sabelson
07-06-2015, 01:06 AM
Hi,
I need advice. I have 2 red squirrels I'm rehabbing. The male is 9 weeks and the female 10 weeks. They are both have been very sweet and easy to handle and rehab. They've been together for the past 4 weeks and have been doing great together with no problems. They wrestle and play and sleep together. Today when I checked on them the male was laying strangely in the corner of the cage and didn't want to come out of the cage which is extremely unusual. When I took him out, the two of them stayed away from each other in the room - again unusual. They usually follow each other and chase each other. The male mostly hid in a box instead of the usual running everywhere in the room. After about an hour I stepped out of the room for a second and the fighting began. I've never even heard these noises before. It was a vicious attack by the female and the poor little male was so scared and trying to hide. I separated them and then the female got loose from me and went straight for the male who was hiding in a box. I know reds are territorial but would it start this young in babies raised together? Any other ideas what could create this situation? It looked like the female had never seen the male before and was attacking a stranger. They are now separated in different cages but they were going to get moved this week into the outdoor release cage together. Now I'm worried about putting them together again. The little male is behind developmentally a little so he is the weaker and smaller one. Do I now rehab them separately? I had planned to release them together so he would have her to help him along and nest with. These are my first red squirrels. I usually do greys or fox. Help!
Thanks!!
I need advice. I have 2 red squirrels I'm rehabbing. The male is 9 weeks and the female 10 weeks. They are both have been very sweet and easy to handle and rehab. They've been together for the past 4 weeks and have been doing great together with no problems. They wrestle and play and sleep together. Today when I checked on them the male was laying strangely in the corner of the cage and didn't want to come out of the cage which is extremely unusual. When I took him out, the two of them stayed away from each other in the room - again unusual. They usually follow each other and chase each other. The male mostly hid in a box instead of the usual running everywhere in the room. After about an hour I stepped out of the room for a second and the fighting began. I've never even heard these noises before. It was a vicious attack by the female and the poor little male was so scared and trying to hide. I separated them and then the female got loose from me and went straight for the male who was hiding in a box. I know reds are territorial but would it start this young in babies raised together? Any other ideas what could create this situation? It looked like the female had never seen the male before and was attacking a stranger. They are now separated in different cages but they were going to get moved this week into the outdoor release cage together. Now I'm worried about putting them together again. The little male is behind developmentally a little so he is the weaker and smaller one. Do I now rehab them separately? I had planned to release them together so he would have her to help him along and nest with. These are my first red squirrels. I usually do greys or fox. Help!
Thanks!!