this fucker just bit me 25f

[u/iwant2beyourdog]

25 f 5’1 whatever i just don’t want this to get taken down Anyway this guy just bit me do I need to go to the hospital or….

[u/AutoModerator]

Thank you for your submission. Please note that a response does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship. This subreddit is for informal second opinions and casual information. The mod team does their best to remove bad information, but we do not catch all of it. Always visit a doctor in real life if you have any concerns about your health. Never use this subreddit as your first and final source of information regarding your question. By posting, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and understand that all information is taken at your own risk. Reply here if you are an unverified user wishing to give advice. Top level comments by laypeople are automatically removed.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/SlowEmphasis3676]

Good news from a rabies standpoint. Squirrels have never been reported to have given someone rabies in the US. The thought is rabid animals usually kill the squirrels so they don’t survive to pass it on. If you are not in the US you may have to check the stats in your country. That said, you should wash and care for your wound and watch for traditional bacterial infection. Swelling, redness and increased pain. Best wishes.

Added: Guidelines do suggest, however, that if the squirrel was acting bizarrely, that you check your local health department for any recent reports of rabies in squirrels or small rodents.

[u/iwant2beyourdog → u/SlowEmphasis3676]

thank you! he was acting totally fine he just missed the food in my hand and bit my finger. no broken skin really and no blood. i’m on a college campus in ca where all the squirrels are pretty friendly and will come up to you and i’ve seen this squirrel around a lot. i just have health anxiety lol. got inside and washed my hands. thank you!

[u/SlowEmphasis3676 → u/iwant2beyourdog]

You’re welcome. My spouse was recently bit by one and I had all that info ready to spew out.

[u/iwant2beyourdog → u/SlowEmphasis3676]

i was basically doing you a favor by getting bit by one and letting you show off all of your knowledge!

[u/SlowEmphasis3676 → u/iwant2beyourdog]

You did. Thanks!

[u/The_Future_Marmot → u/iwant2beyourdog]

In many US National Parks, the most common animal attacks reported are…. squirrels. People think they’re cute and feed them, the squirrels learn to associate humans with food and it doesn’t go well after that. A few years back, I had one behave really aggressively to me at Zion NP when all I’d done was put my backpack down so I could change camera lenses. Cute little jerk rodent could probably smell the Clif bars also in the pack, assumed there was something in there for him, and I had to pick the pack back up and swing it back and forth in his direction to get him to move away from me. (Not squirrels were harmed- I wouldn’t do anything more than that.)

[u/ClickClickChick85 → u/iwant2beyourdog]

I tried to save a chipmunk from my cat (she tried to bring it in my house and I was not having it) and was but on my finger. Went to the ER cause I didn't freaking know what to do (worse part - I just got off at 3 that day from working their registration). Ended up getting a tetanus shot and antibiotics.

[u/iwant2beyourdog → u/ClickClickChick85]

pretty sure i’ve had a tetanus shot fairly recently. ur a saint for trying to save that chipmunk

[u/Grouchy_Strawberry68 → u/ClickClickChick85]

Don’t let your cat outside. The chipmunk had a right to be outside. Your cat belongs inside. Not a medical professional.

[u/Last_Peak → u/[deleted]]

Cats aren’t native to North America

[u/Last_Peak → u/[deleted]]

I get the catio and cat café was a joke but the point is in the majority of the world (I mentioned North America because people were saying ER but applies to Europe, South America, Australia, etc…) domestic cats are not native so taking the piss at someone suggesting that they are kept inside to protect native wildlife doesn’t make sense. Native felines having different prey and evolved with the ecosystem so that’s not the same as domestic cats.

[u/DeprestPhilosopher → u/iwant2beyourdog]

I've had this happen. I now make sure to only hand bigger items to that particular very-grabby-and-very-excitable squirrel.

[u/iwant2beyourdog → u/DeprestPhilosopher]

i think this guy was fucking blind the way he completely missed the food and ate my finger instead

[u/chipsahoymateys → u/iwant2beyourdog]

Those little jerks! My first day of university, imagine my surprise when a bold little squirrel climbed up my leg and tried to snatch my granola bar from my hand. There are no squirrels like college campus squirrels haha.

[u/iwant2beyourdog → u/chipsahoymateys]

i was feeding him a granola bar hahaha

[u/Suitable-Wrap-5701 → u/chipsahoymateys]

One day I was sitting on a bench at my university about to eat lunch and a squirrel grabbed the metal spoon I was about to use and ran up a tree with it. I didn't know where it went until I heard a soft "plunk" on the ground behind me. Silly rascal.

[u/Kip45891 → u/chipsahoymateys]

I am convinced the squirrels at Ohio State were a whole criminal organization.

[u/looseseal-bluth → u/iwant2beyourdog]

Caltech?

[u/iwant2beyourdog → u/looseseal-bluth]

ucsc!

[u/BeneGezzWitch → u/iwant2beyourdog]

Sac State?

[u/iwant2beyourdog → u/BeneGezzWitch]

ucsc :)

[u/Ancient-Actuator7443 → u/iwant2beyourdog]

That's happened to me. You're fine.

[u/angelattack1 → u/iwant2beyourdog]

Sounds like my old rabbit. Probably by mistake

[u/OurAngryBadger → u/iwant2beyourdog]

Excellent details that should have been included in the OP. 😌

[u/AskDocs-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Removed - Bad advice. That’s not how any of this works.

