Squirrel hurting herself

[Cesta]

I have just one squirrel right now. :sadness

[Cesta]

Oops, sorry about that. Hit send accidentally and then I couldn't edit? Anyway, I have one very sweet squirrel on my patio, in a pre release cage. She is happy and playful but has a habit I'm concerned about. She rubs her face on the hardware cloth of her cage to the point of hurting herself. I know all squirrels rub their faces to clean them, but this is extreme-- like a compulsion.

She really hates having her hands or face dirty-- but after her HHB's her favorite foods are messy/ sticky. She loves avocado and fruit. I gave her a box of tissues, hoping she'd rub her face on them instead of the cage. She had a great time pulling the tissues out and padding her nest, and she DID rub her face on the tissues for a couple days. But now she's back to her old habit. She's rubbed much of the fur off both sides of her face, she has small crusty spots around her mouth from dried blood. She looks like she has a bad case of eczema. The fur on the rest of her body is beautiful.

Any ideas on stopping this behavior? She's in a large cage and she's not ready for release.

:thankyou

[HRT4SQRLS]

Oops, sorry about that. Hit send accidentally and then I couldn't edit? Anyway, I have one very sweet squirrel on my patio, in a pre release cage. She is happy and playful but has a habit I'm concerned about. She rubs her face on the hardware cloth of her cage to the point of hurting herself. I know all squirrels rub their faces to clean them, but this is extreme-- like a compulsion.

She really hates having her hands or face dirty-- but after her HHB's her favorite foods are messy/ sticky. She loves avocado and fruit. I gave her a box of tissues, hoping she'd rub her face on them instead of the cage. She had a great time pulling the tissues out and padding her nest, and she DID rub her face on the tissues for a couple days. But now she's back to her old habit. She's rubbed much of the fur off both sides of her face, she has small crusty spots around her mouth from dried blood. She looks like she has a bad case of eczema. The fur on the rest of her body is beautiful.

Any ideas on stopping this behavior? She's in a large cage and she's not ready for release.

:thankyou
Have you though about using a drop of Revolution just in case she has 'bugs'? :tilt

[Cesta]

Have you though about using a drop of Revolution just in case she has 'bugs'? :tilt

No, I didn't think of that. I'll try it, though...Thanks!