"I hope everyone got or gets their Baby Love today"~Shewhosweptforest
https://www.henryspets.com/1-baby-squirrel-care-guide/
Buddy (12-05-2020)
See my wild squirrel adventures in the thread "Squirtle's yard!":
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...quirtle-s-Yard!
Loving dad to Sir Max, 2017-2018. There is no foot so small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world.
"Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right."
-Grateful Dead
Buddy (12-05-2020)
Yeah I am officially losing my mind guys- Its non stop pacing all day- at this point I have to get up from my desk every few minutes to try and calm him down- just running around for hours in a loop none stop- nothing is of any interest to him (branches, toys, the window) I mean I am losing my mind and in so much stress at this point if I lived in a hour I would have a cage and keep him in it most of the day so I can do my work and not be so stressed and mad
He is 6 going on 7 so you would think he would calm by now, nope!! His diet has always been on point and he is a healthy boy, but this has crossed all limits for me.
Do you think he'd be calmer if he was neutered ?
Animals are magical....Thank you everyone who tries to help them, save them tirelessly...
I dont know I am so sad, so annoyed, so upset so everything- I promise you I get headaches daily from this and I dont know what to do- He is almost 7 now so I cannot take a risk and try to release him only to have him end up dying b.c he cant fend for himself from being this tamed but I really need a resolve for this
I think you have two choices. 1. You check with a competent vet about neutering him and ask honestly if it will help. I know my vet says neutering curbs aggression, but I don’t know whether it will change the longing to be free. And 2. You put him in a release cage outside for the duration of winter, with a heated nest box if necessary, and evaluate him for release in the spring. There is no magic bullet here to get him to stop pacing and wanting to be free unless it can be controlled by medical intervention.
You might may a call to Dr. Alicia Emerson’s office and ask her opinion about medical intervention as well as the probability of survival for him once released. Dr. e knows more about squirrels than most vets I know of. I know there have been squirrels that were successfully released at an age over 5 after spending a significant amount of time in a release cage in preparation.
Is this the first year of the 6 years you’ve had him that he is exhibiting this behavior?
Hi Mel, no he has ups and downs, some years more than others, last year it was a breeze, this year its been insane, do you believe this behavior is him wanting to be free?
I live in an apartment I have no way of testing your theory out.
Could you provide me contact information for the dr and i will call
Dr. Alicia Emerson, Ravenwood Vet Clinic, 386-788-1550.
RamiS (12-11-2020)
You mentioned that he doesn't like to be in his cage. Did you try squirrel proofing (as much as possible) a room, or even your bathroom and keep him there? He might be less fussy about locked in a room than locked in the cage and it could give you the time to focus on your work or whatever else you need to get it done? You can still take him out periodically but I think and hope that he is more accepting to be locked in a room than a cage (if that's a possibility at all).
PS: If you try the bathroom, you might want to add some pillows or something for him to hangout/rest on. Maybe some of his stuff from his cage...
Animals are magical....Thank you everyone who tries to help them, save them tirelessly...
Its a very small space, and I just need to know if this is a heat season thing, or does he want to be free- I have another post from June 2020 that he was doing the same thing as he is now, and was told by a few senior people that its not a good idea at all to release at this age and I should not consider it, all I want to know is does he want out and what are my options from someone who has this experience as I am sure I am not the only one
I have reached out to a seasoned rehabber I know to discuss your situation with her. I probably won’t hear anything from her till tonight, but when I do I’ll post it.
Buddy (12-11-2020)
I heard back from the rehabber. She thinks he is definitely too old to release. She personally has released a squirrel as old as 3 after having spent a long time in a release cage, but this squirrel was not friendly at all. Your boy is probably friendly, right?
If this is hormonal/seasonal then I would think neutering would definitely help. There is always a risk associated with surgery of any type, but neutering is minimally invasive as long as you have a trusted vet that is familiar with anesthesia.
I would reach out to Dr. E and see what she says. She is one of the best squirrel vets in the country. Folks have driven from as far away as California to have her treat their squirrel. She is located in northeast Florida and performed 100’s of surgeries on squirrels and prairie dogs.
If neutering was my only hope of changing the behavior and he can’t be released, I think I’d try it. Just my opinion.
In the meantime give him boxes to play in, tissues to shred and limbs to chew on in his cage....things to keep him entertained.
Buddy (12-11-2020), Chirps (12-14-2020), Diggie's Friend (12-18-2020), RamiS (12-11-2020)
Thank you Mel, I will try the boxes, I have just been careful with boxes during this time so I stayed away from brining one in and given it to him to make a nest
to be 100% honest, I think my ultimate resolve for this is to have a place with a backyard that I can build him an outdoor care he can spend time in during the day - Sadly that wont happen anytime soon
I still think that part of this is a negative feedback loop between you and Mr. Moby. The more stressed you are, the more stressed he becomes. They are extraordinarily emotionally sensitive.
If you get mad at Mr Moby you are only going to make it worse. That has been my experience. Always, if I was being honest with myself as I looked back on any given situation. You being mad at him makes him agitated. Now things have changed, rather than being his protector or provider you are a source of stress and potential threat. So Mr. Moby is very, very confused, in my opinion.
I don't think Mr. Moby will calm down until you find a way to destress, decompress on a regular basis.
I realize you are in a living situation where you have a limited number of options.
Note, I do find that as temperature drops in their environment, they become less active. So, maybe you can put him in a room where you can open a window, but first you would need to put in a hardware cloth screen so he can't chew out.
Rather than yelling at him, you might try soothing him verbally. Sometimes this can get them to reset out of a negative emotion.
Hi Rocky
Thank you for replying. Trust me, in 6 years i have tried everything with him, when the pacing starts, it just starts. Its not about stress 90% of the time its just what he does, let me give you an example, today i changed things around in my place, rugs, placements and such, went out got him a fresh branch, came back in and he gave zero care and started pacing in a loop again
Stress adds to some situations when i have to work i need the quite, and he gives me zero of that so i stress
Do you have a friend or family that has outdoor space?
Maybe you could build an outdoor release cage with a double entrance door and bring him there in his cage and let him spend much of the daytime in there, then come back and retrieve him later in the day. Your friend or family wouldn't have to do anything other than provide the place to put the cage. Sort of like daycare for squirrels.