will my gray squirrel be ok not having a mate

[rocky 4 life]

I have a gray squirrel and he's about a year old but I'm afraid he's might want to mate. How will his health be down there will he be in pain, He's not going to explode

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

He'll be fine he just may get grouchy with you!:thumbsup

[Lady Squirrelly]

Jack is 2 1/2. During "that time" he is grouchy and pulls all the hair from what you would imagine to be his waist, down. He seems to like to hang on the side of the cage and show me his wares. :D

He plays rougher during that time too.

As soon as the mood passes, the fur grows back and he settles down.

[susanw]

I have a gray that is a little over a year old, and have never had a problem.
Maybe it hasn't hit yet, I don't know! I don't think he will explode.:jump

[Miss Milo's Mom]

Do females go through this grouchy phase also? I have read they can breed at 6 months. Does anyone know if his correct?

[toasty]

He seems to like to hang on the side of the cage and show me his wares. :D


:jump too funny!! Rowdy does a lot of that too and sometimes....if you're not careful.....he will try to pee on you! :shakehead (hopefully that isn't on purpose:D )

[My Little Trouble]

Don't know about how the girls behave,
but my little Trouble is a 3½ year old (male) virgin http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b77/ozonetraveler/giggle.gif
and no "explosion" so far . . . now "expansion" is another story,
there is http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b77/ozonetraveler/shok.gif remarkable expansion from time to time.

He does take on more http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b77/ozonetraveler/goingtothedevil.gif attitude then, too,
and is especially rough on my hubby, but it doesn't last very long.

[TexanSquirrel]

No, he's not going to explode. In the wild, not every boy squirrel gets to mate with a girl squirrel. That's just the way it is for some boys.

[PBluejay2]

I'm not sure if this correlates, but I haven't exploded yet.

[island rehabber]

I'm not sure if this correlates, but I haven't exploded yet.

:jump:jump

[Miss Milo's Mom]

I'm not sure at what age they start to mate in the wild, but Baby is almost 18 months old, and she hasn't went into heat, yet. I've been told that when she does, she will run from window to window, trying to get out, and be hyper during that time, but when it's over, she should go back to being her old self. :dono

Does anyone know if it's true, that female squirrels only go into heat twice a year, for about 8 hours??? :confused:


I have heard that they come in heat in spring and in the fall. Does anyone know for sure that when they do come in heat that they run from window to window non stop like Gamma said??????? That is what Milo is doing from morning to late in the evening. Doesn't want to be held or loved on either. :dono :dono :dono :dono :dono :thinking

[Miss Milo's Mom]

Man, if we open the door he tries to get out. I have to constantly be on the look. He doesn't want to be held, loved on, or even eat until the evening. Wonder whats going through his cute little head?

[Miss Milo's Mom]

Yeah, I hope it is just another phase.

By the way Gamma, I mad BLT's this morning and thought of you and Baby. Milo wanted no part of my bacon. He is funny. Any time I get my frying pan out he gets in his bed. I don't think he likes the smell of food cooking. mjs

[thundersquirrel]

i'm not sure about you guys, but it seems like males do all the chasing, and females are always chased. to me, that implies they aren't horribly inclined to mate (kudos to natural selection....whoever catches that female will pass on wonderful endurance genes to the babies).

so maybe females won't try as hard.....

i would suggest getting some fun toys and things to rip apart while your male is lonely. distract him. he'll have a lot of energy that needs to be let out somehow.

[Mrs. Jack]

unused sperm is absorbed back in to the body.. it's not like a cow needing to be milked. Though I have heard that excuse before. :shakehead

[rocky 4 life]

thanks for the info ill keep it all in mind:thumbsup

[scoobysnack]

I'm not sure if this correlates, but I haven't exploded yet.

I'm willing to bet that in your youth you tried to convince a girl or two that you would!!:jump

[PBluejay2]

unused sperm is absorbed back in to the body.. it's not like a cow needing to be milked. Though I have heard that excuse before. :shakehead

Yeah, it never worked for mem but I thought I'd give it one last try :-)

[PBluejay2]

I'm willing to bet that in your youth you tried to convince a girl or two that you would!!:jump

Do you know me, Scoobysnack? You haven't been talking with my ex, have you?

[scoobysnack]

Do you know me, Scoobysnack? You haven't been talking with my ex, have you?

