Biting and not sleeping

[lfavicch]

I have a SFS who is about 12 weeks old. Since I've had him he's kind of gone against a lot of what I had read about these guys personality-wise, particularly in relation to bonding, but I admit I'm inexperienced. I posted here before because he didn't seem to be bonding with me and would not go to sleep for quite some time after I'd take him out of his cage. Now he will jump on me and seems like he more or less wants to be around me, but he has no desire to sleep in my pocket or anything like that. If he's still tired after I take him out of his cage, he will do everything he can to get back to his cage to go to sleep in there. And if he's not in his cage, he is now always wide awake and extremely hyper and will not fall asleep at all. And this is during the day. He likes to crawl around inside my sweatshirt but will not sleep there. He's developed a habit of urinating on the sides of his cage and the smell gets so bad that I take it outside once a week to hose it down. It obviously has to dry, so I keep him on me all day with his bonding pouch (which he never liked and won't go into), but he's so hyper all day long I can't get anything done since I have to keep an eye on him. Now another problem has developed. He has taken to biting my face really hard. Hasn't broken the skin yet but it leaves painful red sores and hurts quite a lot. I yell at him but he doesn't seem to care. It's gotten so bad that I've become a bit nervous to be around him. I don't know what to do or if I'm doing something wrong. Is he going through his "teenage years" right now if that's a thing? Is there a way to stop this? A reason why he's so excessively hyper during the day or would rather be in his cage than with me? I would really appreciate any help or suggestions you may have to offer as otherwise I think this will be a very long ten years. I hate being afraid of him and just want him to have a good life. Thank you.

[Floppysquirrel04]

It's the beginning of breeding season for some squirrels, so a lot of them have been acting like that, because they are mad that they can't mate. Soon it will all be over. Is he humping things? When it is mating season, squirrels will usually bite each others faces, idk why. Hope this helps. My SFS has been like this this last week.

[lfavicch]

Oh gosh I hope that's the reason. And that can happen even so young I suppose? He has not been trying to hump that I've noticed except one time maybe a couple weeks ago, and he was particularly aggressive with me then. Thank you so much for the response!

[Floppysquirrel04]

I think he is old enough. I hope you have luck with him. Try feeding him small treats whenever he is good to you so he learns not to bite

[HRT4SQRLS]

I have a SFS who is about 12 weeks old. Since I've had him he's kind of gone against a lot of what I had read about these guys personality-wise, particularly in relation to bonding, but I admit I'm inexperienced. I posted here before because he didn't seem to be bonding with me and would not go to sleep for quite some time after I'd take him out of his cage. Now he will jump on me and seems like he more or less wants to be around me, but he has no desire to sleep in my pocket or anything like that. If he's still tired after I take him out of his cage, he will do everything he can to get back to his cage to go to sleep in there. And if he's not in his cage, he is now always wide awake and extremely hyper and will not fall asleep at all. And this is during the day. He likes to crawl around inside my sweatshirt but will not sleep there. He's developed a habit of urinating on the sides of his cage and the smell gets so bad that I take it outside once a week to hose it down. It obviously has to dry, so I keep him on me all day with his bonding pouch (which he never liked and won't go into), but he's so hyper all day long I can't get anything done since I have to keep an eye on him. Now another problem has developed. He has taken to biting my face really hard. Hasn't broken the skin yet but it leaves painful red sores and hurts quite a lot. I yell at him but he doesn't seem to care. It's gotten so bad that I've become a bit nervous to be around him. I don't know what to do or if I'm doing something wrong. Is he going through his "teenage years" right now if that's a thing? Is there a way to stop this? A reason why he's so excessively hyper during the day or would rather be in his cage than with me? I would really appreciate any help or suggestions you may have to offer as otherwise I think this will be a very long ten years. I hate being afraid of him and just want him to have a good life. Thank you.

It's way too early to start thinking in terms of enduring 10 long years of misery.
At 12 weeks, he is just a baby. You and he will have to determine what is an acceptable relationship. IMO, the problem is forcing him to endure something that he clearly doesn't like. I have 2 boys and neither one of them would ever go in a bonding pouch. I have seen a few flyers that will sleep in a pocket or pouch all day but neither of mine will do that. Instead of a place to snuggle and sleep it's like a prison or forced captivity. I wouldn't like that and neither do they.

I would try bonding with him in 'HIS' environment. The best time to bond is in the morning. In the morning before they go to sleep they are more cuddly and less hyper. In the evening they are pretty hyper. My first flyer was an adult. He had no reason to like me. I didn't force myself on him. I sat next to his cage with the door open and let him come to me. He would climb on my arm and then back to the cage. Flyers are very social. They love people and want to be with their people but it has to be on their terms. If your little guy is unhappy in a pouch I would NOT force the issue. If he is unhappy with YOUR terms he will attack you and yes ... it's the face attack. Occasionally, one of my flyers will attack me ... NOT very often though. If I don't smell right to them, it freaks them out. I try to feed them before I take a shower. They like me smelly and really don't like that fresh showered smell.

