7-8 month old female squirrel has started biting hard?

[busiga]

My sweet girl Hannibal has always been really sweet, usually i pick her up and give her belly kisses without her even scratching at me but a few nights ago i had two friends over and when i reached into her little hammock to get her out she bit me hard enough to bleed. Was this triggered by the new people? When i let her out to play a little she gave the usual playbites to my friend but bit me hard enough to bleed twice after that when i got her back in the cage after i left. Should i not introduce her to more than one person at a time? My one friend who normally comes over doesn't seem to bother her, she usually just jumps on him and then off. Is this hormones? Any help would be appreciated i just don't want her to become aggressive.

[island rehabber]

Maybe it's because you named her "Hannibal" ??
Just kidding. She may be simply 'wilding up', as squirrels will do at her age and even younger. But it's also possible that she has a lot of treats stashed in her cage and around the house. If she's got nuts that she's hiding anywhere, she will certainly bite whomever it is that comes near them. Check the couch pillows, drawers, and under furniture, and check the hidey places in her cage.

[Gardentoes11]

The squirrels I've had (not as many as some on here!) have all eventually become 1-person animals. They started out sweet & loving to everyone, then just our immediate family, then narrowed it down to just 1 person, getting bitey & mean with everyone else. My Jazz, a grey boy 9-months old, has recently stopped tolerating my husband. He never let hubby pet him or play with him, but he used to be ok with hubby giving him shoulder rides. Now, he attacks hubby & has bitten him badly a couple of times. Jazzy has also recently become manic about hiding food, so I'm sure that having hubs near any of his stashes (they're EVERYWHERE) hasn't helped. Jazzy has to be caged when hubby is home now, which I hate, especially on weekends when he's home a lot. I've started needing lots of things at the store.....(wink wink)!

[Coralreefer]

As many have said it's natural for them to wild up.
That said all squirrels are different just like humans.
Some will have a temperament that is more likely to be accepting and friendly to humans and some just won't have that temperament at all.

We've been lucky.
Our squirrel PeeWee is almost 2 years old and she is accepting of both my wife and I.
My wife can do anything with her.
What I can do with her depends on her mental state at the time I interact with her but I can pet her and play with her.

It took TIME to get there though. She went through a phase around 1 year old where I had to work on her because she was wilding up. I couldn't handle her at that point. I sat in front of her cage and just talked to her and slowly she accepted me again to where I could interact with her. I had to spend that time to reconnect with her. Not many people have the time or are willing to put that time in.

You also have to understand that squirrels biting are normal behavior. Even a squirrel that has accepted you, if you are playing they will nip you. It's what they do and is part of their playing or wrestling behavior. So even if they are accepting you have to be careful. Never come between them and food either. The friendliest squirrel in the world will chomp you if they think you are threatening their treats.

Having a squirrel is not your normal pet experience and takes a lot of work.

In the end it's best to release them for them and you. Their instinct to be free is very strong.
If you really want to keep her you are going to have to make the commitment to giving a ton of time and commitment to making it work.

Just my 2 cents.

[busiga]

Maybe it's because you named her "Hannibal" ??
Just kidding. She may be simply 'wilding up', as squirrels will do at her age and even younger. But it's also possible that she has a lot of treats stashed in her cage and around the house. If she's got nuts that she's hiding anywhere, she will certainly bite whomever it is that comes near them. Check the couch pillows, drawers, and under furniture, and check the hidey places in her cage.

I did find a little stash in my swear pants thats on the couch, which is where we were sitting. So that could very well be it. Are there any tips you have to calm her down and dissuade her from that behavior? MY friend from a few years back had a pet male squirrel and he got really aggressive to everyone around 1 year old. I'd hate fro Hannibal to end up like that.

[DarkLies212]

I did find a little stash in my swear pants thats on the couch, which is where we were sitting. So that could very well be it. Are there any tips you have to calm her down and dissuade her from that behavior? MY friend from a few years back had a pet male squirrel and he got really aggressive to everyone around 1 year old. I'd hate fro Hannibal to end up like that.

Some just wild up - nothing you can do when that happens. If they don't get what they want (be that extra treats, your ice cream cone, or the wild if that's what they decide) there's pretty much no way to dissuade them