MATING SEASON

[Pennyorf]

This is the boys cage. I hope the image shows.

[Pennyorf]

My bed is a California King and if you can tell by my bedroom door to the left of the cage which is an 8' door, the cage is pretty large. My ceiling height by the crown molding shown 10' in height then rises to 13' so his cage is about 9 feet in height. That is a full 6 foot height door on his cage that allows me to walk in and clean it pretty easily except for I have to maneuver around the trees.

We lined the perches and ledges inside with cabinet vinyl lining (which you can get from the grocery store) so I can wipe off food and urine with ease. We also lined the floor with the same vinyl (it comes in clear which is what I chose) to keep his floor clean but I have since lined his floor with palm fronds and oak leaves so he can frolic and play like if he was on a forest floor. I also have two pots full of soil so that he can bury and dig in the dirt.

I added a stuffed animal companion about six months ago that he loves to wrestle with on the floor of his cage. He plays and climbs and acts so happy. He never bites the wood of his cage to get out. He has his favorite perches and his beloved hammock. When he is tired of his hammock he will lounge in his hanging condo.

[sage4dylan]

My bed is a California King and if you can tell by my bedroom door to the left of the cage which is an 8' door, the cage is pretty large. My ceiling height by the crown molding shown 10' in height then rises to 13' so his cage is about 9 feet in height. That is a full 6 foot height door on his cage that allows me to walk in and clean it pretty easily except for I have to maneuver around the trees.

We lined the perches and ledges inside with cabinet vinyl lining (which you can get from the grocery store) so I can wipe off food and urine with ease. We also lined the floor with the same vinyl (it comes in clear which is what I chose) to keep his floor clean but I have since lined his floor with palm fronds and oak leaves so he can frolic and play like if he was on a forest floor. I also have two pots full of soil so that he can bury and dig in the dirt.

I added a stuffed animal companion about six months ago that he loves to wrestle with on the floor of his cage. He plays and climbs and acts so happy. He never bites the wood of his cage to get out. He has his favorite perches and his beloved hammock. When he is tired of his hammock he will lounge in his hanging condo.

dont mean to thread jack but I will be SOOOO glad when the hubby and I can move out of this small place into a bigger one. He's going to build one of these kinds of cages for Flip so he can have a much bigger space. we are looking for something to buy as we speak so hopefully it will be soon.

[Pennyorf]

Now that it is February 22nd my baby girl's bad behavior (she is 1yr old) seems to be improving remarkably.

She has become calmer just over the last two days. I am now able to stick my finger inside of her cage and she will gently smell it when before she would try to bite it off.

She is no longer lunging at me through the bars of her cage and hasn't done the teeth chatter thing these past two days either.

I am so optimistic and praying that her awful behavior was just because of the mating season and am hopeful that I will soon have my sweet baby back just as she was before or if not as sweet, very similar.

I must say that I played a little bit of a devils advocate during the mating season which probably OR DID make her bad behavior worse. I gave her nesting materials and nuts to stash. What a huge mistake on my part!

Over this past week I cut out all nuts which forced her to eat her stash and now I have a much calmer squirrel.

Along with the HHB'S which I'm not sure how much block she really eats because she seems to shred the block to get to the nuts inside, she's been on a strict fruit and veggie diet. Absolutely no nuts or acorns.

I also bought her organic fresh ground peanut butter. My grocery store publix makes it and the only ingredient is roasted peanuts. No added oil or anything. The label says, "made by a sharp instrument using only roasted peanuts". She will take a gob off of my finger and eat it and will not attempt to bury or stash it. I'm thinking about grinding HHB'S and mixing the two together that way I will know the she is getting the good stuff from the HHB'S and not just the nuts inside.

Hopefully, I will be able to take her out of her cage this weekend with no drama happening. I'm still worried that she will misbehave but I see hopeful signs that she is turning around.

Wish me luck!

[Nancy in New York]

Great cage. Your little one may have been guarding her stash, they become very food aggressive sometimes, especially when nuts are involved.
How did things go when you took her out for playtime?