I have three ex husbands. For all I know you're one of them!:rotfl

[Mrs. Jack]

it's a small w orld aaa fter alllllll

[TexanSquirrel]

:rotfl :rotfl :rotfl :rotfl :rotfl :rotfl

[squirrelfriend]

I have three boys and four girls and haven't seen any difference in behavior at all. I clearly understand the "expansion" thing in males. I deffinitly see that at that time. I think Squirrelie once followed Weebles around for a bit which is very uncharacteristic for him. He is generally a mamas boy that is afraid of everything. None of my males have seemed to get mean or rough around that time.

[AnimalLuvR]

I hope you all don't mind if I join in this topic too. I too wondered if my two fur balls would be ok with out ever having a mate. I have a 6 year old gray female..and I have a 3 year old flyer. The gray most certainly goes through her "cycles" (although I have never been able to put it on a schedule) and tends to be a bit crabby. The little guy...my flyer...he is a total "lover!!" So far both have been perfectly fine with out having a mate.....maybe it kind of goes along the line...you don't miss what you never had. :jump :jump At least...I am going to keep telling myself that. LOL!!!!

[scoobysnack]

I have 5 dogs, 2 cats, a pot bellied pig and several horses who will NEVER have mates. None of them are in anyway upset or "depressed".

I really see no reason why a squirrel would feel one way or another about it. It's not like they mate and stay paired forever. They are solitary to begin with. I'm sure there are "barren" animals out there in the wild who never mate.

Keep in mind too... it's an instinct... not a pleasure thing for animals. The drive is strictly about procreation and survival of the species. It's not a desire for companionship or physical pleasure.

[nubbynicksmom]

Just a question because I am new at this, do squirrels in the wild mate for life? I am so undecided about whether to keep my guy or let him go when he grows up, he's only about 10 weeks now.

Thanks

[thundersquirrel]

squirrels aren't partner exclusive- females will mate with probably a few males each season, and it probably changes from year to year.

it's very unlikely you could find a friend for your squirrel that fits all the right criteria, i.e. same age, willing to share, etc. etc.. that's why the human-squirrel bond is so important if you keep one as a pet- they are all alone without you.

just as a heads up, most squirrels reach a certain age and decide they don't like you as much as they like being wild. :shakehead on the squirrel board, we promote "letting the squirrel decide" by observing their level of happiness in captivity when they reach adulthood. you still have time to figure out what's best for both you and your squirrel.

sorry if i'm loading you up with info. :)

[rocky 4 life]

ALL ABOUT MY ROCKY

Rocky was found i my back yard by my cat he seemed to be about 4 weeks old note that my cat did not hurt him but the fall seemed to scare the crap out of us both,the squeel was so loud that's whan my cat and i came across a baby squirrel he hoped right on me like he new me forever and never left my side the next couple days i tried to let him go but he shook with fear so my boyfriend and i bout Esbilac and pedalight then came fruit,nuts and cheerios.we made him a outside cage to but that didn't work out it was like torcher for him.three months later he began to have seashers i freaked out and imediently found this site and you guys helped him with informing advice such as lack of calcium and build him a inside cage out of reach of thing to chew on with a full speck lighting to.then later i found a led waght hidden in a corner of th room he had chewed like butter a hole 2 oz Waght was now 1 oz plus he chewed on ower old couch to.out want that and in came a 7 foot high 5 foot wide and 4 foot deep cage in front of two big windows.man did he build muscle and the jungle affect light him up. right after the cage and the calcium supp ower prayers came true no more seashers he only had 3 of 4 by the way though i never found out what caused it hes healthy now shiny eyes and cote just worried about his fully formed area and later on i life will see where the rode takes us so fare his happiness is key:Love_Icon

[TinyPaws]

I had a pig once but he was sooooo bad that i had to get rid of him...no wait.....that was an ex boyfriend....sorry for insulting the pig....:jump
I have 5 dogs, 2 cats, a pot bellied pig and several horses who will NEVER have mates. None of them are in anyway upset or "depressed".

I really see no reason why a squirrel would feel one way or another about it. It's not like they mate and stay paired forever. They are solitary to begin with. I'm sure there are "barren" animals out there in the wild who never mate.

Keep in mind too... it's an instinct... not a pleasure thing for animals. The drive is strictly about procreation and survival of the species. It's not a desire for companionship or physical pleasure.