Hello I'm new here

[Icemouse]

Thanks guys for all your kind words and you alls help!!! Hamy is a happy camper again...
The whole ordeal just got us closer. Every day Hamy comes up with new shenanigans the dude got humour.... for some reason the "trouble" we had (nut incident 2024) only got us closer.... it's great to see Hamy growing from a wee baby boy to a young adult.
He is really ok with his 2 nut ration a day. He sure loves the rodent blocks. And he did a stretch again. Hamy grew in length and he weighs 633g now. His fur is thick and shiny. And he's a lot more playful lately.... he's not that boisterous either.... and he's nosier than he ever was super cool.... I love my wee dude!!! A big gigantic Thank You to you all and to my hubby who had to put up with the shenanigans of Hamy and I

[Icemouse]

Hiya guys here we are again. I think Hamy is wilding up.
We stuck to the new diet. We made sure Hamy has no stashes anywhere. He's out of his cage 4 hours every day. Mostly playing and getting massaged and cuddled. He still loves it. BUT.... Hamy is limiting my hubbies movemnt when he's out. Hamy tries to bite my hubbies feet when hubby wants to leave the room. He chatters at my hubby when he gets near his cage.... and he jumped at my hubbies face as he entered the room as Hamy ate a bit of fruit.
With me Hamy is still lovely 99% of the time. The last 2 to 3 days I realised that Hamys behaviour towards me is changing. In certain situations he starts chattering at me when I try to tell him "no". He bit a cable in the kitchen, it wasn't plugged in thank goodness, but as I told him off he chattered at me. He refused to give up the cable. As I tried to take him off the board he was sitting on he simulated a bite.... he had never done that before. He also gets iffy when I pass him when he has his favorite veg like corn... Hamy has his food bowles inside his cage. He eats some inside and some food he takes out. He still sits on me to eat at times. I used to be able to stroke him while he's eating... 3 times now he was not fond of getting touched while eating. He didn't bite but his hole body stiffened up and I could see he didn't like it. But yesterday he seriously threatened me. Teeth chattering, wild tail flicking... the whole 9 yards... he did not bite but it wasn't far away from it. I had moved a bag with hazelnut flavored brioche rolls. It was double wrapped in freezer bags. Unfortunately Hamy must have gotten the scent of the hazelnut rolls on my hands. He got really upset... he never ever behaved like that before. Only after he smelled and checked my hands that I'm not hiding anything from him he became normal again.
It happened right before his bed time. Hamy is defo changing... he was never as close to my hubby as he is with me. But he never attacked my hubby like he just started. Hamy seriously jumped in his face and scratched him on the cheek. I can clearly see small changes in Hamys behaviour in every aspect. Don't get me wrong he still loves being massaged etc. Half the time he's out he plays with me or gets massaged/cuddled. I know it sounds a bit odd but I can feel the slight changes in Hamy every day a bit more. It's only small things in behaviour but I think he's wilding up.
Now Hamy is a singleton living indoors. Like I said before the forrest he's from had tremendous damage during the bad storms we had. Only about one third of it is still standing. But there are squirrels still living in the area. The forrest is privately owned. My friend said they still have greys in the trees there. They feed them during the harsh winter months. They saw a few of them and I found squirrel traces in their forrest and in their garden.
Now you all know that I love my Hamy to the max. Off course I'm worried for his safety when he's living on his own especially since he's a singleton. He was only about 4 to 5 weeks old as he came in to my life. He is now about 6 months old.... Hamy has no clue about squirrel etiquette or language... and I have no clue how to soft release him. And to make things even worse the forest he came from is about 10 mins drive from where he lives now. There is no close forrest or trees in my neighborhood.
To be honest I'm not sure if I'm hearing fleas cough (imagining things) or if Hamy is wilding up. But I know for sure that he is changing in his behaviour every day a little bit... here it's still cold with minus temperatures at night but that will change within 4 weeks.
Please help us! We have no clue how to master all of this. Building a cage is not a problem. I just don't know what it needs to look like... but my biggest problem is how to withdraw myself. Hamy will not be able to visit me once he's released.... believe me I thought of camping out with him if necessary. Don't get me wrong I'm heart broken and I will miss my baby but I knew from day one that Hamy might want to have his life in the trees and not in a house where he will never feel the wind and sun on his coat or interact with his own kind. Even a golden cage is still a cage.
Guys I really need you alls help. What cage is needed.... what food does he need then..... when do I stop the rodent blocks.... well to be honest I'm completely and utterly lost.... I just want to give Hamy the best chance of survival....and most important a happy life wherever he chooses to be.... I never thought it would be that hard for me to let him go but I'm not important in this matter....

