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Michellef
03-21-2018, 10:17 AM
Help my squirrel just got his testicles a month ago. He has bit me several times now and his teeth are chattering when he does. I went to a vet and his neutering fee is 479.00 but he didn't think it would make much of a difference. He said he wouldn't survive a release. Is this wilding what do I do. Now I'm afraid to open the cage.

Jen413
03-21-2018, 10:25 AM
How old is your little guy? It could be due to him reaching maturity coupled with the time of year. It could also be due to a food stash. Have you noticed a pattern of any sort to it? Does he do it mainly around his cage but is fine if he is away from it? I'd go through his cage really well and make sure he doesn't have him a nice little "pile of gold" in there. Sammy is bad about hiding things in his bed or his dig box. If he has something like a nut in there he will chatter and be ugly. If it's seasonal or just maturity it will hopefully calm down as things either level out and he will calm back down.

CritterMom
03-21-2018, 10:27 AM
Are you releasing him? If so, no, you don't want to neuter him. His body is suddenly having a ton of hormones dumped into it all at once and they go through several months of full on crazy when it happens.

To handle him and do things like clean cages, etc., you just need to wear what you need to keep yourself from being bitten...and make absolutely certain he doesn't have any nut stashes in his cage. This will make them full on crazy, and aggressive as they **protect** their prize. If you give him nuts in the shell as treats, you need to make sure they are eaten and not stashed, and if stashed, you need to REMOVE them (while the squirrel is somewhere that he cannot see you do this) immediately. They are almost literally like an "on/off" aggression switch.

If for some reason this little one is non releasable, the hormonal crazies take a few months and if you DO THE WORK - get in there with gloves and clothing layers and handle him through the crazies, they DO calm down to just normally crazy little squirrels...

Michellef
03-21-2018, 10:40 AM
He did the chattering bite away from the cage once. I wasn't going to release him. I'm also nervous he will bite my face. Has anyone neutered.

CritterMom
03-21-2018, 11:04 AM
He did the chattering bite away from the cage once. I wasn't going to release him. I'm also nervous he will bite my face. Has anyone neutered.

Neutering won't do much to change behavior. It is squirrel behavior, not just BOY squirrel behavior. He may bite your face - honestly, I think they do more damage with their claws without even being aggressive! This is one of the reasons we don't recommend keeping healthy squirrels that are capable of being released. The time when the hormones are kicking in big time is a very natural time to begin normalizing them to outside and letting them transition to the wild. Their little brains are forming all of the stuff they need to know then. Waiting and deciding when they are 2 or 3 that you just can't handle the nonstop shredding of everything and trying to do it then is frequently not very successful and is traumatizing to an animal who has lived as a "pet."

It is a HUGE responsibility to do it right. And an absolute boatload of work!

Michellef
03-21-2018, 11:23 AM
He didn't get out of cage time much past 2 days could that make him crazy too.

Michellef
03-21-2018, 11:26 AM
Why did the vet tell me release would be a death sentence for him. That it's too late now he's a pet.

Mel1959
03-21-2018, 11:29 AM
I agree with CM. I had a girl in the house that had been injured and was waiting to get an all clear from a vet before moving her to a release cage. She started getting aggressive just like you described. She had been a super sweet cuddly baby before her hormones kicked in. I got the all clear from the vet and moved her to the RC. I did it for several reasons, mainly because she should have a life in the trees that nature intended her to have, but also I was scared to interact with her the way I previously had. Knowing this made it easier to transition her to the RC.

As CM said, since the wilding up process is beginning for him and he’s maturing now it would be a great time to prepare him for release.

Do you want us to see if we can find someone near you that could release him for you?

Mel1959
03-21-2018, 11:37 AM
Why did the vet tell me release would be a death sentence for him. That it's too late now he's a pet.

Because you have to go through a period of several weeks with him in a release cage to prepare him for life outside. It’s called a slow release. We don’t just take them from their cage inside and turn them loose outside. That WOULD be a death sentence. The period of time that they are in the release cage you continue to feed them and naturally limit your interaction with them. They get to see, hear and smell other squirrels. They learn the alert and danger signals other squirrels make and generally adapt to life outside. There have been several folks on here that have successfully released squirrels that had been pets for a couple of years. It just requires doing it right and not releasing till you know they’re ready.

How old is your squirrel?

SophieSquirrel
03-21-2018, 12:17 PM
He didn't get out of cage time much past 2 days could that make him crazy too.

Your squirrel needs enrichment every day. Please post photos of his cage set-up.

Spanky
03-21-2018, 01:47 PM
Why did the vet tell me release would be a death sentence for him. That it's too late now he's a pet.

How old is this squirrel? Sounds like a fall 2017 baby... that does not make him non-releasable.

Has the squirrel been acclimated to dogs/cats or other domestic predator type animals... that would make a greater challenge to release, but not impossible.

What else might the vet know that we may not have thought to ask (when it comes to the squirrel being non-releasable)?

Nancy in New York
03-21-2018, 02:24 PM
Does your squirrel have teeth issues?

Michellef
03-21-2018, 03:03 PM
No teeth issues. I estimate he was born in August 2017and yes he is .acclimated to our cat and sometimes the dog.

Michellef
03-21-2018, 03:08 PM
He has ropes and hammocks in his cage. He has a ball he plays with deer antlers and an oak tree stump and I give him a pecan in shell once a day. I make henrys blocks myself with their vitamins and a recipe from the board.he get plenty of veggies and fruits. I think I got it covered.

