Sudden Chewing Destruction Mode !!

[Coffeeculturegvl]

Hello hello, everyone!
Nugget, my broken arm/Neuro hand impaired boy has been fine for MONTHS running about my room with his brother Grayson.
Maybe two weeks ago he began chewing and destroying and STEALING just about anything.
*O2 monitor-in pieces.
*Corners of all furniture- ragged.
****CORDS!!! Slices in half like a blade, still plugged in! He just killed our BluRay player cord AND the on/off button.)
(WHAT do people use to wrap CORDS? We have ONE phone charger left.)
*Books
*Favorite are my natural tears if I'm bad and leave a bottle accessible.
*Anything plastic EXCEPT what I've purposefully given him to chew.
*The flat plastic shelves in his Critter Nation and the floor pan. Systematic, with maybe half of them left (Replacements online??)
Etc. Etc. Etc.

He has a huge oak limb in the cage, plus antler and a cuttle bone. He ignores them all.
He has a stash of stolen property under a dresser including a fairly large hollow metal Buddha and 3" long crystal points! He's tried to steal 4oz jars of ointment even.
He's like a crow with shiny things except nothing seems to be off limits except fabrics.

He's out of the cage 4+ hours a day but require a a human presence now. Even THAT doesn't ensure no damage.

He'll sneak up behind me sometimes and steal the pen or pencil I'm actively using and race off with it. I know that's a grand game but the rest of it almost feels malicious or his body in need of a trace mineral(?) he's not getting.
Unfortunately, they don't get DIRECT sun but have a 10' long windowsill to run on that gets quite a bit of ambient light.
He happens to be molting. Could the behavior be associated?
I hate to keep him in the cage, but he is UNMANAGEABLE. I don't have another room available and haven't built a 2nd enclosure on the porch due to space issues. (6 hurricane rehabs currently occupy the big enclosure.)

Sadly, I can tell he wants to be free. The nerve damage to his hand from being in a restrictive splint on his last splint change (asshole vet wouldn't listen to me when I told the staff it was the 1st time he tried to chew one off! Hard to accept that man is likely the only future ZooMed vet available in the future. Oh, I'm mad at him!)
My local Wildlife Rehabber says if he can run, land accurately and climb, he's releasable. But when he climbs, he still often loses his grip and I cant tell if its bad enough to make him u nreleasable!
He LOVES to play, but ONLY if Grayson starts first. He won't play with me alone.

That said, I can't help but winder if he senses he's ready and is making sure I'm aware. It's Florida, but winter, and even if I release him I'm concerned about adequate foliage and food in addition to the hawks and evil neighbor.


I just don't know what to do. He's not very sociable with me. He likes me well enough, I suppose, but holding or even petting just isn't allowed. Only exception are cuddles ONLY when he's super sleepy in his sleep sack and then he LOVES them.

He doesn't pace, but he's been staring out the window a lot, obviously agitated and making that brrrrrrrdffft noise. He winds up Grayson when he does that and Grayson ends up running endless circuits around the room.

[SophieSquirrel]

****CORDS!!! Slices in half like a blade, still plugged in! He just killed our BluRay player cord AND the on/off button.)

He's out of the cage 4+ hours a day but require a a human presence now.

It's Florida, but winter, and even if I release him I'm concerned about adequate foliage and food in addition to the hawks and evil neighbor.


But when he climbs, he still often loses his grip and I cant tell if its bad enough to make him u nreleasable!

IMHO Squirrels should always be supervised when out unless the room is totally escape proof and chew proof. Electrical cords can cause instant death or a horribly burned mouth.

If he loses his grip at the top of a tree he will fall and that could be his demise. Not sure if you are aware but when squirrels climb there is a point when all four feet are airborne and if only one front hand is working properly he can loose grip at the top of the tree. Also his bone at the site of the break is weak and if he falls on it the joint could break again.

What vet did you use - the UF Vet Clinic? I use Molly Pearson in Micanopy and Dr. Alesia Emerson (Ravenwood) in Port Orange for serious issues. Dr Emerson may be able to help.

I have seen a squirrel dangling from a hawk's talons in Clermont. It's one of the many risks of being a wild squirrel....

[Coffeeculturegvl]

Yeah... that's what I'm worried about. The tops of a tree are precarious at best.
I've taken both boys to UF. My exotic vet can handle smaller issues.
I do need to at least introduce myself to Dr. Emerson and Pearson. I hadn't heard of Molly Pearson before
Always good to have options.

[Mel1959]

I think it would be worth it to contact Dr. Emerson and have her assess him. I know nothing about Dr. Pearson, but she may be a viable option, too. I know Dr. E will be honest and forthright about what she thinks is best.

[CritterMom]

How old is he? Adolescent boy squirrels - I cannot speak for the girls since I have not had one - are just the biggest adorable little jerks in the world. My little mini squirrel, Zeke, is nicknamed "The Kraken" because while he gave every physical indication of being a cute little mini squirrel, his behavior made it clear that he was actually a kraken. The bathrobe I wore to raise him looks like a play toy from the tiger pit, and I had to make a "helmet" out of wire mesh sort of like a beekeepers helmet (The Head Cage) just to keep the skin on my face, well, on my face. The sheer quantity of pure, distilled BAD produced by this little man was hard to fathom.

But he has mostly grown out of it. I don't wear the head cage anymore. He is a pretty good boy when he is out, though I keep a close eye on him. If your guy has to remain a house squirrel, just work and play with him as much as you can so he loves you and know that he WILL chill out. Some. I think puberty hits these little guys like a freight train and it takes some time for the hormones to settle down a bit.

Cords need to be enclosed in something he can't chew through. PVC pipe will do it if looks don't matter. There is something called "raceway" in the electrical department of your big box store which can enclose them and attach them to the wall. The entire cord needs to be covered - the place where the cord meets the plug is very popular for chewing.

[SophieSquirrel]

I think it would be worth it to contact Dr. Emerson and have her assess him. I know nothing about Dr. Pearson, but she may be a viable option, too. I know Dr. E will be honest and forthright about what she thinks is best.

Dr Emerson would be the top choice if the Squirrel can be brought to Port Orange. Dr. Pearson is more of a general vet that is good for SMZ/TMP prescriptions etc but does have general squirrel experience. Dr. Emerson has a portable X-Ray unit that affords unbelievable digital detail of spines, squirrel hands etc.

[Coffeeculturegvl]

Port Orange is only 2 hours away. Coincidentally, I'm going down there for a week this Saturday, but I can't bring the boys to my Mom's beach condo (:out:
I could maybe ferry him back and forth sometime during the week so he could be assessed before all the holiday craziness.

Nugget and Grayson are both about 16 months old. They were hurricane orphans from 2016, with about 2 weeks age difference. Is that still considered adolescent? LOL