[Charley Chuckles]

There you are I was just thinking of y'all yesterday 😁
Ok most squirrels are food aggressive I feed and leave because I don't enjoy being scratched or bit 😒
Also many squirrels turn out to be a one person squirrel and Hamy doesn't want to share you he's being an alpha squirrel 👍
Sometimes they all go through an aggressive season but usually come out of it. In the event he doesn't then yes I believe you may want to do a soft release. I have pics of release cage as many here can show as well.
It's too bad it has to be that far away but it can be done.
Since it's still too cold for him to be released my advice would be to keep things normal possibly give him time out of cage but not be there 100% of the time as long as he's in a safe squirrel environment. Let him miss you, want you to come in. See how that goes. I actually have a screen door my husband built for my squirrel room so I can see them and talk to them but keeps them from running the entire house. It's removable ( I'll get pics)

Squirrels are all so different but Hamy will eventually let you know what to do🐿️
It's good seeing you ☺️

[Icemouse]

Thank you so very much Charley Chuckles for your kind response.
I will defo try to make myself a bit rare around him.
Today Hamy was only out for 2 hours. He's already back in his cage.
It wasn't a good day for us I'm afraid. Hamy seriously got a hold of a bag of ground coffee. He sure sank his teeth in it. He never went for ground coffee... only for my coffee cup. Whatever I drink he wants to have a sip as well....but then he still washes himself with my camomile tea.... I was fast but I'm not sure how much he managed to eat of the coffee. Yeah and as I was busy throwing the coffee bag away he tried to steal dark baking chocolate. I managed to get it off him but he did have a small nibble of it before I managed to fight him off. Hamy was really peed off. It was almost as bad as the "nut incident" where we stopped feeding nuts. He was like a drug addict not getting his drug....
Hamy wouldn't allow me near the forbidden stuff today. He was threatening by scraming, tail throwing and running towards me. He jumped on me trying to bite my face as everything else was covered up... I managed to do a quick swirl which got him off me... he ran straight to his cage. He knew I would close the door as soon as he's in. He tried to avoid it but the 3 tiny nut bits were too tempting. I could easily close the door of his cage.
Usually Hamy is up till about 4pm. Today he's already in his bed 2 hours earlier.
I think he got a big fright as well. I have never raised my voice with him. I never had to force stuff off him. I always exchange forbidden stuff with a bit of fruit or veg....We always had a peaceful understanding with each other. But today was a day of hell for both of us.
Hamy just came out of his wee house. He's having a rodent block and some veg. He's behaving normal. I checked the bit of chocolate he had. Its only one small tooth mark on it. I don't think he got much off it. With the ground coffee I'm not sure how much he actually ate. His wee nose was covered in it as I took the ripped bag off him. Oh I so hope he'll be ok.
I used to breed dogs. When the puppies are about 8 month old they start puberty... that's when they kinda loose their mind... whatever was taught before they seem to have forgotten. They also try to set new rules where they think they can run the show. Hamys behaviour is very much like the puppies....
I still love my wee dude to the max. And I'm defo not angry with him. Hopefully tomorrow is a better day again

[Charley Chuckles]

Wow what a day you both had 😳
Here are the pics of my screen door I promised, not sure this would be an idea for you or not but it would allow him to free roam without getting into mischief 🤞

We drilled three holes in door frame to secure it sits firmly on floor so they can't get under. We used 1/2 inch hardware cloth. Hope it helps.

