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Thread: Dealing with fear/apprehensiveness after being randomly bit

  1. #1
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    Default Dealing with fear/apprehensiveness after being randomly bit

    Hi,

    My girl is about 9-10 months old. Most of the time, she's a cuddly, playful sweetheart. Occasionally, on seemingly random days, she's in a super crazy mood with an aggressive attitude towards me. The other day was an example of this. She kind of lunged for my hand and bit me in an aggressive way. It wasn't hard enough to break the skin or draw blood, but it was hard enough for me to know it wasn't a playful bite. For the rest of the night, I just let her do her thing and didn't play with her, fearing the next time it would be worse. Today is the next day, and she seems completely different. What gives?

    She doesn't have a nut stash, I don't wear perfumes or anything different-smelling.

    Having been reading other posts, this kind of random bi-polar behavior seems typical for many people here who are caring for domestic squirrels.

    I have two questions related to this topic:
    1. I am fearing that someday she will REALLY bite me, and cause like, a trip to the ER. Has anyone NOT been severely bitten by a squirrel they were watching long term, or is a deep stitch-causing bite just the inevitable? Just wondering if I need to prepare myself for this. If she just bites me aggressively but doesn't break skin like she did the other day, I feel like I don't really need to be afraid.
    2. For those of you who have been on the receiving end of an aggressive squirrel attack by your baby, how did you build up trust again? I am just so scared of another "random" aggressive attack that I completely stopped playing with her (I usually play pretty roughly and with bare hands- but today - I've been letting her do her thing and keeping my distance - fearing another random bite).

    Also before anyone asks - she has a good diet.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Dealing with fear/apprehensiveness after being randomly bit

    What you describe is the reason why we don’t recommend squirrels as a pet. She is maturing and may be entering her first estrus cycle. This cycle can last a couple of weeks and she can be very unpredictable during this time. Squirrels can also become aggressive when they want to go out and live in the trees. They’re hard wired to live in the trees and be wild.

    I completely understand your hesitation to interact with her right now. I’ve been where you are and had a female that was in the house for an extended period of time due to an injury. She started randomly attacking me and I never did overcome my fear of her. Luckily she was healed enough that she could go to the release cage in preparation for a soft release.

    Squirrel bites hurt….there’s no getting around it! With that said, I’ve never required stitches from one, but I”m sure it’s possible. Not interacting with them on a regular basis does encourage the “wilding up” process, which is what’s accomplished by doing a soft release.

  3. Serious fuzzy thank you's to Mel1959 from:

    island rehabber (02-05-2022)

  4. #3
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    Default Re: Dealing with fear/apprehensiveness after being randomly bit

    Quote Originally Posted by Mel1959 View Post
    What you describe is the reason why we don’t recommend squirrels as a pet. She is maturing and may be entering her first estrus cycle. This cycle can last a couple of weeks and she can be very unpredictable during this time. Squirrels can also become aggressive when they want to go out and live in the trees. They’re hard wired to live in the trees and be wild.

    I completely understand your hesitation to interact with her right now. I’ve been where you are and had a female that was in the house for an extended period of time due to an injury. She started randomly attacking me and I never did overcome my fear of her. Luckily she was healed enough that she could go to the release cage in preparation for a soft release.

    Squirrel bites hurt….there’s no getting around it! With that said, I’ve never required stitches from one, but I”m sure it’s possible. Not interacting with them on a regular basis does encourage the “wilding up” process, which is what’s accomplished by doing a soft release.
    Thanks Mel for your response! Of course I understand that she's hard wired to live in a tree and not in my house, and I fully understand that she's a wild animal and everything she's doing is perfect and normal for a squirrel. She's eventually being released, just not right now.

  5. #4
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    Default Re: Dealing with fear/apprehensiveness after being randomly bit

    Quote Originally Posted by kookoo_forbonbon View Post
    Thanks Mel for your response! Of course I understand that she's hard wired to live in a tree and not in my house, and I fully understand that she's a wild animal and everything she's doing is perfect and normal for a squirrel. She's eventually being released, just not right now.
    That’s good to know. You didn’t explain that in your initial post so I assumed you were keeping her.

    From what I understand if this behavior is a result of maturing and an estrus cycle then things will improve as the cycle passes. In the meantime I think you’re smart to give her space when she shows aggressive behavior. You might continue to make your presence known but on her terms and at a distance and see how she behaves.

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    Default Re: Dealing with fear/apprehensiveness after being randomly bit

    Make sure your tetanus shot is up to date.

    Tetanus germs are everywhere, not just on rusty nails or in animals mouths. They are anaerobic and therefore thrive in the airless interior of puncture wounds. Like rabies, there IS NO CURE. The only protection is a vaccination. Otherwise it is fatal, and it doesn't play favorites. The man who built the Brooklyn Bridge died of tetanus after his foot was crushed at the work site by an unsecured barge. Nothing to fool around with for squirrel peeps, because squirrel bites ARE PUNCTURE WOUNDS LIABLE TO TETANUS.
    We live in a heaven created by our virtues --- Muktananda

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