7 1/2 Week Old Squirrel in MO - Some Questions

[missouritara]

I am rehabbing a 7 1/2 week old squirrel we have lovingly named Peanut. He has been in our care since he was approximately 10 days old. This board, in addition to other online resources, have been so incredibly helpful with our little guy. Those early days were a bit overwhelming, but I am proud to say he is thriving!

We had planned to release him in mid-October, but after some research I fear the weather in Missouri will be too cold. With the impending change in weather we have switched gears to continue to care for him in our home through the colder months and release him in the spring. I want to do everything I can to make his successful release possible. We have purchased a large cage for him to be housed in over the winter. We have placed a large plastic enclosure filled with fleece and his favorite lined socks to snuggle with at night. I have hung a drip water bottle for him. At this stage he is still not regularly consuming rodent block, but will happily chew on twigs and branches I place in his cage, as well as peeled grapes, avocados, and canteloupe. He now consumes formula 4 times a day (Approx. 13 cc at each feeding).

How can I encourage him to eat the rodent block, as I know it is a crucial part in his diet? Are "natural" wood perches sold for bird cages safe for him? How can I best keep him happy and healthy over the winter?

Thank you all for any insights you can provide to aid in the care of this special little one!

[CritterMom]

Take his grapes, avocados and cantaloupe away! Seriously - if he has sweet, yummy stuff like that available he will ignore his blocks. Blocks and ONLY blocks at first, and then when he is eating them well, begin to phase fresh veggies and limited fruit into the diet. Like human children, you have to MAKE them eat well at first!

The natural wood perches are okay but usually very small. Honestly, purchasing indoor pine boards at a Home Depot or Lowes - 1x2, 1x3, 1x4, etc., is a lot cheaper for making shelves and planks to walk on and the soft wood is fun for them to chew as well.

He will enter a really challenging phase of squirrel development later this year (save this - that sentence will be a winner at this year's Understatement Of The Year competition). Somewhere around 16-18 weeks, the hormone fairy shows up with, apparently, a tractor trailer full of testosterone and dumps it on them all at once. Your cuddly little schmoopy poopy will become sort of an adorable chainsaw in a squirrel suit. Do not blame him - he can't help it. But they need a whole lot of run around time somewhere to drain some of the energy and YOU need to come up with a way that you can continue to handle him and keep the facial lacerations to a bare minimum.* It is VERY obvious that whoever it was that wrote the script for "Edward Scissorhands" rehabbed squirrels at some point in their life.

They actually do eventually settle down, but you have a couple of challenging months before that happens!

* I can hook you up with directions to make a "head cage" which is, appropriately enough, a wire mesh cage for your head. It is the perfect accessory for the layers of sweatshirts you will be wearing.

[missouritara]

Thank you for your insights, CritterMom. Thanks for confirmation on the rodent block situation. He also will not eat the broccoli stems I leave for him, so I assumed it was his "sweet tooth" that was preventing a healthier balance. Just rodent blocks it is!

I was worried about the hormone kick. I have heard little guys can get very aggresive around that age. I was hoping to release him before all hell broke loose, but with the weather I'm not thinking it's an option. Can you give me some insights into how to keep him happy and "not-so-crazy" during this transitional time?

[Sottinger]

Take his grapes, avocados and cantaloupe away! Seriously - if he has sweet, yummy stuff like that available he will ignore his blocks. Blocks and ONLY blocks at first, and then when he is eating them well, begin to phase fresh veggies and limited fruit into the diet. Like human children, you have to MAKE them eat well at first!

The natural wood perches are okay but usually very small. Honestly, purchasing indoor pine boards at a Home Depot or Lowes - 1x2, 1x3, 1x4, etc., is a lot cheaper for making shelves and planks to walk on and the soft wood is fun for them to chew as well.

He will enter a really challenging phase of squirrel development later this year (save this - that sentence will be a winner at this year's Understatement Of The Year competition). Somewhere around 16-18 weeks, the hormone fairy shows up with, apparently, a tractor trailer full of testosterone and dumps it on them all at once. Your cuddly little schmoopy poopy will become sort of an adorable chainsaw in a squirrel suit. Do not blame him - he can't help it. But they need a whole lot of run around time somewhere to drain some of the energy and YOU need to come up with a way that you can continue to handle him and keep the facial lacerations to a bare minimum.* It is VERY obvious that whoever it was that wrote the script for "Edward Scissorhands" rehabbed squirrels at some point in their life.