Ok I've tried 3 times to add pictures but it's not cooperating with me 🤷
I will try later👍

[Charley Chuckles]

FINALLY 😀

[TomahawkFlyers]

Nice door!

While I was glancing through the day's posts, the word "defo" jumped out at me. Icemouse? YES! Icemouse! So very good to hear from you again. You know, it is coming on springtime and love is in the air. I wonder if Hamy is behaving so because of the wildness that surrounds this season. If so, there are calm waters ahead and only intermittent and predictable storms. FWIW ...

Jamie

[Charley Chuckles]

My house will be 100 years old in 2 years 😁 we even have a basement, called a celler as you have to walk outside down the cement tiny stairs. It was built by Canadians 🤷 I always wondered about our high pitched roof...I thought heck we won't have snow 🙄 but it sure keeps it cool...we even have a fireplace ....I just hope I can maintain it though the years 😳 but I'm a tough old broad 😁
Ok just had to throw that in 🙃

[Icemouse]

My house will be 100 years old in 2 years 😁 we even have a basement, called a celler as you have to walk outside down the cement tiny stairs. It was built by Canadians 🤷 I always wondered about our high pitched roof...I thought heck we won't have snow 🙄 but it sure keeps it cool...we even have a fireplace ....I just hope I can maintain it though the years 😳 but I'm a tough old broad 😁
Ok just had to throw that in 🙃

Wow beautiful doors... really nicely build.... and the description of your house sounds great. A fire place in florida won't get used much I guess.... I wished we would have one... can get really cold here.... We live in an old granary. We have "glass doors". I mean heavy doors with framed glass. Keeping Hamy in one room is not a problem.... it's more the ideas wee Hamy comes up with... he sure keeps me on my toes...
I did try the femur bones. I cooked them for hours till no meat was left on it. I proudly presented the bones to Hamy. He was very careful approaching them... he took a wee sniff and ran for his life... so I tried a different approach. I covered half of the bone with a rag and just left it on the floor.... as soon as Hamy got near it he threatened the bone... big time.... he came running, jumped on me and hid himself in my jacket.... when Hamy gets a big fright or he gets tired he crawls in my jacket... he just peaks out at the zipper.... looks really cute... he actually walks around my waist and snuggles in... so far he's still not getting near the bones... I now use them to keep Hamy away from forbidden goods... I guess I'll need to stock up on those bones and place them at strategic places in the kitchen....
Hamy is actually really easy going... I can do all my housework with him. The only thing I can't do is cooking for obvious reasons....
Yeah and the vroom vroom works well. As soon as my hubby says it Hamy jumps on my shoulder. He just watches the commotion... Hamy just woke up. It's only 7.15am here... he's just like every other morning.... hopefully the stuff he stole yesterday didn't upset his wee belly.... so far he's having his rodent blocks...

[Icemouse]

Nice door!

While I was glancing through the day's posts, the word "defo" jumped out at me. Icemouse? YES! Icemouse! So very good to hear from you again. You know, it is coming on springtime and love is in the air. I wonder if Hamy is behaving so because of the wildness that surrounds this season. If so, there are calm waters ahead and only intermittent and predictable storms. FWIW ...

Jamie

Hiya Jamie thanks for your lovely post. I guess I can't hide where I'm texting from 😁 yeah hormones have a lot to do with Hamy "revolting"... and he seems to be a "one-person" squirrel... I just have to stand my grounds with my wee pal.... I started to tell Hamy off when he tries to go for my hubbies feet. As I started it I had to get up and stand next to my hubby for Hamy to stop when told.... after only a few times doing it it's enough now when I say "no" or "oy" in a certain tone of voice.... Hamy can be trained... but only when he sees a benefit for himself. I use either cuddles or pees as reward for good behaviour... I'll write more often again... I just didn't want to bore people with my stories about Hamys adventures. He sure is a cool dude. Looks like Hamy is house cleaning today... he just took all his ewe wool fleece out of his house.... spring cleaning seems to be the task of the day
Icemouse

[island rehabber]

I've been lurking and enjoying this thread from afar. I have not had a free ranging house squirrel in 20 years so I can't contribute much to your issues, but I sure enjoy your writing and stories of Hamy. Just remember this is one place where you can never bore anyone with tales of your squirrel. Yeah you can bore your friends, family and coworkers to death but not here on TSB!

