Our little red has turned killer.

[Wally]

Hi folks. I rescued a red squirrel in the spring of 2018 and raised him on puppy formula. A week or so after he opened his eyes he turned his nose up at the formula and I switched him to soft foods and on to solids after that. I was going to release him but he lost a large patch of fur and I wanted to make sure it grew in before I released him. Well it took longer than I thought and by the time it grew in my wife and I were in love. He was a bundle of joy. We would take him out every night and play for an hour. He loved to jump on us and use us like we were tree's. He would even groom around my ears and neck, lick and wrestle, play hide and seek etc.
So now he's about a year and a half old and about a month ago (end of October) he started to get aggressive toward my wife and started biting hard enough to draw blood. After a few nights of that she decided not to come into the room to play with him anymore so I took him in by myself and he was fine. Then we noticed about two weeks ago that he was getting very vocal and started jumping at us when we came near his cage and even peeing on us. We normally clean his cage every night and so last week even though he was getting so crazy I decided I would take him into the bedroom to play while my wife cleaned his cage. Well as soon as I opened the door and offered him my hand, like I always have, he tore out of his cage like a bullet and started ripping my hands apart!!! I finally got hold of him and took him in the room where he calmed down quite a bit and even played a little ( after sopping up my blood with half a dozen tissues, one bite even went down the bone in my thumb). It all seems to be centred around his food but I'm at a loss as to what I should do.
The reason I've given such a long history is because I'm hoping someone might see a silver lining in this cloud. Have we lost our buddy or is there still hope?
Thanks for any help, Wally.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Aww, that’s a sad story Wally. Unfortunately it’s a common one. The first thing I would recommend is to remove ALL nuts that he has stashed in his cage and around the room. Actually I would discontinue all nuts until this resolves. They can be little monsters when a nut is in the equation. If they have nuts stashed they will viciously defend them. That’s where I would start.

Also, make sure that you don’t have any new scents on you like lotion or that ‘fresh showered’ smell. They react strongly if you don’t smell right to them.

Sometimes they will pick a ‘special’ person as their person and be aggressive with everyone else. It’s one of the reasons we discourage people from keeping pet squirrels. That precious baby that was so adorable isn’t so precious when they viciously attack. It’s equally a problem when they adore their ‘mom’ and hate the spouse or kids.

Hopefully by removing stashes this will pass and your sweet baby will return but there are no guarantees. Some squirrels ‘wild up’ and are driven by instincts. Those wild instincts will alienate them from the hands that nurtured them as a baby and fed them as adolescents.

If this continues you might have to discontinue out of cage time. You have to protect yourself. In that case I would start preparing my heart and mind for a spring release.

[RockyPops]

Don't know if it pertains here but grays start reaching sexual maturity at around a year old. Reds may be similar.

Hormone time!

Would love to see pictures of your baby.

And does he have a name?

[gunpackingrandma]

I totally understand your pain. My husband and I went thru virtually the same thing a few years ago. We are retired and do small animal rescue therefore did equal time raising of Ben. Due to circumstances we deemed him unreleaseable. All was perfect. Ben was out of his large cage twice a day for minimum of two hours each time. Then one day everything changed. I opened the cage and Ben flew out in a rage and attacked my husband's hands. We first attributed the attack on my husband being the only one giving Ben treats, ie nuts. Next day we tryed again, same results. We knew the day would come when Ben would chose his person or wild up.

For the next several months I was the only one to physically handle Ben. I opened the cage door, never extending my hand out. Why offer the temptation of getting attacked? I sat on a stool and watched Ben, trying not to make direct eye contact. If we did make eye contact, at minimum he would scream at me. His chatter was so harsh I thought he would chip his teeth! If Ben decided attacking was his intention I made every effort to safely put him back in his cage. I always gave Ben two chances to get out of his cage per playtime, allowing a fifteen minute cool off time between episodes. You need to protect yourself by covering all exposed skin and wear safety glasses.

There were plenty of days when Ben didn't get much out of cage time. That's where a good exercise wheel comes in. My personal belief is Red Squirrels demand a wheel. A good one is pricey but so worth the cost and reward. Ben has two in his cage plus I have a backup incase one breaks. I always kid about attaching a pedometer on Ben. I swear he must run five miles a day!

While we were dealing with Ben's adolescence my husband continued to give him treats and talk sweet. While my husband stopped going in the room for playtime he did keep Ben's cage near his chair in the livingroom and three feet from his bed. I should mention Ben's rolling cage is two Double Critter Nation cages attached together. We use this cage for mobile use as it's built well and rolls good. We found Ben wants and needs to be with the family so we move his cage everyday to be in the same room with us.