They actually do eventually settle down, but you have a couple of challenging months before that happens!



* I can hook you up with directions to make a "head cage" which is, appropriately enough, a wire mesh cage for your head. It is the perfect accessory for the layers of sweatshirts you will be wearing.

My grandfather never experienced this level of aggression with any of his. Do you think it because they were allowed outside as early as they chose to exit the porch? There were small holes in the top of the screen where the first female chewed her way in years prior. They would eventually start going out exploring but return and sleep in the nest box he built for them for a long time. One chose to come back to the porch at night for his entire life even. Papa said he had some neuro problems. Anyway, I’ve been planning to let Nibbles go in the same fashion and he will always have a way back into the porch as long as he needs it. I really hope I do not end up with a squirrel trying to attack my face. I can deal with scratches (I’m covered in them already!) but months of aggressive biting, particularly my face, will not sit well. He’s allowed to run the house or my shop right now to ensure he’s getting plenty of exercise. My wood furniture isn’t happy about that part but I’m ok with that. Once he’s in the wild I’ll always have chew marks to remember him by right. 💕

[CritterMom]

This is not aggression! It is the normal behavior for bursting with health little boys just going through puberty. I have gotten very, very few bites through the years but their nails are razor sharp, and the very act of squirrelnadoing around your body like they would be able to do to a tree trunk if they were wild will leave you shredded without an ounce of aggression being present. They eventually learn not to, and they also calm down with age, but they can flat out do some damage without meaning to.

[Sottinger]

This is not aggression! It is the normal behavior for bursting with health little boys just going through puberty. I have gotten very, very few bites through the years but their nails are razor sharp, and the very act of squirrelnadoing around your body like they would be able to do to a tree trunk if they were wild will leave you shredded without an ounce of aggression being present. They eventually learn not to, and they also calm down with age, but they can flat out do some damage without meaning to.

Oh ok, I misunderstood your meaning. Yes, the scratches I am very familiar with! I bleed daily from his nails. I wear a jacket but he still gets my legs when I have shorts on or occasionally my neck or face. Yes, he races around me like a tree trunk! 😂 When you mentioned making a wire head cage I thought you were implying aggression and biting, not just playful accidental scratches.

My husband says he’s in super squirrel mode when he gets wound up like this. As long as I have pants on I love it. I’ll run my hand around chasing him and then let him chase and attack my hand. It’s truly a ton of fun and we just laugh. But my guy is younger than you mention. He’s only 11 weeks but he gets crazy just like you’re describing.

Here he is deciding if he wants to pounce me as I type this 🙈😂

[Javarat]

He looks like a playful fellow. Cut the sleeves off a shirt or thermal shirt, and hang it in his cage by the corners like a hammock.
Watch out... squirrels tend to be One-Human animals. He will latch onto his primary care giver, and may become aggressive to other humans (and bite them viciously) after a time.
He will especially defend his cage if he has any nuts hidden in it.. so do a purge of his secret stashes now and then.
If he is not eating his blocks enough.. supplement with arugula and snow peas. Cut the avocado WAY back.. not more than a small slice once per day.
Many of mine never get into the healthy blocks... they also have varieties with peanut butter and such... but they key is to find some vegetables he likes and eats regularly.

[Sottinger]

He looks like a playful fellow. Cut the sleeves off a shirt or thermal shirt, and hang it in his cage by the corners like a hammock.
Watch out... squirrels tend to be One-Human animals. He will latch onto his primary care giver, and may become aggressive to other humans (and bite them viciously) after a time.
He will especially defend his cage if he has any nuts hidden in it.. so do a purge of his secret stashes now and then.
If he is not eating his blocks enough.. supplement with arugula and snow peas. Cut the avocado WAY back.. not more than a small slice once per day.
Many of mine never get into the healthy blocks... they also have varieties with peanut butter and such... but they key is to find some vegetables he likes and eats regularly.

Two different people. I’m not the one feeding avocado. The little guy in pic is my 11 week old male.