[Charley Chuckles]

Yes IR is correct 💯 we will never get tired of Hamy stories 😍

I had to laugh about the bones but hey even if he never chews on them you got a great way to keep him away from the no no's....your hubby will have tape a couple to his feet 😆

[Icemouse]

Guys I'm afraid Hamy is getting more aggressive. He went for me today big time... I had a hard time fighting him off my face and hands.
Yesterday was a good day. We played and everything seemed to be normal again. Hamy desided to prefer white napkins for bedding instead of the ewe wool fleece. It was close to his bedtime were he took his toilet in his cage apart. He shoved all the white kitchen roll as well as a white napkins in his house. He kicked out the wool fleece. So I gave him more napkins through the hardware cloth.... it was teamwork.... partners in crime as usual....
This morning things were different. It all started in the morning already. Usually we get up pretty much at the same time. I usually walk up to his cage to hold my hand on the hardware cloth and he comes up with his wee nose. I usually give him a pea and a small piece of rodent block. This morning he was in a foul mood. He chattered his teeth at me as I gave him the rodent block. He wanted more peas but I only gave him another rodent block. I was sitting next to his cage about 1½ meters away doing some office work as always. Now he started running up and down his cage like a mad man. As I didn't react he started chattering much louder, his tail was going 90 miles an hour.... I still ignored it and left the room. I stayed out of the room for about 45 mins. I thought I give him time to calm down. But I had to get ready to leave the house. As I got changed he totally freaked out. As soon as I put on my jacket he started screaming and shouting. Oh he was upset.... I went up to him and spoke in a soft voice, which I always do when he seems to be afraid of something. That only made it worse.... I have to say Hamy is actually used to us leaving the house in the morning and not returning till afternoon. Once we're at home we change out of the "street clothes"... then I open his cage and it's playtime... for 4 hours... so far it worked really well.... now since we're home earlier and it being dark much earlier in the winter Hamy didn't sleep during day anymore.... he was out from 12pm to 4pm every day.
Today we had the same procedure as always.... Hamy was ok with me taking the empty food bowls out and cleaning the mess he made in his cage. But as soon as we were in the kitchen where he has some fruit ready in a bowl on the counter while I cut his veg he totally freaked out. I was cutting up his veg as he went for me.... in the beginning he was just threatening me. I stopped cutting up his veg. I thought he would calm down but the opposite happened. He started a full blown attack. Going for my hands and face. I did a quick swirrel again. He slipped off my hoody and landed on the floor. And instead of giving up he continued his attack. He outran me in the hallway and jumped on my head aiming for my face... I managed to cover it just in time.... In the bedroom where his cage is I managed to get the food bowls in no problem.... Hamy was on his highway watching me. I desided to ignore him. So I sat on my bed as always. Hamy came up as always but then tried to bite my hands. I had them covered... I didn't move. He started threatening again. I didn't move.... he then walked in to his cage to get some veg. Thats when I closed the cage. He went for me again... sitting in his cage... Hamy took another bit of veg and went to bed. That's where he is now.... sleeping....
I don't know what to do now... I have to open the cage to put food in and to take the mess he made back out. But when I open the cage he's out.... I can't put food in when he stays like that...Hamy also needs his free time....Hamy is used to free roaming... he needs his exercise.... it's -1 at night. It's way too cold to set up a release cage....
Would it help if I would give Hamy his free time after he had his afternoon nap? The days are getting longer. At the moment. Sunrise is at 7am and sun down at 6pm. The sun is out a lot more during day now as well.
Last summer, well beginning of October Hamy always got up at about 7am, then had an afternoon nap from about 12.30pm to at least 3pm. He had changed his schedule in December. He did not have his afternoon nap anymore but went to bed at about 4.30pm at the latest. So we changed his free time. We let him out at 1pm and put him back in at 4pm... Hamy always walked in his cage himself at 4pm...
Hamy behaves around food now just like he did when we stopped giving him nuts. I really don't know what to do anymore....
I have never seen Hamy being aggressive towards me. Especially not like today....Right before he went to bed he even threatened me as I passed his cage... well Hamy even threatened my hubby as he walked in to the room. Hamy was already in his cage then...
What can I do now? I'm really worried I hurted him as I did swirrel around and Hamy landed on the floor....
I love my wee dude.... what's best for Hamy???

