8 week old acting Jumpy and slightly agressive towards me

[Mwatts]

So I have 4 siblings in one cage and one of them has dwarfism and she’s been acting jumpy and getting kind of agressive batting my hand away when I put my hand near her and I noticed there is now a very small bald patch next to her mouth none of the others have any bald patches the other 3 are just as cuddly as they were 2 days ago before I moved there cage but after I moved it she started acting strange the cage is still in the same room I just moved it to the other side of the room does she just need time to adjust and she is just a bit stressed that the cage was moved or do you think it could be her siblings are bullying her?

[Chirps]

Hiya! My first thought is are you sure the baby has dwarfism? Can you post pics? If it is on the spectrum then it would be developmentally delayed. At their age the others will be getting stronger and more active while the dwarf would not be able to keep up. Maybe they're not outright bullying but they're just too rough and robust? At 8 weeks they're kind of having a "growth spurt" of sorts, not actual growth (well of course that too) but their skills/coordination are progressing. Maybe this one is feeling it and is aggressive to forestall too-rough play etc. How much of their interactions are you able to observe?

[Mwatts]

Hiya! My first thought is are you sure the baby has dwarfism? Can you post pics? If it is on the spectrum then it would be developmentally delayed. At their age the others will be getting stronger and more active while the dwarf would not be able to keep up. Maybe they're not outright bullying but they're just too rough and robust? At 8 weeks they're kind of having a "growth spurt" of sorts, not actual growth (well of course that too) but their skills/coordination are progressing. Maybe this one is feeling it and is aggressive to forestall too-rough play etc. How much of their interactions are you able to observe?

I don’t know how to post a picture but I can tell she is definitely a dwarf she is not as coordinated and she is a slow learner compared to the others she’s also much smaller and she doesn’t really like playing with her siblings as much as the others do so that would make sense and I am with them 24/7 as of right now I have been paying close attention to her especially due to the fact that I know that dwarf squirrels tend to get bullied and I want to make sure she’s getting enough food and that I want to make sure no medical issues come up because I recently found out that dwarf squirrels are prone to have medical issues

[Chirps]

Aww. I hope one of the people with lots of dwarf experience chimes in. Do you think you may have to separate her for her safety/peace of mind? Maybe she won't be aggressive to you once she realizes you won't be rough like her sibs.

[Mel1959]

We really need a picture to determine dwarfism. There are other conditions besides dwarfism that can cause a baby to be smaller or delayed.

After you post a reply if you scroll down below the “submit reply” button there is a tab that says “manage attachments”. Click on it and it will allow you to attach a picture from your files.

[Mwatts]

We really need a picture to determine dwarfism. There are other conditions besides dwarfism that can cause a baby to be smaller or delayed.

After you post a reply if you scroll down below the “submit reply” button there is a tab that says “manage attachments”. Click on it and it will allow you to attach a picture from your files.

Today she seemed a bit better when she was laying down she started grooming my hand a bit when she wasn’t by her siblings and thank you for telling me how to attach a picture

[Mel1959]

Can you also send a picture of her profile and one of her standing? Does she walk like the other squirrels? Does she do any jumping?

From what I can see in the picture she doesn’t really have the characteristics of a dwarf. More pictures may show otherwise as there can be a slight difference in appearance from one to another. There can also be a difference in their abilities...some are higher functioning than others.

I’m attaching a couple of pictures of two dwarfs I’ve had. The first two are of my current dwarf who has a more pointed nose than my last dwarf, when looking head on at her. The second two photos are of my first dwarf. His nose was more blunted.

Other characteristics that they have in common are not being able to walk correctly....they bumble when they walk. Neither can jump. They have large eyes in relation to the size of their face and their ears are set a little lower on their heads.

[Mwatts]

Can you also send a picture of her profile and one of her standing? Does she walk like the other squirrels? Does she do any jumping?

From what I can see in the picture she doesn’t really have the characteristics of a dwarf. More pictures may show otherwise as there can be a slight difference in appearance from one to another. There can also be a difference in their abilities...some are higher functioning than others.

I’m attaching a couple of pictures of two dwarfs I’ve had. The first two are of my current dwarf who has a more pointed nose than my last dwarf, when looking head on at her. The second two photos are of my first dwarf. His nose was more blunted.

Other characteristics that they have in common are not being able to walk correctly....they bumble when they walk. Neither can jump. They have large eyes in relation to the size of their face and their ears are set a little lower on their heads.

She won’t jump and she does walk differently than her siblings she does what I would call a waddle this is the best picture I could get at the moment but I’ll try to get a few more to post in a little bit

[Mwatts]

Here is 2 more pictures of her

[Mel1959]

The waddle walk sounds like a dwarf. The reason for this is that their joints aren’t put together correctly.....they’re sorta disconnected. Dwarfs also have shorter arms and legs. Some can sit up on their hind legs depending on the way their leg joints are put together. My current dwarf cannot sit up. Her legs are pigeon-toed and there’s not enough spread between her feet to provide stability for her to sit up.

Some dwarfs never wean off formula and need to have ground rodent block added to the formula as they get older to provide enough nutrients. If they do wean off formula some still won’t eat on their own and require being fed by syringe. I feed veggie/fruit baby food with ground rodent block in it. I thin it with formula so it will flow through a syringe. Then there are others that will consume veggies and foods just like their normal siblings.

Be very careful about them being up high in a cage or on your shoulder. They tend to fall like a box of rocks and will get hurt. They seem to have no perception about the edge of a counter or table.

[Mwatts]

The waddle walk sounds like a dwarf. The reason for this is that their joints aren’t put together correctly.....they’re sorta disconnected. Dwarfs also have shorter arms and legs. Some can sit up on their hind legs depending on the way their leg joints are put together. My current dwarf cannot sit up. Her legs are pigeon-toed and there’s not enough spread between her feet to provide stability for her to sit up.