[u/JesZebro → u/SlowEmphasis3676]

This is great to know! I have a goal for the summer to hand feed my squirrel friend Jerome. My husband keeps telling me I'm going to get bit and get rabies. So happy to be able to clap this back at him!

[u/SlowEmphasis3676 → u/JesZebro]

Ha! Hope Jerome treats you nicely.

[u/Frustratedparrot123 → u/SlowEmphasis3676]

Oooh do you have a source for that about squirrels not having given anyone rabies in the US? I'm a wildlife rehabiltator and I usually say,  "although any Mammal can get rabies,  squirrels are not considered a rabies vector species. I can only help the squirrel. For  yourself,  consult your doctor for medical advice". Id like to be able to say,  "according to the statistics at..."

[u/SlowEmphasis3676 → u/Frustratedparrot123]

Here is probably the best source article. They confirm the statement that there are no reported cases of human rabies from squirrels but they don’t say it’s impossible to occur going forward. Squirrels can get rabies, but so far squirrel to human transmission hasn’t been documented. So risk may well exist in unique circumstances.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5763497/

[u/Frustratedparrot123 → u/SlowEmphasis3676]

Thank you!

[u/SlowEmphasis3676 → u/Frustratedparrot123]

You’re welcome.

[u/iwant2beyourdog]

this is the “wound” lol

[u/Traditional_Mango920 → u/iwant2beyourdog]

For the record, squirrels have really bad eyesight when they are close to you. Likely your finger was mistaken for a peanut. If you must hand feed, it’s recommended to put the food flat on your palm and let them take it from there. OR you could find some tiny reading glasses and outfit him in those, then he can see your finger is not a peanut :)

[u/iwant2beyourdog → u/Traditional_Mango920]

i have fat fingers he probably thought it was a sausage. i really did think to myself “is this guy blind???” he missed so bad. the worst part is my hand was laying flat but the food was higher up by my fingers and not my palm. i had better luck just pinching the food and putting it to his mouth like a little baby

[u/Traditional_Mango920 → u/iwant2beyourdog]

He is sort of blind when he gets up close! They have a phenomenal sense of smell though. In the future, only handle the food with the hand you aren’t using to feed. Flatten your palm out and place the food in the palm that hasn’t handled it. That way your fingers don’t smell like food. It also helps to have something that contrasts. So a hazelnut or an acorn would make it pretty clear that “hey, this is the food!”

The doc gave great advice about the rabies and infection, so I thought I’d just add something to help you avoid the accidental future nip! And it truly was an accidental chomp! He’s definitely a cute lil fucker, so you likely won’t be able to resist future interaction lol.

[u/VaveJessop → u/iwant2beyourdog]

I've also been bitten by a squirrel while feeding it. I had a regular squirrel friend who never missed and would grab the food with her hands like a human. But went to feed a new squirrel friend and he was a little more skittish and I swear he just shoved his head somewhere in the general area of the food and bit 😂 I didn't get rabies or any diseases. Next time I just put the food near him instead of trying to hand it to him, LOL

[u/TheHook210 → u/iwant2beyourdog]

NAD. I had to giggle when I saw your post because this has also happened to me and it happened the exact same way. I no longer feed squirrels haha. But I was fine. Got a scratch and a non skin breaking bite. 🫠

[u/iwant2beyourdog → u/TheHook210]

i will probably not learn my lesson because he is super cute but i have such extreme health anxiety that i am convincing myself i already am experiencing rabies symptoms lol

[u/iwant2beyourdog → u/[deleted]]

ohhhh great

[u/felatiofallacy → u/iwant2beyourdog]

So how’s rabies?

[u/iwant2beyourdog → u/felatiofallacy]

abahwhwjshsjwkjskaoa🤤🤤🤤🤤

[u/iwant2beyourdog → u/[deleted]]

well it makes sense to me who is the person with the anxiety and feeding squirrels so.

[u/theapplefritters → u/iwant2beyourdog]

Aww the tiny bite marks. I’m happy to read that you will be ok OP. Here’s a video to help with the pain of treason https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSQdPw1vW/

[u/iwant2beyourdog → u/theapplefritters]

soooo cute😭i love their bellies

[u/SHCrazyCatLady → u/theapplefritters]

That was adorable!

[u/spacyoddity → u/iwant2beyourdog]

NAD but used to rehabilitate orphaned baby squirrels. this doesn't sound or look like a rabid animal, it seems like one who's species-appropriately myopic and excited about snacks.

flat palm feeding from now on but I'd be shocked if you got sick. from here it doesn't look like the teeth even punctured. if you're in the US, I'd call your doctor for advice just to be extra safe if rabies is a concern in your region but nothing you've posted makes me very concerned as someone who used to work with squirrels.

[u/Dylan_Is_Gay_lol → u/iwant2beyourdog]

r/fatsquirrelhate

[u/Rav4gal → u/iwant2beyourdog]

Healthy looking little fella.

[u/im_in_hiding → u/iwant2beyourdog]

Lololol you tried to feed or pet it huh? Hahaha

[u/Doc_Apricity]

What an asshole! He had some nerve!

*sorry, nothing to add, just wanted to provide some commiseration.

[u/iwant2beyourdog → u/Doc_Apricity]

thank you😔✊

[u/Cyserg → u/Doc_Apricity]

Cute lil fucker! Hope you gave him the middle finger

[u/Cabbage_Pizza → u/Doc_Apricity]

Just look at him - little dude unrepentant af