[Icemouse]

Typo error... Hamy is out from 12pm to 4pm .... sorry... can't stop crying...

[CritterMom]

Place Hammy anywhere he cannot see his cage - another room? Go through the cage like you are searching for diamonds - go over every inch of the cage, his bed, the bedding -everything, and remove every single food item you find. You need to do this daily. If he has a single nut hidden someplace, he will defend it with a thermonuclear weapon if he can lay his hands on one (remove all weapons along with the food). Do not do it while he is present unless y'all just want a butt-kicking! The nuts are what triggers the aggressiveness, but you want to clear out ALL food once a day - it can go bad and make them quite ill.

My second suggestion is to stop giving nuts that are still in the shell. Wild squirrels will bury nuts in the shell - they are protected by the shell and won't get soggy and moldy when buried. That instinct is very strong and is why your pet squirrel will bury them in their bedding. Nuts NOT in the shell will be consumed immediately.

I try to restrict nut consumption because they cause dietary issues, but my boy wants LOTS of nuts so I solve this by shelling the nut, then using a sharp knife to cut them into little fragments no larger than 5mm square. They don't seem to register that one is big and one is small - he got a NUT and he is happy, as am I, because he won't stash it, and I know he isn't risking MBD from too many. I provide lots of wood for him to chew, and the Teklad blocks are so rock hard that they do a dandy job of keeping the teeth worn down properly. They don't need nutshells.

In addition to the nut crazies, he is in a magical time called puberty. He will be all over the place behaviorally because of the tons of hormones dumping into his system right now. It takes several months for the boys to put this behind them, but they do. Zeke, my now 7 year old boy was nicknamed "Krakken" during puberty, and he is now the sweetest little cuddle bug I have ever experienced. To accomplish that, you need to do whatever you have to to keep yourself safe and continue to interact hands on with him ALL THE TIME. You cannot just leave him in his cage until this passes because your relationship will be broken. I built myself a "head cage" which was a cylinder of wire mesh with one closed end large enough to drop over my head and rest on my shoulders, combined with gloves, and heavy clothing from head to foot. It was very attractive, but allowed me to keep being his buddy even when he was in a mood, and what came out the other side was a munchkin who loves his mommy and doesn't try to hurt her anymore AT ALL. The switch just flips and the crazy goes away and you can discard your head cage. Or hang onto it for special occasions, if that is the way you roll...

[nikkicreatesart]

Hi there- I have no advice but I know what you are going through as far as letting go- my Picasso was put into my hands at 5 weeks old and I let him go at 6 months after soft releasing for a month. I still cry missing him because after 3-4 days he set off on his great adventure. I don't think he's around, but its hard to tell because in my little strand of trees there are a good dozen squirrels, if not more. I try to spy his little scar on his shoulder with binoculars, but that is very hard when they are so shy and run. Just wanted to tell you because its so hard when you have that little movie of them growing up with you running in your head.

[TomahawkFlyers]

Icemouse!

CritterMom and nikkicreatesart have written about two compassionate solutions to the Hamy puzzle. Both solutions would require a great deal from you, your husband, and Hamy. There is one bit of information you provided here quite some time ago - that in your area, squirrels are considered by authorities to be pests and that there is a considerable program aimed at extermination. For my part, that worries me, a lot. We all worry about natural predators killing our squirrels when they are out in the wild. Hamy has grown used to being around humans, and were he to be released he might just sidle up to one of the animal control workers for a nut or a snuggle, and that would be his end. Were it not for the threat of the official pest policy, and given that Hamy is not compromised in any way, it might make sense to go for a soft release when the weather turned appropriate. Hamy would still be inside waiting for Spring, and during that time he might well get through puberty and become, more or less permanently, the sweet boy of yesterday.