Some dwarfs never wean off formula and need to have ground rodent block added to the formula as they get older to provide enough nutrients. If they do wean off formula some still won’t eat on their own and require being fed by syringe. I feed veggie/fruit baby food with ground rodent block in it. I thin it with formula so it will flow through a syringe. Then there are others that will consume veggies and foods just like their normal siblings.

Be very careful about them being up high in a cage or on your shoulder. They tend to fall like a box of rocks and will get hurt. They seem to have no perception about the edge of a counter or table.

Thank you for the advice and do you think I should move her to another cage to see if that helps her a bit with the bald spot because it’s seems to have gotten a bit worse and she seems to be avoiding playing with her siblings today and only being by them during nap time to cuddle

[Mel1959]

You could try moving her. It may become a necessity to keep her safe as her siblings zoom around the cage. You might consider reuniting them at night so they can sleep together. You definitely want to be sure she’s getting food. Have you begun a rodent block? It’s a very important staple for all of them. Henrys Pets online sells very good ones that are well liked....especially the Picky Eater one.

You know if your little one is a dwarf, she is non-releasable.

[Mwatts]

You could try moving her. It may become a necessity to keep her safe as her siblings zoom around the cage. You might consider reuniting them at night so they can sleep together. You definitely want to be sure she’s getting food. Have you begun a rodent block? It’s a very important staple for all of them. Henrys Pets online sells very good ones that are well liked....especially the Picky Eater one.

You know if your little one is a dwarf, she is non-releasable.

Thank you for the idea of reuniting them at night so they can sleep together I will try that and I have them all in rodent blocks I use the exotic nutrition brand they all love it. I had them start on rodent blocks since they were 7 weeks and I keep checking to make sure she’s getting enough food because I worry about her not getting enough and I actually had a feeling she wasn’t going to be releasable so I started squirrel proofing my entire house and started making some play areas for them and the others have no fear of other animals or people so I worry for them too if I was to release them

[Mel1959]

It has been my experience that once the others are placed in an outside release cage and your interaction with them is limited, they will wild up and learn from other squirrels those things that are dangerous. We recommend a slow release process so they can acclimate to the wild sounds, sights and smells before you release them.

Squirrels that are equipped to live in the trees make lousy pets.

I don’t think exotic nutrition foods have a very good reputation for being healthy. Please consider getting some Henrys blocks or Envigo Harlan Teklad 2016 block for them.

[Chirps]

Is she an eastern grey or a red? I assumed E. grey but look at those ears.

[Mwatts]

Is she an eastern grey or a red? I assumed E. grey but look at those ears.

She is a red and I will try the Henry’s block I’ve heard quite a lot of good things about them I am also trying to plan out making a release enclosure outside soon

[Chirps]

She is a red and I will try the Henry’s block I’ve heard quite a lot of good things about them I am also trying to plan out making a release enclosure outside soon

Hmmmm. So she's a




RED DWARF!

That was a TV show.

[Charley Chuckles]

It has been my experience that once the others are placed in an outside release cage and your interaction with them is limited, they will wild up and learn from other squirrels those things that are dangerous. We recommend a slow release process so they can acclimate to the wild sounds, sights and smells before you release them.

Squirrels that are equipped to live in the trees make lousy pets.

I don’t think exotic nutrition foods have a very good reputation for being healthy. Please consider getting some Henrys blocks or Envigo Harlan Teklad 2016 block for them.

Mel I'm curious about the Envigo Harlan Teklad 2016, I've always used Envigo Harlan Teklad 2018. Do you know if there is a big difference?
I actually never even knew they made a 2016 formula. I looked it up I can't see much difference. The reason I'm curious is I just got another order but if the 2016 is better I'll get that next time.
I also use the HHB original and of course EVERYONE of my kids prefers that 😁

Mwatts I'm sure you will have good luck with healthy Henry's blocks, my kids love em👍

[Mel1959]

Mel I'm curious about the Envigo Harlan Teklad 2016, I've always used Envigo Harlan Teklad 2018. Do you know if there is a big difference?
I actually never even knew they made a 2016 formula. I looked it up I can't see much difference. The reason I'm curious is I just got another order but if the 2016 is better I'll get that next time.
I also use the HHB original and of course EVERYONE of my kids prefers that 😁

Mwatts I'm sure you will have good luck with healthy Henry's blocks, my kids love em👍

The difference between the HT 2018 and HT 2016 is that the 2018 contains 18% protein vs the 2016 having 16% protein. This in itself isn’t a big deal, but the 2016 does not contain any type of soy products. The following is what I copied off of the Envigo website describing why soy products aren’t desirable in a rodent diet.

“Formulated to exclude soybean meal, thus minimizing the presence of isoflavones, the primary type of phytoestrogen found in lab animal diets.”

The 2016 diet does not contain any animal by products, either.

I personally have used the 2018 for boo balls for my wilds for years and recently switched to the 2016. I just figured that it might be good to not overload their systems with the phytoestrogens.

[Charley Chuckles]

The difference between the HT 2018 and HT 2016 is that the 2018 contains 18% protein vs the 2016 having 16% protein. This in itself isn’t a big deal, but the 2016 does not contain any type of soy products. The following is what I copied off of the Envigo website describing why soy products aren’t desirable in a rodent diet.

“Formulated to exclude soybean meal, thus minimizing the presence of isoflavones, the primary type of phytoestrogen found in lab animal diets.”

The 2016 diet does not contain any animal by products, either.

I personally have used the 2018 for boo balls for my wilds for years and recently switched to the 2016. I just figured that it might be good to not overload their systems with the phytoestrogens.

Thank you!
Yes next time I'll be ordering the HT 2016👍