Food aggression

[macytree]

I knew it was going to happen and now it has. My sweet darling decided I was a threat to her food today so she threw herself at my face and attacked me. I was less than pleased. I guess she's never heard the expression about biting the hand that feeds you. She may love my husband but I'm still her primary caretaker. Silly thing. I guess in addition to the jeans, shoes, and jean jacket that I have to wear when I care for her I need to add sunglasses to the mix.

I think today's problem was because I introduced her to some new foods and she was very excited about them.

[FLUFFYTAILNUT]

I knew it was going to happen and now it has. My sweet darling decided I was a threat to her food today so she threw herself at my face and attacked me. I was less than pleased. I guess she's never heard the expression about biting the hand that feeds you. She may love my husband but I'm still her primary caretaker. Silly thing. I guess in addition to the jeans, shoes, and jean jacket that I have to wear when I care for her I need to add sunglasses to the mix.

I think today's problem was because I introduced her to some new foods and she was very excited about them.
What a little stinker pot!!:nono Tell..her..no biting mommy!!:peace

[Mars]

You may want to put the food in when your little one is asleep. They really can be vert protective and territorial when it omes to their food supply. In the wild it's a true matter of life and death.

[Secret Squirrel]

Yep, your little girl is acting naturally.....check ebay for a fencing mask :rotfl :rotfl LOL!!!! Good luck.

[LynninIN]

I guess she's never heard the expression about biting the hand that feeds you.
Well....technically....she didn't bite the hand. :D From everything I've read and learned from the board, this is how she is suppose to act. Your baby is wilding up and getting prepared to take on the outdoor world.

[FLUFFYTAILNUT]

You could..get one of those baseball.face sheilds..I dont know what the real name is..But..maybe...that would help....:dono
She could have been...a EXCITED thing too...has it happened again??
Is there any grunting...swatting going on??
I had two grey's up north...that...I released...but ONLY the male...acted...LIKE..every thing ..was.."MINE"..grunting..and swatting...and many lunges...
It wasn t much..longer..aafter that..I let him go...
HE want to...But the sister..stayed another two months...and then SHE..was ready...I named her Sandra-dee...
He..I dont even remember giving him a name...Boooger..he was...
He was just being a squirrel..I suppose...:thumbsup

[Luv4scratty]

What ii used to do because my little Scratty used to do this. I would put the food on a plate, and then i would take him in and walk away. They tink that there food is going to run out so then they eat as fast as they can. Even know scratty is an adlt he dosen't like to be pet when he has his food.

[Rhapsody]

The only time my sweet little Max is aggressive toward me in any way what so ever is when I get between him and his food...... just like a lot of dogs are (food is their life source therefore they will be protective of it) - so please beware when it is feeding time and NEVER try to take food away from a squirrel or any thing that has food scent on it...... my husband found this out the hard way. :nono

[macytree]

We're doing better now. It only took a couple of days to figure out how to handle things, of course now that we've solved this problem I'm sure another one will pop up. Ahh well it's just a reminder that she's a wild animal and wild animals should live in the wild.

I'm doing a couple of different things to ensure that I'm safe. I don't take her out of her cage unless I have plenty of time to hang out with her and can wait for her to go in on her own. I can't get close enough to the cage to trick her into going in anymore so I have to be patient.

If I can't take her out I toss her some berries and then quickly open the cage and put new food in, while she's distracted.

I only clean her cage when my husband is home so he can take care of her while I'm cleaning.

In other news, we've been putting her cage outside for awhile every day and today my husband took her for a walk with him. She played in the trees and climbed all the way to the top. She chirped at other squirrels, I don't know what they were saying but it was cool. After 5 minutes or so she'd come back down to my husband, make sure he was still there and then go back up. It was the coolest thing ever and I'm really excited about releasing her now. I guess I couldn't picture her as a real squirrel before, and now that I've seen her in her element I know she'll be okay. I do worry that the other squirrels will bully her or that she'll jump on a random person's head, but we're getting there.