I'm sorry this is happening to you and your wife. It took some time but Ben is finally the best, well mannered little red you've ever seen. I don't know what your outcome will be but I truly hope everything turns out for the best.

I do need to be responsible and tell you not all Squirrels will adapt to living indoors. Mo matter what you do and how much you love them their need to be wild is stronger.

Please purchase a good exercise wheel if you currently don't have one and continue to work with your red thru the winter. Come Spring you will know what is best for your family and your red.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Excellent post gunpackingrandma There is no better advice than from someone that has walked in your shoes.

[Wally]

Thank you for your reply gunpackinggrandma. A ray of hope for our journey. How long did Ben stay nasty? It's been about 6 weeks for Twitch. We're going to start feeding him mostly rodent block and remove his stash. He keeps it in a wooden box I screwed to the side of his cage which, by the way, makes me think of something quite funny. He built his nest in a large tube we put on the floor of his cage last winter, but a week after he went on his first rage he took a bunch of his nesting up to his stash box. Now he sleeps with his food to make sure we can't get at it, haha. It's quite cute to hear him chattering at us from under his nesting while occasionally raising his head up to take a peek. It's hard to believe that a beautiful little creature like that can do so much damage to a human hand huh?! Anyway, thanks again for all the info. Hope to hear from you soon gunpackinggrandma,
Wally

[JLM27]

Reds in the wild are loners. Have ALL their eggs in one basket and protect that basket to the death. Just walk by one in the woods and you will get cussed right on through the gates of hell.

Grays live in clans and scatter bury their treasures. They do NOT put all their nuts in one basket. (Even so they are possessive of a stash).

I think great care would need to be taken in keeping any food out of the cage. Maybe Nancy in New York can offer a suggestion for how she managed Jeffrey?

[gunpackingrandma]

Hi Wally,

So happy my experiences may help with your journey. Hopefully you and your red will adapt faster than Ben and I did.

Please get your red a hanging condo/cube to make his home asap. By nature reds and most squirrels sleep high in the trees for protection. While I don't believe it's his only issue with his attitude it will definitely make him feel safer. Look for one with a front door and a slit in the back for escape. There are a number of people who make these. Henry's Healthy Pets sells one and I believe there are some on the board who make them as well. Also, Etsy.com is a great resource.
I cut fleece strips about 2" wide for bedding material. I stuff half in the house and lay half on the bars for Ben to put in his house. Seems to work good. I check often for stashes but only monthly wash his house as he seems to keep it really clean. As a side note. Everything is washed in free and clear detergent and no dryer sheets as Squirrels are super sensitive to smells.

Under any circumstances DO NOT allow your red to have a stash!!! ESPECIALLY NUTS!!! Ben was a chain saw with a cute fuzzy tail! And they're creative on hiding. While I checked for stashes everyday I continued to get attacked. Come to find out Ben had chewed a very small hole in the ceiling of his fleece tube and stuffed some nuts between the layers. I always patted down the bottom but never gave a thought about checking the top! I was under the old saying "What goes up must come down". Not true with Squirrels! Talking about nuts, watch what kind and how many you give per day. Ben was most aggressive with Nuts. He would try and RIP your fingers off thru the bars to get one. During this time we stopped giving plain nuts and offered a small piece of Heny's peanut sticks. Much healthier and stimulated Ben's need for nuts. A few days after all stashes are removed you should see improvement in your red's attitude.

We also found Ben gets bored easily so every week I change toys in his cage. Having a toy rotation is simple and inexpensive if you visit your local thrift stores. Don't forget to get a good wheel, super important! Ben absolutely loves stuffed animals smaller than him. He was intimidated by one his size so I turned it into a dog toy.

A simple and cool toy for your red is taking a two liter empty soda bottle and cutting a hole towards the top, large enough for your red to easily get in and out. Take a lighter and gently sear the edge of the hole to smooth out the rough edges. Tie rope or fleece around the neck and attach to the top of the cage. Ben plays with his everyday and it's been in his cage over two years! I used fleece to attach to the cage top and he has never chewed the fleece although I do a safety check regularly.

We would all love to see pictures of your red!!! Please ask all questions you have. It's so helpful to learn from others who have experienced the same issues. Nancy in New York was a life saver for me as well as a number of other people who offered their knowledge and experience to me.