Hi and need advice

[squirrel deep]

New to the board and not sure where to find the answer to my problem. How can I train my squirrel to bite gently?

I have an NR grey that is two and a half years old. She is bonded to my wife more than me. We also have two dogs she tolerates for the most part nut she will Hrrr and bite the dogs if they get too close or wag their tails. She is blind in one eye so maybe that is why she doesn't like fast movement.

Anyway she sleeps out of her cage and used to sleep in the bed cuddling my wife and let my wife hold her and put a leash on for walks. We went on vacation for 6 days over Christmas and left her in her cage for my Dad to feed. She doesn't like him and hrrrs him too.

When we returned my wife reached in her cage to grab her like always and she went into a rage and clamped down. For a few days she kept attacking both of us like this and is nervous to walk around the floor. My wife took away her stash of nuts and that helped a lot. We are scared to give her nuts in the shell because she will attack our hands for it.

So now she has no nuts and is back to healthy blocks and veggies but she still attacks my wife when she goes to pick her up or reach in her bed or in her cage. She will accept pets but we want to know if there is a way to train her to not attack us and my wife is heartbroken and wants to be able to hold her again to put the leash on for walks.

Also we had a kitten we rescued but found a home for it a few days ago and there are cats living under our house that she can probably smell.

Any ideas?

[lukaslolamaus]

It may be a seasonal thing, when they get hormonal they can act like jerks.
I have a NR boy and he is a love bug who goes through mean streak phases and then gets over them.
Just be patient and if there is aggression always stay positive and gentle. Most NRs that go through phases like that will calm down.
In the meantime think about any type of changes like lotions, soap or laundry detergents. Some squirrels absolutely hate changes when it comes to scents.
I hope this helps a little.
There is a good chance that she will calm back down in a bit and be her sweet self again. In the meantime I would hold of on reaching into her personal spaces, my boy sometimes gets mad when I reach into his bed and startle him (he is a deep sleeper and has major nut aggression, he rarely gets a nut in the shell).

[squirrel deep]

It may be a seasonal thing, when they get hormonal they can act like jerks.
I have a NR boy and he is a love bug who goes through mean streak phases and then gets over them.
Just be patient and if there is aggression always stay positive and gentle. Most NRs that go through phases like that will calm down.
In the meantime think about any type of changes like lotions, soap or laundry detergents. Some squirrels absolutely hate changes when it comes to scents.
I hope this helps a little.
There is a good chance that she will calm back down in a bit and be her sweet self again. In the meantime I would hold of on reaching into her personal spaces, my boy sometimes gets mad when I reach into his bed and startle him (he is a deep sleeper and has major nut aggression, he rarely gets a nut in the shell).

Thank you. I am relieved to hear others go through this. I think you are correct about the hormones because she doesn't like but scratches right now but likes head and chin pets. Hopefully this mood will pass soon and we will mind her space.