[Pennyorf]

It is now February 26th and I continue to see remarkable changes in her behavior. Although she is still caged, she is starting to purr like a bumble bee again. My other greys never did this but this has always been her sign of affection or her I love you voice. or so I like to think.

Her extreme need for affection over the past year and my devotion to her lends me to believe that I have, based on her past behavior, figured out that that the bumble bee purr she does is very affectionate and sweet.

See is actually seeking my attention now. More so every day. I am able to put all of my fingers through her cage and pet all of her body. She is no longer protective of her backside, belly or head.

Before the 20th of this month she was clawing, biting, lunging, and gnashing her teeth at me through the cage bars. Which is weird. I never ever thought that I would have these issues with her. She has always been so sweet for so long. Not just sweet but damn needy of petting and attention.

I never ever thought that I would have to cage her. Her first birthday which happened to coincided with mating season forced me to to cage her. She changed drastically.

I hope by now when I say caged, that it doesn't make you think of a store bought ferret cage or a small confining rectangular wire mesh contraption. I couldn't do that. No! NO!

She has trees and two nesting areas with toys, rooms to exercise, to climb and play in. She also has pots of soil to dig in.

None of this matters to me. I could build her the biggest cage on earth but what I really want is to see her happy.

Nancy in New York has the ultimate dream situation. I'd like to try the indoor outdoor solution that is working so well for her. I'm going to strive to make this happen.

[farrelli]

I'm glad that you're getting your little girl back. It was very clear how torn up you were about it. I think it's always worst the first time around. She should mellow even more with each passing year. I hope that she's out of her cage and loving on you soon.

[Pennyorf]

Great cage. Your little one may have been guarding her stash, they become very food aggressive sometimes, especially when nuts are involved.
How did things go when you took her out for playtime?

She ran around like her tail was on fire and bounced off of me using me kind of like a spring board. I took it as aggressive behavior. Until I move Brodi, the boy out of the room, I expect that she will behave in this manner now that she is "mature". She fusses at him A LOT!

Your last post gave me such inspiration that I have decided to move Brodi's entire 9'x9' cage outside by our garden which is in direct view of where I sit on my patio.

I am so thankful that you posted that post along with the pictures. Brodi loves his cage and never tries to chew on it. If I place it right beside the garden which he really likes to eat from, maybe he will stay around too.

I plan to bring his entire home outside, which has his scent and all of the protective elements that he is used to. His nesting box, his hammock and his condo.

I normally wash all of his bedding and cage walls weekly but I have decided not to do this on this move. I think that his scent is needed in establishing territory. I want him to be the ruler of my back yard. Although he can be a mean ****, he can also frighten easily. We are going to take every precaution necessary.

I again must thank you for your post, Nancy form New York, you really opened my eyes up in releasing. I was so afraid that it would be heartache and loss but now I know that it can be safe and secure with wonderful outcomes. The best of both worlds is possible. Who knew?

[Pennyorf]

Success, Success, Success!

Her need for attention has continued to grow. This past week she has been actively seeking attention and showing signs of her sweet behavior again. When I walk up to her cage she purrs which sounds exactly like a bumble bee.

At first she would only do it once a day then she started doing it every time I approached the cage. This her loving voice. I know because she used to do it all the time before mating season and then it suddenly stopped. Now it is back in full force.

What a change a week can have. Just over a week ago when I would offer her food through the cage she would lunge and be awful. Now when I approach the cage she could care less about food and wants to be rubbed and loved.

I can now take her out of the cage and she will lay in my hands and allow me to pet her just like I used to do. I can reach out and pick her up without fear of being bit.

I'm still in the process of trying to move the boy's cage outside but the temperature in Florida has dipped pretty drastically. So I've decided to wait until they regulate. He is used to a steady 74 temperature so I don't think that 45 degree nights would be a good time for moving him outside.

I am so thankful for everyone's optimistic views and advice. I was devastated and found strength and comfort through your wisdom and loving support.

