She's a maniac, maniac for sure!!

[Sara in NW MS]

My "moody Judie" has decided she's going to the dark side. This started last night and she has been terrorizing Jude since then. He's been hiding in the hammock screaming when she starts that clicking and barking thing they do. She's been bossy and aggressive with him before but this is totally different. She has taken it to another level. They were supposed to move into the RC but the weather has been crazy (lots of thunderstorms and colder temps than usual). So, the move has been postponed until this coming Saturday. What do I need to do until then? I hate hearing Jude screaming out of fear like he has been. He screamed once last night but just an hour later they were both sleeping peacefully together. This morning has been a different story. Judie has been on a warpath since she woke up and Jude is hiding in the hammock crying like a baby.
What do I do? They are both in a large cage (from Henry's site) and if I separate them, I only have a small cage to put one of them in. It's not really big and I just can't imagine either of them doing well in such a small space. I'm not sure if I should step in and do something or let them figure it out on their own. I don't want either of them getting hurt.

[Sara in NW MS]

Well, I had to go to work and since I hadn't seen any violence on Judie's part, I left them in the cage together. I get home and Jude won't move, he's lying with his head and hands hanging over the side of the hammock. I start talking to him and Judie rushes me to the side of the cage I am on. It's not like Jude to not greet me when I get home. Judie keeps jumping on him and barking and he curls up. When I get close to the cage she attacks. I've tried tricking her to one door while being sneaky at another door to let him out but he won't move. I don't see any obvious injuries except the hair on the top of one of his hands is gone. Ugh, my poor baby looks pitiful. I have a couple of pics but I'm on my phone and it won't let me add them. .

[HRT4SQRLS]

Moody Judie :shakehead... Sara, I hope this will pass but I would be careful. Siblings have been known to injure a submissive roomie.
A member that had 3 sibs in a cage had to remove the bully of the trio because she injured one.

Hopefully you can make it until Saturday. If not, I would remove one. Maybe Miss Meany needs to go to the release cage now. :dono They usually settle down in the release cage because there is so much 'new' stimulation outside.

Edit. I just saw your second post. Poor Jude!! I wonder if she is in heat. IDK. You might need to separate them. She WILL injure him. It's happened before.

[CritterMom]

Ugh. It sounds like you need to split them up. I wonder if going in to the RC early and by herself would take some of the starch out of her?

[pjjere]

It seems pretty clear that you have to separate them. Is there a small, safe, room you can put the cage in? I would find a room and put some gloves and a hoodie on and get Jude out of there. ASAP. I am hoping and praying that Jude is not badly injured. I thought one of our girls (just went to the release cage today) had been hurt in a scrap as she was just splayed out on top of the nestbox, almost unresponsive. She was fine the next morning. It was as if she was just utterly exhausted. I hope Jude is OK. :)

[HRT4SQRLS]

Oh, this is just sad. I would go in after him BUT you will need gloves and a sweatshirt. She WILL attack you ... no doubt in my mind. I would go in with fleece to put over him and wrap him quickly and get out fast.

Isn't it weird how they can change SO fast. One day, they're your sweet baby and the next day a crazed maniac. That's why we don't recommend them as pets.

[Shewhosweptforest]

Oh yes! Get him out...if you have gloves and a sweatshirt on get a blanket....and open the door, if she charges you throw the blanket on her...she will be confused and hopefully will take a few mins to get out...enough time to grab your poor boy :sniff

[Sara in NW MS]

I've prepared the smaller cage for him. I just hate this, he looks hurt. He won't move at all. I'm worried if I put gloves on I will panic him. I've tried wearing gloves with them before and it scared him so bad he peed. I'm about to go in there and see if I can get him out. Wish me luck.

[Shewhosweptforest]

Good luck! You can just keep a fleece blanket between Judie and your hands..just be careful...the bigger the better...so she has to work to get out from under it :grin3

[Sara in NW MS]

I got him out! Only got a few scratches on my hands from Judie. Thank goodness. I was thinking tonight was going to be the night I was going to experience a bite. Whew! He is relieved to be out of there. Loving on his momma. Still don't see any injuries, just going to keep an eye on him and let him be out of the cage for awhile. Poor little guy is dying of thirst. He turned his nose up to the pecan I tried to give him. That's really not like him!

[HRT4SQRLS]

Oh thank God. When they are in that crazed mode, they will really hurt you. Squirrel bites are really bad.

Jude needs some lovin' from his mom right now. Poor boy. :sadness

[Shewhosweptforest]

Yay! You're Jude's and my hero! Good job momma :bowdown Give that baby boy some tender love and care :hug

[island rehabber]

Good job, Sara :bowdown You may have saved Jude from really being hurt or severely dehydrated at the very least. (I had to release two of mine in December last year because one was such a bully I feared he would kill his brother if they spent one more day in that cage together.) :shakehead Jude and I thank you very, very much! :)

[Sara in NW MS]

Everything seemed fine this morning. Jude is more like himself and getting around just fine. I never did get him to eat last night and so far he hasn't touched his food this morning. He's drinking water like crazy, which is a little unusual for him to consume that much water in that short amount of time. Fingers crossed that I can get him to eat something today.

This is what he looked like when I got home yesterday. Usually when he hears me coming up the stairs he is on the side of the cage waiting to greet me. He never moved except for the moment he was hanging off the hammock and he moved his upper body around to curl up. I honestly thought he was seriously injured and that poor little face looked so pitiful. I've never seen him like that and hopefully this will be the first and last time!

Thank you all for the suggestions and support. I was really in panic mode when I saw him like this. Made me feel so guilty for leaving him in the cage with her when she started showing signs of aggression towards him. I just figured it was typical behavior since I've seen him act that way towards her. It just never escalated like this.

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[CritterMom]

Aw. They are really sensitive little things sometimes. Give him lots of lovins and mommy time. I wonder if she has been keeping him away from the water?

[Sara in NW MS]

Aw. They are really sensitive little things sometimes. Give him lots of lovins and mommy time. I wonder if she has been keeping him away from the water?

I think so. They had two fresh bottles of water and only one of them had been touched. There wasn't that much water gone from it though, so it looked like only one of them had used it.
Their "aunt Lulu" is watching them today (like most days when I am at work) so hopefully things will be ok. I know Judie attacked her hands mid-morning yesterday but it was more like a warning attack and not a full blown one. Lots of clicking and barking and scratching. No biting.
Hopefully they will be good little babies today and not stress me out with anymore drama. Lord know I'll be stressing a lot when Saturday gets here and it's time for the transition into the release cage. I'm going to be a nervous momma, and probably sit out there with them for hours and into the night. Better check my stock of batteries and make sure I have enough for the flashlight, lol.