Don't give up on your little one. He is very young. Work with him.
I would get a small bird cage or transport carrier to put him in while the cage is drying. Make it cozy with a sleep sack for him to snuggle in. He should go to sleep.

I would put fleece over the top and 3 sides of his cage. It will darken the cage for him and keep urine from spraying on the wall or floor. I had fleece pads made for the floor of my cages. It's easy to roll them up and launder them. I think it helps with the smell but yes, I agree... nothing beats a good hose down for the cage at regular intervals.

[Floppysquirrel04]

Ok, I was just having a guess, because I have heard of babies around 12 weeks old humping their sisters. Your answer seems more accurate ��.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Floppy, little ones do ride their siblings back but it's not a sexual thing. It's a play thing at that age.

[lfavicch]

Thanks for the info! I just want to clarify because I think it may have come off wrong the way I wrote it, but I never ever force him into the bonding pouch. I just wear it with the zipper open so he has the option to go in or come out as he pleases. He's just never seemed to want to hang out in it. Just wanted to make sure it was clear that I am absolutely not just stuffing him in there and trapping him! That would be horrible. I would bite me too if that were the case. On days when I clean the cage I do take him to the bathroom which is his second favorite place in the house as he loves to run all over the shower curtain. I leave the door open so he even has the option to leave the bathroom if he wants to, but he will always jump back to me, then crawl in my sweatshirt, but then eventually he pops back out for a face attack. I don't feel like I'm trapping him but maybe like you said my constant invasion of his space makes him feel trapped in a way. I'll try just leaving him alone. Not to sound ignorant, but leaving him alone all the time won't make him less bonded to me, I assume? Since I've had him about a month and a half now? I have left him in his cage during the day with the door open but he will just stay in there all day every day it seems. Thank you so much for the help and for putting up with my lack of knowledge, I really appreciate it!

[HRT4SQRLS]

It's all good. As long as he doesn't feel confined there isn't a problem in that respect.
One question... did your baby come from a breeder? A babies willingness to bond would be dictated by how he was raised by the breeder. Ideally, babies should be hand raised so that they are people friendly. If not hand raised, they would tend to not be people friendly.

Another thing to consider is that this is a transition time. When they are babies they sleep and eat, sleep and eat and aren't driven by night or day. As they get a little older they will become fully nocturnal. Yes, they sleep all day.
You mentioned that you open the door and he stays in the cage ALL day, EVERY day. Uhmm, that's what nocturnal is. They do sleep all day. My boys go to sleep about 7-8AM and they don't make a peep until about 7-8PM. I NEVER see any activity in their cage during the day. IF I go into their room at 1AM they are very likely to be awake. Your baby is probably becoming fully nocturnal. Keep in mind that will wake up and play during the day but I usually let my guys sleep during the day. Of course, they will always get up for a treat.

No, I'm not recommending that you leave him alone. The fact that he comes to you is a good sign. He does want your company. I'm confused by the face attacking. My boys have done that but not often. Are you sure there is no scent that is confusing him? Hair spray, perfume, lotion, soap? I would have a fleece cloth that I would restrain him with when he does that. I would put him back in the cage also. Tucker has to promptly go back in the cage when he attacks my face. That's a big NO NO.

One last thing about the bathroom. Be very careful about the toilet. Drowning in the toilet is common for flyers. Heartbreaking.

[stepnstone]

One last thing about the bathroom. Be very careful about the toilet. Drowning in the toilet is common for flyers. Heartbreaking.

Many of our members have put to use "the toilet ladder" pictured below.
TSB has cried with and over far too many cases of drowned flyers!
Along with that we've heard many of the "I keep the lid down but...."
Husband, wife, child, neighbor, friend, guest, it does not matter who
accidentally left the lid up when it has cost innocent lives and it could
have been avoided. Toilet ladders saves lives!

[Floppysquirrel04]

7-8 am? Ace wakes up at around 8, and goes to bed at around 1 am. Is that normal? He is on his wheel a lot of that time, so is that wearing him out?

[lfavicch]

Right, when he's in his cage he's sleeping, as I would expect. Just mentioned that to note that there's a difference specifically when he's with me and not in his cage, that in his cage he sleeps as would be expected but he's wide awake at all times and won't sleep when he's out anymore, just gets really hyper, although he did used to fall asleep in my pockets all day all the time when he was younger. He'd pass out in there and wouldn't wake up for anything. I'd do all my chores with him sleeping on me, so I guess I'm also just not sure why this change occurred. As far as breeding goes, I did get him from a breeder and she did hand raise him. Perhaps now that he's older he just wants to sleep in his own space, not on me, and is upset and feels like I'm keeping him awake?

Thanks again for the info. I am going to try to see if I can note whether there seems to be something specific, possibly a smell, that's bothering him. I don't wear perfume or lotion or anything scented, and don't handle him right after a shower, but maybe if I pay very close attention I'll notice a pattern, though I haven't been able to spot one yet. As far as the bathroom goes, he's only in there under supervision with the toilet seat closed (I had the same fear of him drowning), but I'll invest in one of those ladders as well to be on the safe side. Thanks for the tip.