Your constructive but needed criticism allowed me to correct my mistakes and I was gracefully guided through this difficult time with the support of strangers who I now consider friends.

I LOVE THIS BOARD. This board helped me save Brodi's (the boy) when he had pneumonia at 5 wks old by reaching out across the members to accurately give me dosing advice with the medicine I had on hand. The medicine worked within 30 minutes and he is a big healthy beast now and is ready for his soft release. I'm not thinking he will go far because he is so spoiled but he is a biter so we have to try.

Anyway, I love all of you. I appreciate everything you do, even the one's who have been hard on me because in reality I needed to be steered in the right direction. So I want to say thank you for that. mjs

[farrelli]

I'm so glad that this s working out for you. You were clearly heartbroken. Are you guys cuddling again?

[Pennyorf]

I'm so glad that this s working out for you. You were clearly heartbroken. Are you guys cuddling again?

Yes, we are cuddling at least twice a day. What a dramatic change. I am still unable to let her run free because the boy's cage is still in the room and I don't trust that they will not fight through the bars but I have her back and it feels so great.

[Monipenny]

I am so happy you have your sweet cuddle bumbkin back.

[MJS]

I am so happy you have your sweet cuddle bumbkin back.

NOT EXACTLY HOW I WOULD HAVE SAID IT, BUT ME TOO!!!

[Curliesmom]

I love threads like these. I have two house squirrels. My female is 6 1/2 years old now. Her name is Curlie. I've had her since she was 5 weeks old. My husband found her. Her mom had been killed. He brought her home. She was my first squirrel ever so I researched before I even tried to feed her. She doesn't jump climb or bite wires. She lays with us before bedtime and cuddles us when she's awake. She rides on our shoulders outside without wanting down.she was out one time by herself and only went down the sidewalk into a friends house. He kept her til we got home. Our landlord had thought she was wild and evicted her LOL. The landlord knows now she's ours and isn't going Anywhere. Strangely she's never been in heat. I think we are lucky in that.
Now my boy is Newt. He's a trip LOL. We weren't planning to keep him. He just never grew to more than a pound. He's smaller than curlie and she's small. He doesn't jump either. He's 1 1/2 years old. He loves me a lot. I walk through the house and he holds onto my feet its so funny but can be tedious. They are lose in the house. I never had the heart to cage them. I'm home all the time so they aren't unsupervised. We have squirrel proofed the house. Its a small house so they don't get somewhere they shouldn't. They've never went wild on me. I've released several thigh that did. Each squirrel is different. Different personalities. Different moods. Its amazing how they are.

[Pennyorf]

I am so happy you have your sweet cuddle bumbkin back.

Oh Thank you. You just don't know how awesome it feels. Or maybe you do.! Cuddle bumbkin! I like it! Or cuddle bug! I have about 25 nicknames that I call her.

[Pennyorf]

I love threads like these. I have two house squirrels. My female is 6 1/2 years old now. Her name is Curlie. I've had her since she was 5 weeks old. My husband found her. Her mom had been killed. He brought her home. She was my first squirrel ever so I researched before I even tried to feed her. She doesn't jump climb or bite wires. She lays with us before bedtime and cuddles us when she's awake. She rides on our shoulders outside without wanting down.she was out one time by herself and only went down the sidewalk into a friends house. He kept her til we got home. Our landlord had thought she was wild and evicted her LOL. The landlord knows now she's ours and isn't going Anywhere. Strangely she's never been in heat. I think we are lucky in that.
Now my boy is Newt. He's a trip LOL. We weren't planning to keep him. He just never grew to more than a pound. He's smaller than curlie and she's small. He doesn't jump either. He's 1 1/2 years old. He loves me a lot. I walk through the house and he holds onto my feet its so funny but can be tedious. They are lose in the house. I never had the heart to cage them. I'm home all the time so they aren't unsupervised. We have squirrel proofed the house. Its a small house so they don't get somewhere they shouldn't. They've never went wild on me. I've released several thigh that did. Each squirrel is different. Different personalities. Different moods. Its amazing how they are.