Do you think it would make sense, and could you and your husband tough it out, to put the plan for soft release on page two while putting CritterMom's suggestions on page one? It seems entirely likely that if given the time he needs to get past this critical period, Hamy will make the deep investment you have made in him profoundly worthwhile.

Your love for Hamy has been on bold display here, and both of you have touched many of us just as Hamy has touched you. I believe you can work this out so it ends well. Hang in there!

Jamie

[Icemouse]

Place Hammy anywhere he cannot see his cage - another room? Go through the cage like you are searching for diamonds - go over every inch of the cage, his bed, the bedding -everything, and remove every single food item you find. You need to do this daily. If he has a single nut hidden someplace, he will defend it with a thermonuclear weapon if he can lay his hands on one (remove all weapons along with the food). Do not do it while he is present unless y'all just want a butt-kicking! The nuts are what triggers the aggressiveness, but you want to clear out ALL food once a day - it can go bad and make them quite ill.

My second suggestion is to stop giving nuts that are still in the shell. Wild squirrels will bury nuts in the shell - they are protected by the shell and won't get soggy and moldy when buried. That instinct is very strong and is why your pet squirrel will bury them in their bedding. Nuts NOT in the shell will be consumed immediately.

I try to restrict nut consumption because they cause dietary issues, but my boy wants LOTS of nuts so I solve this by shelling the nut, then using a sharp knife to cut them into little fragments no larger than 5mm square. They don't seem to register that one is big and one is small - he got a NUT and he is happy, as am I, because he won't stash it, and I know he isn't risking MBD from too many. I provide lots of wood for him to chew, and the Teklad blocks are so rock hard that they do a dandy job of keeping the teeth worn down properly. They don't need nutshells.

In addition to the nut crazies, he is in a magical time called puberty. He will be all over the place behaviorally because of the tons of hormones dumping into his system right now. It takes several months for the boys to put this behind them, but they do. Zeke, my now 7 year old boy was nicknamed "Krakken" during puberty, and he is now the sweetest little cuddle bug I have ever experienced. To accomplish that, you need to do whatever you have to to keep yourself safe and continue to interact hands on with him ALL THE TIME. You cannot just leave him in his cage until this passes because your relationship will be broken. I built myself a "head cage" which was a cylinder of wire mesh with one closed end large enough to drop over my head and rest on my shoulders, combined with gloves, and heavy clothing from head to foot. It was very attractive, but allowed me to keep being his buddy even when he was in a mood, and what came out the other side was a munchkin who loves his mommy and doesn't try to hurt her anymore AT ALL. The switch just flips and the crazy goes away and you can discard your head cage. Or hang onto it for special occasions, if that is the way you roll...