SophieSquirrel
03-21-2018, 03:57 PM
He has ropes and hammocks in his cage. He has a ball he plays with deer antlers and an oak tree stump and I give him a pecan in shell once a day. I make henrys blocks myself with their vitamins and a recipe from the board.he get plenty of veggies and fruits. I think I got it covered.

I think you have care and housing down to a science :thumbsup

You just need to learn to read his behavior and respect his boundaries. You cannot change a squirrels behavior and understanding what he is telling you is paramount. Chattering his teeth is a sign that he is displeased and likely about to bite if you continue. You cannot show fear when handling him and you have to become the alpha or he will dominate. You need to wear a long sleeved sweatshirt and I would wear protective eye-wear when handling him. Remember his cage is his territory and you have to get him out to clean, add food etc. Approaching his cage the wrong way is encroaching on his territory and food cache. As other posters have stated clear out any cache of nuts when he is not in the cage. Open the door and let/coax him out and then you can do what you need to in his cage. Keep him busy outside with a Grape or other non-nut teat. You don't want to use nuts for everything b/c nuts will put him in a frenzy and you want to avoid feeding too many nuts.

I have 8 non-releasable squirrels including one male and all are a joy due to proper handling procedures and understanding their communication and needs.

Michellef
03-21-2018, 05:45 PM
Ok thank you. Today he jumped right out on me when I opened the door and chattered and bit me right away. I guess I'll have to be armored up just to open the door now. It's funny how.tbings change. Last week he was grooming my hands so gently scraping off the dead skin with his teeth from the scratches he left on me. He was so soft holding my fingers with his little hands.

cava
03-21-2018, 07:12 PM
I have FOUR of them, same age, fall babies, and even though I snuggled (one I still do) them, and kiss them even when they yell at me and hand play with them all every single day during out of cage time, I have no doubt they will turn into demon tree monkeys who hate me within a few months of being outside. It's what happened with my last spring releases, and they were 9 months old! Edit: They still come for food. I just can't touch them.

Keep in mind, they are solitary animals in the wild. They're not pack animals. Youngsters will play with one another and their mother but then they grow up, get hormones, move out on their own to mate and do squirrel things.

SophieSquirrel
03-21-2018, 07:16 PM
Ok thank you. Today he jumped right out on me when I opened the door and chattered and bit me right away. I guess I'll have to be armored up just to open the door now. It's funny how.tbings change. Last week he was grooming my hands so gently scraping off the dead skin with his teeth from the scratches he left on me. He was so soft holding my fingers with his little hands.

If you observe wild squirrels and even some NR adult squirrels housed together they can get along peacefully, groom each other and cuddle together at night. The minute you introduce food into the equation "food defense" kicks in and it's every squirrel for itself. Same thing when mating season hormones kicks in. You have to be firm with him and give him a loud NO whenever bites or acts aggressive. Depending on how handleable he is the minute he bites flip him over (gently) into submissive position and again give a resounding NO. You can't do it 15 seconds later, it has to be the moment he bites like a knee jerk reaction. A male squirrel can mature to be very calm or very dominant and demanding. Depends on a lot of factors like personality and also what you let him get away with. My mature black male squirrel has learned what I will tolerate and what I won't and he is very docile after I established the Alpha position in a firm but very gentle way. You cannot train food or territory defense out of a wild animal but you can manage it with proper understanding and respect.

SophieSquirrel
03-21-2018, 07:36 PM
Keep in mind, they are solitary animals in the wild

So true Cava! They will share a nest over the winter for survival until spring kicks in. My Prairie Dog (a true squirrel) on the other hand will likely die of depression if left alone. They are among the most social animals on the planet. The minute I open his door (except during Rut) he jumps on me for PD kisses and snuggles.

Michellef
03-21-2018, 07:49 PM
So is this what they call rutt?

SophieSquirrel
03-21-2018, 08:07 PM
So is this what they call rutt?

Prairie Dog Rut is similar but I have not heard the term used for Gray Squirrels. A male Prairie Dog gets a large Testosterone increase all at once in January making him super agitated. His testes swell and he is very restless and is ready to charge and bite. A male Gray Squirrel has heightened levels of Testosterone but nowhere near the level of a male PD.

He was vacuumed out of his burrow as a baby probably to make way for a shopping mall so people can get cheap goods from China. From there they are sold into the pet trade where people quickly tire of them and that how I got him as a rescue. The woman who had him loved him but the husband did not so away he went. He is a true squirrel but he is considered a ground squirrel and does not climb at all.

My male PD "Patches" not in Rut and being lovable

299742

Mel1959
03-21-2018, 10:15 PM
So is this what they call rutt?

Yes, this is your male squirrel doing and acting the way nature intended him to to find a mate. The fighting that goes on between males during mating season is astounding. This is where many injuries occur as they assert themselves for dominance. This behavior will happen a couple of times a year. You need to be able to “read” your squirrel so that you don’t get caught in the crossfire. :Cannon

AJR
03-27-2018, 04:08 PM
I agree with getting the cage searched over for stashed food. My little gal did the same thing. Not to me so much, but to my hubby and kids. If they would come near her cage, she would chatter and lunge at them and try to attack. I searched her cage, found a few stashes and got rid of them. I also think it had something to do with the winter months when she was trying to fatten up. Now that the cage is cleaned out and she is trying to shed some weight, she is much better and not aggressive at all. I thought she was possessed for a bit there! Lol.

Rexie
06-06-2018, 04:20 PM
how is your boy doing, has he calmed down?