What a sweet story. I wish I didn't have to go through mating season but I am soooo pleased that I now know that they can come out of it and regain their previous demeanor. I am so glad I didn't give up on her. She owns my heart.

And you are right. Squirrels of the same species (eastern greys) can be so different. The boy likes veggies, the girl likes fruit. Avocado is the boys favorite food (which is technically a fruit but it is green) while she will not touch an avocado. She likes strawberry's but he will not touch a strawberry. He loves celery, she will not touch celery. He likes mushrooms and broccoli leaves and she likes blueberries and sweet potato.

He gets his calcium from mushrooms and broccoli and HHB'S, she gets her calcium from HHB'S and laps up almond milk mixed with coconut milk which she loves and which he won't touch.

Because nuts in the shell make them aggressive I recently started grinding up nuts, pecans, acorns, walnuts, in my food processor and mixing it with almond milk which is high in calcium because it has been fortified, and then baking little balls of it in the oven.

They both like this recipe and it is a way of giving them calcium and a treat at the same time. (acorns have calcium too and is a natural food for eastern grey's -at least in Florida it is)

Acorns are pretty much out of season here in SWFL, I have been going out of my to hunt down the remaining good ones, but I found a site that sells acorns for squirrel food and other purposes. I haven't used them yet but I am getting ready to. I will let everyone know how it goes. The site is Acorno.com I think.

I don't think that I will ever offer a nut in it's shell again to my squirrels. They just stash them and became aggressive while protecting them. HHB'S have nut particals in them and my squirrels never get aggressive over HHB'S.

Anyway, thanks for caring.

[Pennyorf]

New update.

I brought baby girl fully out of her cage today and allowed her to run around on the patio with me and my husband. She acted just as she used to do. She sat in my lap for awhile, visited every potted plant, hung out on my shoulder for a bit, ran around, played, then would come and sit on my lap wanting her petting.

She ran across my husbands lap and made no attempt to bite him. She has always liked him until mating season but she stopped liking me during her season too. I think that she will soon start to allow him to pet her too.

All of her aggression seems to be gone or almost all the way gone.

We are so blessed.

[mgodsey]

What a sweet story. I wish I didn't have to go through mating season but I am soooo pleased that I now know that they can come out of it and regain their previous demeanor. I am so glad I didn't give up on her. She owns my heart.

And you are right. Squirrels of the same species (eastern greys) can be so different. The boy likes veggies, the girl likes fruit. Avocado is the boys favorite food (which is technically a fruit but it is green) while she will not touch an avocado. She likes strawberry's but he will not touch a strawberry. He loves celery, she will not touch celery. He likes mushrooms and broccoli leaves and she likes blueberries and sweet potato.

He gets his calcium from mushrooms and broccoli and HHB'S, she gets her calcium from HHB'S and laps up almond milk mixed with coconut milk which she loves and which he won't touch.

Because nuts in the shell make them aggressive I recently started grinding up nuts, pecans, acorns, walnuts, in my food processor and mixing it with almond milk which is high in calcium because it has been fortified, and then baking little balls of it in the oven.

They both like this recipe and it is a way of giving them calcium and a treat at the same time. (acorns have calcium too and is a natural food for eastern grey's -at least in Florida it is)

Acorns are pretty much out of season here in SWFL, I have been going out of my to hunt down the remaining good ones, but I found a site that sells acorns for squirrel food and other purposes. I haven't used them yet but I am getting ready to. I will let everyone know how it goes. The site is Acorno.com I think.

I don't think that I will ever offer a nut in it's shell again to my squirrels. They just stash them and became aggressive while protecting them. HHB'S have nut particals in them and my squirrels never get aggressive over HHB'S.

Anyway, thanks for caring.

Thank you so much for sharing your story. We have a Hurricane Irma rescue (female). We released her in January and she's been the sweetest...comes to me every day. She is about to turn 1, though, and we noticed her being a bit more aggressive and she has a smell. We will wait patiently for our sweet baby girl to return in a couple of weeks.

