Taking a squirrel in can be a selfless, yet dangerous, thing to do. Unfortunately, regardless of how kind you are to the animal, it will see you as a predator and will likely try to bite you.
This article explores how to train a squirrel not to bite
Table of Contents
How to train a squirrel to not bite:
Squirrels make horrible houseguests, this is why these animals aren’t kept as pets.
Biting is a natural instinct for squirrels, this keeps them safe from predators and this instinct is something that they’re born with.
These animals have long sharp teeth that can easily chew through wood, these teeth will rip through human skin with no problem.
These animals also have very strong jaws which can easily break nuts, thus, they’ll do a number on your skin.
Squirrels use their full bite force when biting and don’t know when to stop, this is dangerous.
Thankfully, if the squirrel is a pet, and if it was raised as a pet, then it will only bite in a playful way. These bites aren’t as painful as regular bites which they give out of fear. This is how to get squirrels to bite less:
Offer squirrels chew toys:
Keeping your squirrel, and its sharp teeth, occupied will keep the squirrel from biting you. Do this by offering the squirrel stuffed animals designed for small dogs.
When offering these types of toys, make sure that you remove the toy’s eyes, if there are any, and remove any hard and small pieces that the squirrel may eat and swallow
Offer other things to chew:
In addition to the chew toys, squirrels need to gnaw on other things, this will help keep their teeth maintained and keep them busy. Offer them hard things like bones, that are on the larger side, or tough pieces of tree bark.
Avoid negative reinforcement:
Squirrels don’t understand the concept of doing something ‘bad’ they only understand that they are doing something that’s in their nature.
If your squirrel bites you, remove it and do not give it any attention. Squirrels love attention, giving the animal attention communicates that what its doing is right
Tips:
Training squirrels to not do something, like biting, will likely take a while but it can be done, all you need is some patience.
That being said, not all squirrels can be taught, some may act too aggressively, or act along with their animal instincts, and never learn anything new.
Keep this in mind if it seems as though your squirrel is going a while without learning to not bite regardless of your efforts.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other squirrel related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: How To Train A Squirrel To Use A Litter Box, Do Squirrel Grieve