Thank you so much for your quick reply. I'm really heart broken ... yesterday Hamy was still a relaxed dude and today he's more like a crazy bully....
After we changed Hamy to his teklad rodent blocks we stopped feeding nuts like mad. We stuck to the pyramide. Hamy only got 2 hazelnuts in shell per day. The nuts appeared miraculously for him. My hubby snuck them in his cage wearing gloves so there is no scent of his hands on the nuts while I was preparing the veg and fruit in the kitchen.
Well, the routine was... I open the cage, Hamy jumps on my hands and then we play and snuggle for about 10 mins. I grab the empty bowls from his cage with him still playing with me... once I got his toilet and the food bowls I tell him to jump up and we walk to the kitchen..... Hamy usually climbing about on me or just residing on my shoulder. Once we're in the kitchen Hamy jumps on the counter where I already have a small glass ramekin with thinly sliced fruit bits. Hamy eats one bit of fruit and I cut up his veg. My hubby puts the 2 shelled hazelnuts in a dish in Hamys cage while Hamy eats his bit of fruit. Once my hubby apears in the kitchen Hamy runs to his cage and eats his nuts. He never stashes them.... by the time Hamy ate his nuts all food bowls are filled. Hamy comes flying to the kitchen again and lays on my arm fully stretched out, looking like a pancake, lying flat on my arm getting his massage.... my hubby fills the Pyrex dish which is his toilet with new napkins or kitchen towels. I grab all bowls, Hamy jumps on my shoulder or head again and we walk together to the bedroom where his cage is located. We playfight a wee bit then I put his bowles and toilet back in his cage. The fruit ramekin gets placed outside his cage on the bay windowsill. Hamy runs in and out of his cage to get a rodent block and/or some veg. He either eats sitting on me or on furniture or his highway. He takes a healthy mix of all his food. Hamy has no stashes anywhere in the house. I cleared all of them and I check them every day. Hamy is with me at all times. He even comes to the bathroom with me.... Hamy is my shadow. Of the 4 hours he's out he is enjoying to get stroked or massaged at least half the time he's out. We invented a few jumping games as well. Hamy runs along his highway and stops right above me. I lift my arm, sometimes both arms and Hamy jumps on my hand/s. Sometimes he jumps on a soft cushion I'm holding up. I then lower my arms or the cushin with him sitting on it he's then climbing on the bottom side of the cushion hanging on like a bat. Once Hamy is on my legs he stretches out for cuddles etc. We then play a bit with some toys till Hamy runs to get a snack from his cage or to climb about. He sits on me to eat it. I do place a few bits rodent blocks on his highway he eats while he's out... he never showed any aggression about the blocks... if I leave the room Hamy comes along. We do the dishes together as well as hanging up laundry. Hamy loves to drink from a running faucet or just sunbathes.... yeah and climbing on the laundry I'm trying to hang up is his favorite game. Once it's about bedtime Hamy stretches out on me or climbs in my hands to get stroked, cuddled and massaged. He usually enjoys it for about 30 mins. When he starts falling asleep on me I get up and leave the room with him. My hubby sneaks in 4 tiny itsy bitsy peaces of almond on 3 different places in Hamys cage. When we come back in Hamy flys in to his cage to get the nuts. I close the cage in the mean time. Hamy eats his nut crumbs and I put the toys away and pick up the dropped food rests. After that Hamy gets between 2 - 4 peas depending on size through the hardware cloth. After that Hamy has another bite and a drink then goes straight to bed.
Today as he attacked me in the kitchen Hamy ate some corn he took from the counter. As I wanted to move the corn from the counter in to his bowl he went bananas.... we always did it this way... I cut the veg... he eats.... he never reacted like today. Till yesterday I could stroke him while he ate....
I really don't want to annoy you with my detailed post but only if you know the routine we have you can tell me what I'm doing wrong or what I need to change.
Don't worry I will not keep Hamy locked up in his cage. He needs his free time.... and his cuddles... well, if he still wants them. Hamy came to my life as he was about 4 - 5 weeks old. He was not in a good shape. I had no clue how to safe his precious wee life. But we managed... Hamy survived and became my wee sunshine. As we found this forum we learned about the dietary requirements and changed everything. I so dread MBD but wasn't aware of it. I had never rescued a squirrel... only tamarin monkeys etc... I rather get bitten and scratched to death before I keep Hamy locked up. I'm fully responsible for Hamy being happy and living a healthy life. I need to do what's best for him. Hey I was covered in hundreds of flea bites as Hamy came in my life. He was so very malnutrioned, ice cold with severe breathing problems and tiny that I kept him in a pouch 24/7 for a few days and nights. Don't worry I'm stubborn... I'm determined to get through this... I just need guidance and all the help I can get.
Thank you CritterMom I really appreciate your help....

[CritterMom]

OK, so I am guessing that if you had tried to take some lettuce or a chunk of apple from him, you would have been fine. I call them "high reward" foods - things they would kill their mother for. Nuts are absolutely high reward. But I would call corn a member of that food group too because they LOVE it. BTW, corn is one of the worst foods you can feed from an MBD point of view - it is actually worse than nuts. I don't feed it.

I would also have your husband start leaving ONE nut for him, not two. So you can start at that plus the fragments in the evening.