[FLUFFYTAILNUT]

I can..still take stuff away from Bean..and I can still pet him..when he's eating..he eats with his eye's closed..MOSTLY..its so cute..
He will get into the old food..that Ive taken out..that he's hidden in his swhEAT SCOOP....and i WILL FISH IT OUT...he will go to eat it..and I say...atttt...atttt..Ka, ka...and take it away...he'' look at me..sayen.."Awww...hey..I was just getting ready to EAT thaaaat.." look..
He can also..be at the top of his cage..I can still walk over to him..and kiss him on the NOSE!!(Stripe..for Leigh & Sarah):osnap
I love it!!
I know..He isnt like most squirrels...and I hope he stays that WAY forever!
THE only thing he does do..is if I kiss him too,,much he will BARK...and squeeze away..doing the, back arch..run..then come back..and froggy out on my arm...HE's my love bun..that... loves his, lovens...:peace :thumbsup :alright.gif

[macytree]

I was positive that Hunny was going to like Bean, she was such a little love bug. Her wild nature didn't take too long to make an appearance though. It seems like I posted at least a month ago that she wanted to be a wild squirrel and not a pet. Now that I think about it, she stopped being friendly to me right about the time I stopped syringe feeding her. She stayed on formula for quite awhile after that but she drank it from a bowl not a syringe.

At that point I was still really attached to her and couldn't imagine that she'd ever be okay without me though. Now I know she will. My only real concern is that there are so many hawks here. My baby doesn't know anything about predators that swoop down on you. She only knows about dogs and people right now. Every time I go outside now I count the number of hawks around and worry about the squirrels.

It sounds like you lucked out with your little Bean. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous.

Edited to add: I found my post where I said she had made her choice. It was a little over a month ago so she was only about 10 weeks old, she's 15 weeks now. This is what I had to say back then:

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to my uneducated eyes it appears she definitely wants to be a wild squirrel and not a pet. She hates being in her cage except to sleep and when I take her out now she is a nut. She runs in crazy squirrel circles, jumps on everything, is starting to nip at my fingers, and doesn't want to interact with me as much. She'll still run on me but she's using me as a tree and not as a source of comfort. She also realized that my dogs are a threat and will scream and hide when they come in her room. Until a couple of days ago she was completely indifferent to them and that had me worried.

She's just about 9 weeks now and we're working on weening off of formula. She gets two formula feedings of about 10ccs a day and the rest of her diet is solids. I need to work on getting her eating natural foods, as there just aren't a lot of cheerios hanging around in trees.

[FLUFFYTAILNUT]

I was positive that Hunny was going to like Bean, she was such a little love bug. Her wild nature didn't take too long to make an appearance though. It seems like I posted at least a month ago that she wanted to be a wild squirrel and not a pet. Now that I think about it, she stopped being friendly to me right about the time I stopped syringe feeding her. She stayed on formula for quite awhile after that but she drank it from a bowl not a syringe.

At that point I was still really attached to her and couldn't imagine that she'd ever be okay without me though. Now I know she will. My only real concern is that there are so many hawks here. My baby doesn't know anything about predators that swoop down on you. She only knows about dogs and people right now. Every time I go outside now I count the number of hawks around and worry about the squirrels.

It sounds like you lucked out with your little Bean. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous.

Edited to add: I found my post where I said she had made her choice. It was a little over a month ago so she was only about 10 weeks old, she's 15 weeks now. This is what I had to say back then:

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to my uneducated eyes it appears she definitely wants to be a wild squirrel and not a pet. She hates being in her cage except to sleep and when I take her out now she is a nut. She runs in crazy squirrel circles, jumps on everything, is starting to nip at my fingers, and doesn't want to interact with me as much. She'll still run on me but she's using me as a tree and not as a source of comfort. She also realized that my dogs are a threat and will scream and hide when they come in her room. Until a couple of days ago she was completely indifferent to them and that had me worried.

She's just about 9 weeks now and we're working on weening off of formula. She gets two formula feedings of about 10ccs a day and the rest of her diet is solids. I need to work on getting her eating natural foods, as there just aren't a lot of cheerios hanging around in trees.
Aww....thats too....bad...:grouphug :grouphug :grouphug
He's almost 6 months old..now...I dont think he's gonna get any bigger..body wise....He wont eat naughty things..so he's not fattening up..just a healthy lean Bean....
It's not for the lack of trying either!
id like to see a little more meat on him..but he wont eat , naughty foods..
he'll have a salted roasted almond now and then..he'll steal it out a my hand...and sit in my palm..eating it...just watches..the bits fall all over the carpet...lol..Like oh, thats okay..THE maid will get it...lol:poke :peace
I'll share all of my Bean pictures and moments with you..
Im not a greedy..gal...
I wish..all squirrels could be like bean...:alright.gif