Sudden Aggression

[Scrattyrat]

Hi everyone! This is my first time posting on here, but we seem to have run into an issue after returning from the beach. My boyfriend and I have raised a now 2 year old squirrel from about 3-5 weeks old after he was the only survivor of a tree cutting incident. Recently when we came back from the beach, he has not had a good attitude towards my boyfriend. He started off chattering and making other noises towards him. Yesterday, he started going after his hands and nipped him pretty hard while him still making noises. It wasn't over food or anything it was immediately after we opened the door to his room. He has never acted like this and usually loves him more than he does me.

I am confused to whether he doesn't recognize him, or if something else is going on. Again, he has been around the squirrel since before his eyes were open so they are quite used to each other. He has also been a little fussy towards me over food as well.

Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated! Just confused as to why these three days have done this. They have been apart for more than a week before...

[Tashahaven]

👋 I’m Sorry to hear you are having difficulty with your squirrel. Btw does he have a name?

There are multiple causes of “sudden aggression” in captive squirrels.

First, is there anything wrong with him, an injury or illness that prevents him from being released?

Second it important to remember (no matter how sweet, cuddly, playful and loving they are) squirrels are a wild animal, with natural born instincts that exist despite never actually being in the wild.

One of the most common triggers for this behavior is hidden stashes of food or nuts. It’s important to thoroughly go through his entire environment and anywhere he has access to, and CLEAR OUT ANY hidden food. It’s best to temporarily move him somewhere safe and away as you investigate and clean shop. You may be surprised to find more than you thought! Any hidden food triggers his need to defend it, resulting in the aggression. Some squirrels take a while before they begin behaving this way about stashes.

Once you have removed any hidden food, he may take a day to calm down and mellow back out. It’s extremely important you remain diligent in consistently clearing out any stashes moving forward. If you give him nits, they should be very minimal! In captive squirrels nuts should only ever be offered as occasional treats (where you can observe him actually eating them as opposed to hiding them.)

The other primary cause of sudden aggression is hormones. Depending on where you live, the type of squirrel, and the mating patterns of the squirrels around you, it could very much be because his boy hormones are dominating and he wants to go make babies! Lol If this is the reason for his behavior, all you can do is wait. Give him time, still interact with him on a limited basis, and once his hormones level back out, he MAY go back to your sweetie. However some squirrels once they reach a certain maturity, never go back to the way they were before. Which is why I asked if he is a non releasable squirrel. If not, it may be best to arrange a soft release process with him.

Lastly, and the easiest….make sure neither of you have changed soaps, fragrances, lotions, shampoos etc. squirrels are HIGHLY sensitive to these things! So much so, that MANY squirrel parents have to avoid their squirrels for a few hours up to a full day after a shower. Since a shower washes away most of your “typical scent” causing the squirrel not to recognize you! (Crazy right?)

Hopefully it is as simple as clearing out the stashes!

Good luck!

[Spanky]

I will add that it is the exception and not the rule that a squirrel will "tolerate" more than 1 human being... they largely a 1 person kind of animal.

[Scrattyrat]

Yes, his name is Scrat. My grandmother who originally had him got it off of ice age from the "squirrel rat." Lol.

I noticed earlier he is more agitated when I get near certain parts of the room. I notice him hiding food in general besides the few nuts, but he usually goes back to eat it. I'm going to check out his usual spots for any stashes.

He was injured when he was little, but that has healed up. Other than that he is fine.

We have tried to release him before and he kept coming back to my window hungry and thirsty, so we just let him back in. We do have a creek and 50 acres of woods. One place I thought about would be across our creek. It's near a water source. I could get him used to a nesting box, set out food, water, etc. However, I'm hoping that it is far enough away that he wouldn't be able to make it back to our house with the same attitude towards anyone besides me that he has right now.

My only worry is that he won't be able to find food or water. Putting him somewhat nearby, but close enough to check his supplies seems like the best option.

He hasn't been as friendly towards me today even puffing up and shaking his tail at my feet. I think like you said he is maturing.

How would you say that we go about the release other than what I've mentioned? It is cooler there so the summer heat would be less of an issue.

[Diggie's Friend]

Feeding your squirrel in an enclosure, sends the message that the rest of the room and or home, isn't his territory.

IF you aren't already feeding, "Scrat" a rodent block diet; you should check out the Healthy Diet requirements that squirrels need when cared for in captivity, to prevent Metabolic bone disease from developing. In either case, limiting nuts to no more than one hazelnut given ever other day in support of keeping his incisors properly worn down. Offering untreated antler bone sections may appeal to your squirrel.

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?44440-Healthy-Diet-for-Pet-Squirrels

[Tashahaven]

Ding ding ding! The fact that you notice his behaviors more when you are in certain areas tells me it’s most likely in response to defending a stash.

That is EXACTLY what I went through. Even though I didn’t give her nuts, and cleared out stashes. It returned a couple days later, and I found out she was hiding her mazuri blocks, which she always had access to freely. Once I got on top of that issue, it mostly receded.

However this behavior was still mostly influenced by maturity/hormones. So while her behavior did get better, it was still very unpredictable and she could decide to flip in half a second.

She was ready for release, and she has since been released and happily dominating life in the trees.

I’ll be happy to provide what I know about how to do a soft release, and helpful tips for greater success. But I have to run to a meeting. I will check back when I return. Others on here have tons of experience with the process, so hopefully they will share their insights as well.