And as I said, at least with boy squirrels, this puberty period is just baked in. It is going to happen, and their behavior will be enough to make you want to hide for a while but then, boom, it goes away. They will have different moods connected to seasonal hormonal changes, too. It is nothing as pronounced as what you are seeing now. My boy, Zeke, spends 10 months of the year snuggling in my lap, playing with me, wrestling with me, he would be surgically implanted onto me if he could be. Then he spends about 2 months in the late summer keeping me at arms length, doesn't want to cuddle, just blows off all of my attempts to get him to be my sweet lovin' boy and does his own thing. And then suddenly, a couple months later, he will jump into my lap and we are done with THAT nonsense for another 10 months!

[Icemouse]

Icemouse!

CritterMom and nikkicreatesart have written about two compassionate solutions to the Hamy puzzle. Both solutions would require a great deal from you, your husband, and Hamy. There is one bit of information you provided here quite some time ago - that in your area, squirrels are considered by authorities to be pests and that there is a considerable program aimed at extermination. For my part, that worries me, a lot. We all worry about natural predators killing our squirrels when they are out in the wild. Hamy has grown used to being around humans, and were he to be released he might just sidle up to one of the animal control workers for a nut or a snuggle, and that would be his end. Were it not for the threat of the official pest policy, and given that Hamy is not compromised in any way, it might make sense to go for a soft release when the weather turned appropriate. Hamy would still be inside waiting for Spring, and during that time he might well get through puberty and become, more or less permanently, the sweet boy of yesterday.

Do you think it would make sense, and could you and your husband tough it out, to put the plan for soft release on page two while putting CritterMom's suggestions on page one? It seems entirely likely that if given the time he needs to get past this critical period, Hamy will make the deep investment you have made in him profoundly worthwhile.

Your love for Hamy has been on bold display here, and both of you have touched many of us just as Hamy has touched you. I believe you can work this out so it ends well. Hang in there!

Jamie

Hiya Jamie
Yeah it's not easy where we live in that matter.... Only our closest friends know of him. Hamys life depends on secrecy. Due to this I can't really get in to details about our wherabouts.
First of all thank you for your kind words. Really much appreciated that you jump in to help us.
I will defo follow CritterMoms/nikkicreatearts advice. I explained our daily routine in the reply to CritterMoms post. I thought if I give a more detailed explanation of our routine maybe it will help to get Hamy and me in a happier place again. Puberty is never easy... but maybe I can improve certain things to make it easier for all of us. Afterall Hamy is our wee wild pal.
Hamy comes from a privately owned forrest. The land and trees around it is privately owned as well. It's only small forrests edging on each other. None of the forrests are big. Everybody in that area knows each other. There is no way any of them would allow anybody to kill squirrels. It's pretty much like... there are only greys... when they kill them there are no squirrels... what would that do to their forest ???? The forrests all together are quite big with leaf trees as well as needle trees.... but if Hamy would want to change territory he would have to run accross a lot of fields....
And about approaching humans... Hamy has only had contact to the forest owner for 2 days as she found him... after that he came home with us. Nobody ever came to our home since then. Hamy only knows my hubby and I. Hamy is only lovey-dovey with me... My hubby has to wear gloves and a hat when Hamy is out. Hamy attacks his feet when my hubby tries to leave the room....Hubby can stroke Hamy once in a while but only on Hamys terms.... I'm lucky to have such a great hubby... eventhough Hamy makes his life at the best difficult at times he still loves my wee pal.... we were on such a good way with Hamy being nicer to my hubby.... and now this...
We have about 4 more weeks till it gets mild enough to even think about a soft release... so lets put that on the back burner.... we have all the time it takes to change unwanted behaviour on both sides. You all have the experience and I'm willing to do whatever you think is best. Hamy doesn't have a bad bone in his body.... his problem is that lately he has his blood not exactly in his brain.... he's still my baby... just a bit angry lately... teenagers... he'll grow out of that... hopefully soon...
I'm defo not gonna give up! Love can conquer anything! I'm counting on that!!!!