[Skippy12]

Mister P is a 3.5 year old male eastern gray squirrel, who has been with me since he was 4 weeks old. He was raised as a singleton. My original plan was to release him, since he has no physical issues, but it was a trigger I was never able to pull. Every crushed and broken body I saw on the road; every juvenile psychopath I saw in the woods behind my house using them as moving target practice, and every cat, fox, and coyote I saw sealed his fate as a house squirrel.

P now lives upstairs in my guest room, in an enormous enclosure that encompasses a fair amount of the room. It is his third cage, all of them enormous, all home built since nothing like that is available commercially. I have pretty much adapted my life to his to every degree I am able while continuing to earn a living. He gets to come out for about a half hour every morning – my bedroom is his play area, and since he is a chewer (“Oooooh, and electrical cord – YUM!!”) his out time is 100% supervised. At lunch I spend 25 minutes driving so I can spend 25 minutes playing with him and get back to work on time. And in the evening when I get home the first thing I do is get him out for his longest playtime of several hours. He gets treats in there, I hide nuts for him to find, I get down on the floor and wrestle with him, we sit and look out the windows at the woods, and he spends about half of his out time on his back in my lap getting lovins’. He is a wonderful, sweet, challenging little guy and I love him more than I would have been able to fathom.

It took a while to get him to the point where he wanted to be a lap squirrel even part time, though. He tore my face up so badly when he was an adolescent that I actually made myself a face mask to wear out of a metal strainer! He wasn’t nasty, just so wired and full of hormones and there was a six month period from his initial “adulthood” point where I seriously questioned what I had done. But he calmed down considerably after that, and now that he is a big boy, he is mostly a pretty loving little guy.

I do not bring him outside, but his windows are open during the summer and the girl squirrels know he is in there, and will lay on the branches of the big oak outside his window shrieking for him during mating season. I play a radio in his room all day to help drown the outdoor noises but he has a nose and knows they are there. He becomes a bit more amped up during mating season, and that manifests itself in him trying to charge into my face. After many slashes and gashes, I have become an expert at deflecting these charges, and when he begins to do this he is immediately returned to his enclosure – sometimes just for a few minutes – and then gets to come out again. If he gets chargy again, he goes back to his cage again. I think being 100% consistent is very important – they are very smart and quickly learn that being bad will earn them a time out as long as YOU are consistent about doing it. And the most important thing I can think of is hard to do – you cannot give up and just toss them in the cage and hope the bad behavior will pass. You need to wade in there – protect yourself with thick clothing, gloves, face protection – whatever – but don’t stop handling them. In fact you should handle them MORE when they get hormonal – make it fun, protect yourself, but DO IT.

Most people would think I am completely certifiable to have an animal that requires special clothes (my squirrel suit consists of three long sleeves t-shirts worn one on top of another, two pairs of sweat pants and some nylon gloves with suede palms) that I have to handle in such a way as not to get my face slashed, but it is the most rewarding thing I have ever done and the richest relationship I have ever had with any species including humans. When I get home from a job that I detest with a flaming passion and sit down on the bed with him cuddled up in my lap throw, hugging my fingers while I rub his ears and tummy, suddenly all is right in my world. I think maybe all the hard work involved makes it even sweeter.

I know this has been many years but I happened across this post a couple of days ago while trying to find so.e answers to the sudden crabby attitude of my 1 yr. Old male. I was captivated with the story of Mister P. I know that squirrels in captivity can live a long beautiful life and wondered if this glorious boy was still with us, i pray he is.

[HRT4SQRLS]

I know this has been many years but I happened across this post a couple of days ago while trying to find so.e answers to the sudden crabby attitude of my 1 yr. Old male. I was captivated with the story of Mister P. I know that squirrels in captivity can live a long beautiful life and wondered if this glorious boy was still with us, i pray he is.

Well, YES he is! Here is his official thread.
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...fficial-Thread

He just celebrated his 9th birthday in July. I'm sure his mom will be happy that you are fascinated with her boy.
He is super spoiled but don't tell her I said that.

Maybe she will see this and comment.