I think it’s GREAT you have such an expanse of land, water and resources! That will help him GREATLY. The fact he is showing signs of wilding up and being ready, a proper slow release is probably what he needs. Boys (human boys at least) always mature slower than girls. Maybe he wasn’t ready before, but now he is. And the fact that he will be able to be somewhere on your property, you may still be able to visit with him and interact with him. So it won’t feel as much like you’re losing your buddy. But the nature of your relationship will just be changed, not gone :

Talk to you in a couple hours. 🥰🙂

[Scrattyrat]

I have Henry's Healthy blocks as well as the picky blocks. He also gets a variety of veggies and a few fruits a day. I have been pretty strict in his diet and followed the Healthy Diet for Pet Squirrels. I found it on here actually soon after we got him so thank you to whoever I saw that from.

I have checked on him in his room just a few times today and each time he was less happy about it. The last time fuzzing up, chattering, while coming towards me. Needless to say I shut the door.

I do agree that a soft release would be the best thing. We got him a nesting box and some other supplies that I thought would be necessary.

Any tips for a soft release would be greatly appreciated. I can't thank you all enough for the support and information already provided in this thread. I appreciate it very much!

[Tashahaven]

The soft release process is designed to give captive raised squirrels the best chances at success in the wild.

You would need to build a release cage in the area where you are planning to release him. It is typically a large enclosure outside, common elements integrated in are:
-protection from the elements. Sun, wind, rain. Small portion with some sort of roof to escape rain, in a mostly shaded area to escape sun, and preferably somewhere not too windy, or a plywood wall to block heavy winds.
-a nest box they either know already, or will make their own while living in the RC. Which will be removed from the RC and placed in a neighboring tree once released.
-a release portal. (a small squirrel sized opening they can get in and out of, but cats, racoons or other predators cannot)
-and some sort of access for YOU to be able to safely provide clean water and food while he is living there, WITHOUT danger of escape. This is typically accomplished by building a 2 door “vestibule”/airlock type entrance/exit into the cage. Where you can enter, shut a door, then open the door into the cage. But there are other methods and creative things I’ve seen people do, if for some reason that isn’t doable.

They will live in the RC without interaction with you, other than for food and water. They spend anywhere from a few weeks, to over a month in the cage, outside.

This is when they are able to observe the wild squirrels, watch how they interact, how they respond to threats, how they communicate, forage, learn the “local hierarchy”, smell and be smelled, and get acquainted with their new world from the safety of their enclosure.

Once you feel they are finally ready (they have a way of letting you know they are, quite loudly) you open the release portal on the cage and they are free to come and go.

Many will come back to the RC at night for quite a while, others only a few days. If it’s reasonable to leave the RC out with the portal open, often they will still come back once they have left for good, if ever sick or injured or need a safe place to rest and recooperate.

Once the portal is open, you will still provide fresh food and water THERE in the RC. Which will alleviate any concern you currently have about him not being able to find food and water. Squirrels are incredibly smart and resourceful, and quite capable of supporting themselves in the wild, they are born with their instincts for survival in the wild. BUT that is what makes the soft release process SOO GREAT. It gives them an opportunity to get to know the lay of the land and learn from the squirrels they will soon be living with when released. While safe and secure. Once released, It also gives you peace of mind, knowing you will still provide food and water, for him should he need it.

There are MANY MANY amazing posts, pictures, plans, ideas etc in the cages, nest boxes, release cages section on here. There are many different designs and ideas, and people have shared what did or didn’t work for them and why.

I would soak up as much info as you possibly can from there!

What you use for a release cage, is going to depend heavily on resources to build it, time to do it, money, etc. but regardless of the situation, it is very doable one way or another.

I actually used a slightly modified Catio I bought online, it had the hardware cloth, roof, size etc. I just needed to reinforce some areas, build an access vestibule, and make a floor so raccoons couldn’t dig their way in. It worked great. I planned to build myself but I ran out of time.

Anyway, I hope that helps some… please ask as many questions as you want. I know ALL OF US here would LOVE nothing more than for your sweet man to find his happiness free in the trees!

I’ve only done this once. So I am by far the least experienced of all the wonderful folks here on TSB. Hopefully others will chime in as well with additional advice! I’m just doing what I can & sharing what I know from my own experiences.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[Tashahaven]

Also…photos please!! We love photos! I’m sure you have hundreds on your phone! I wanna see little scratty! (BTW scrat is my FAVORITE character from ice age!!! Hands down!!!) 😬😬

[Scrattyrat]

We started the soft release process yesterday. The easiest thing to set up was his original cage which was previously a huge cat boarding cage. It has places to be in the shade, in the sun, and stocked full of things from his room as well out the woods. I got a lot of inspiration from pictures on this board as well as other websites.

He seems happy and ready to go. In the next day or two I'm going to open the door and let him decide his next moves. I'm glad he acts like he wants to explore and get back to nature. That was one of my worries since he's used to sleeping between fuzzy pillows and interacting with me so much throughout the day.

I did make sure to bring in things from the outdoors while he was inside. I've read on here that everything should be sterilized and that sort of thing so it's safe. I would bring him hickory nuts or other things that he can now find and know what it is.

I have a million pictures and videos that I will post and tell about his story!

[Scrattyrat]

My grandparents has trees cut down in March of 2022. After everyone had left and they were inspecting the work done, they found Scrat. This was hours later, but they decided to hold out and see if the mother would come back. They kept checking on him, and that evening they decided to step in. I would come over daily to see him, then it turned into “babysitting,” then I ended up taking him. They are 70-80s, so around the clock care was taking a lot of their energy.

These are the first pictures I have of him as a tiny baby with his eyes still closed.

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[Scrattyrat]

The rest are him growing up through the little over a year we’ve had him.
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[Scrattyrat]

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[Scrattyrat]

I have a lot more that are better and lots of videos. But here are just a few.