Help! We've created a monster!

[Mel1959]

A little history: We released Peepers and Nibbles in our backyard last September after being in the RC for 2 months. We didn't follow protocol and stop interacting with them :embar:embar so they remained friendly. They do not jump on neighbors and have a healthy fear of dogs, other than ours. They have both taken off for a few days at a time, but for the most part only travel a couple houses away on either side of our house. They still sleep together in one of their two nest boxes every night. Peepers is the alpha in the yard and when he reached sexual maturity he got very aggressive with his brother. Around that time he also became more aggressive with us. We feed them (and the wilds) daily and of course Peeps tries to run everyone off so they don't get any nuts. He's quite the bully. :bash:bash Both boys come running when we go out into the yard and will run up on us or jump onto our shoulders for their nuts. This was never a problem until Peeps reached maturity. Since then if you go outside and you don't have a nut to give him he will run down your arm and bite you on the hand. At first, he seemed to do it to just me, which I chocked up to him just choosing HIS person. Now, he does it with my husband, but still more often with me. I have become pretty gun-shy and stopped going in the yard without a nut in my pocket, or would head back to the house if I didn't have a nut and saw them coming.

So my questions are: Whats the best way to break this behaviour? Is it even possible? I realize he's a wild animal and not trainable. Should we stop feeding them (and the wilds) altogether? Or wear gloves for awhile when we go into the back yard? Or should we move? :boot:boot:rofl4:rofl4

I recognize this is our fault :embar:hidechair, and that Peeps is just being a squirrel. Any suggestions are appreciated.

[Rhapsody]

I only continue to feed my newly released squirrels for a month once they are set free, this way they learn to fend for themselves and not to rely on me for food, and I only offer treats (nuts) certain times of the day..... the squirrels that are around get them the ones that aren't there will have to wait another day.

As far as your ltitle guy goes I would suggest you stop all feedings of nuts and not go out in the back yard for 1-2 weeks to give your squirrels time to venture out and away from their safe zone long enough to locate other goodies they might find enjoyable to eat.

*Good Luck....... and Protect those Hands.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Mel, I don't think you will have to move. :rotfl:peace:peace1

I have a little bit of the same problem but it's not too bad, YET! :tilt
Yes, I'm also guilty but I love my outside friends so much that I'm willing to put up with 'some' abuse but not too much.

I think the biggest problem is handing them nuts. They begin to associate our hands with being a 'nut dispenser' and that's not necessarily a good thing. I had to stop handing Susie nuts because she would bite my hand if (1) the nuts ran out, OR (2) I didn't give them up fast enough. Susie always was a biter so it was best just to drop the nuts on the ground before she crawled on me. She has been outside almost 4 years and I seldom see her now but she is definitely still out there. She has had at least one litter of babies so our relationship has changed. She no longer needs me :( but she will stop in occasionally.

I released Dixie and Stevie about a month ago. Neither has ever bitten me until THIS week. The nuts were plentiful and I was out of nuts. Dixie was on my shoulder, went down my arm to my hand and bit me on the finger really hard. I bled like I was on Coumadin. Needless to say I was surprised. I'll need to take my own advice and stop handing out nuts. I will drop them on the ground. I have found that even the SMELL of nuts on my hands is risky. I'm convinced that they don't see well. We do know that their sense of smell is extremely good. I read that a squirrel can smell a nut under a foot of snow...not that we have any of that. It might be possible that if it smells like a nut, it must be a nut so they just start grabbing with their teeth. :eek

I would try breaking the nut cycle. After that you could leave the nuts away from the patio if you really must give nuts. I would stop handing them nuts altogether. I learned to NEVER put nuts in my pocket. Susie would try to rip my pants off and I couldn't get the nuts out of my pocket without her biting my hands. I completely understand your situation though. I LOVE having my friendly outside squirrels.

It might be just me but it seems the world is spinning out of control and I just HATE it. My 'happy place' is being at my own home interacting with my friends. It brings me GREAT joy and peace. SO, for me, stopping all contact is not going to happen. I know it's not the 'proper' way but it's what makes me happy. If I ignore them I'm unlikely to ever be bitten by a squirrel but seeking out a relationship with them does put me at risk. Yeah, squirrels bite. :)

[Mel1959]

Thank you, Patti, for understanding. :hug. In some morbid way, it's reassuring to know that others may be going through the same thing and I'm not alone. :blowkiss. I agree, I can't imagine NOT interacting with my boys and the wilds. They bring us joy too. Although there was way more joy when we didn't have to worry about being bit! :tap:rotfl.

I never really thought about the smell on my hands. That definitely seems like it could be a factor. And I agree, I don't think they have stellar vision, which could also be a factor. They are so used to running up and jumping on us, I'm not sure how we will prevent that...even if we feed from another location. Maybe with time if no food comes from us they won't expect it from us when they jump on us. All things to work on.

What would you feed if you didn't give nuts? Sometimes I offer them a henrys block in the morning and they look at me like I'm nuts! Usually they will take it when they see I don't have anything else but only half-heartedly eat it. Occasionally, I make up a bowl with boo balls, sweet potato, avocado, coconut, greens and some type of fruit and put it on top of the RC, which is feeding central. The wilds are always appreciative, but my boys are so spoiled they will only eat it in a pinch. They literally refuse walnuts and pecans if they are shelled. They like almonds and hazelnuts the best, but will take all of the nuts if they are unshelled.

It really was heartbreaking to have Peepers start biting. I could still hold him and kiss him until about 2 mths ago, even though he had been released since September. :boohoo:boohoo. I am determined to figure out a way to co-exist and not lose any fingers! :laugh2