot of out of cage/play time. Is her cage at least really big? Many people give them their own room. Being stuck in a cage all day isn't healthy.

[joyceb11]

Does she get enough out of cage time and stimulation?

I really need to agree with Farrelli on this, George my has at least 4 hours of out of cage time a day, some days more. I had to adjust my schedule to let this happen but it is well worth it! George has a ball playing and running around the house.

And as far as aggression goes, George is a one person squirrel, and he will tolerate my husband ones in a while now. As funny as this my seem I give George a time out if he starts to be a brat, I tell him no firmly and place in in his cage for 10 min. or so to let him calm down (if a squirrel does calm down) and I let him back out of his cage.