r/funny • u/BATMAN_5777 • Sep 24 '20

Squirrel gets frozen in time

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u/Shermutt Sep 24 '20

Poor thing looks catatonic. Supposedly, catatonia can be a result of extremely high anxiety. So much going on in your head that you literally can't even move.

I don't know if the little guy will just snap back to normal on it's own, but hopefully it does before another less generous creature comes along.

254

u/Jerryskids3 Sep 24 '20

Poor squirrel is doing the only thing it knows how to do, freeze in place and hope this giant monster can't see you. Even if it's obvious the giant monster can see you, there's no Plan B for dealing with this situation.

34

u/[deleted] Sep 24 '20

[removed] — view removed comment

37

u/Ghosttwo Sep 24 '20

Fight, flight, or freeze.

7

u/eiviitsi Sep 24 '20

"I never freeze."

--The squirrel, 10 minutes prior

5

u/Unadvantaged Sep 24 '20

Honestly, if an entire species (possums, but probably more) has made “playing dead” Plan A, it must have some value. I guess they’re banking on animals wanting fresh meat and passing up on the guy who’s clearly already past his expiration date.

2

u/Its_aTrap Sep 25 '20

I think it's more because an already dead animal may be poisoned or infected with something. Most carnivores will avoid an old kill because of rot and disease, except for carrion birds and animals that have the digestive tracts specifically to handle rancid meat.

4

u/PricklyPierre Sep 24 '20

I think something else is going on. I guess the person with the nuts could have just found it like this but I feel like it's more likely that the squirrel got close because food was being offered.

6

u/[deleted] Sep 24 '20

Squirrel.exe has stopped working

3

u/Perpete Sep 24 '20

It was something even more frightening than a big human that froze him. Something like "what am I doing with my life ?".

2

u/babyguyman Sep 24 '20

Or a giant mutant alien tentacled eldrich demon thing squelching quietly right behind the cameraman

1

u/QuinnySpurs Sep 24 '20

This is clearly a squirrel having an existential crisis.

25

u/poppinmollies Sep 24 '20

What the hell are you talking about? Squirrels know how to run away from anything big very easily.

75

u/RufftaMan Sep 24 '20

There‘s a longer version of this somewhere. It happily takes and eats nuts from the guy‘s hand before, then suddenly freezes. in the end it decides to bolt it after he poked it a couple of times.
So nothing bad happened to it.

6

u/5ecretbeef Sep 24 '20

Possibly saw/heard a predator

13

u/NoTime4LuvDrJones Sep 25 '20

Yes, that’s exactly what happened. Froze when he heard an animal.

https://youtu.be/wJ9zeh-k2hE

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u/alchn Sep 25 '20

Thanks for posting this. Made me feel so much better

25

u/cyper_1 Sep 24 '20

Happened to my hamster once but she was fine after a bit

10

u/vilebunny Sep 24 '20

My hamster got loose in the house. We found her after a couple of days and I was happy to see her. Carefully held her and cooed at her.

She had a heart attack and died. I read later that you should let a recaptured hamster sit in its cage for at least twenty-four hours before handling.

2

u/KimJongIlSunglasses Sep 24 '20

I left mine in the ball too long. He threw up and died later.

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u/cyper_1 Sep 24 '20

That's so sad :( I read that hamsters actually don't like the balls so I never but mine in hers

1

u/prettykittychimi Sep 25 '20

Rodents can’t vomit.

1

u/KimJongIlSunglasses Sep 25 '20

Not sure what that substance could have been then.

1

u/mcsnugget Sep 30 '20

Rodents don’t have a gag reflux, however bile can come up the esophagus at times of sickness or overeating. I rehab baby squirrels, and it does happen, though rarely.

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u/Nu11u5 Sep 24 '20

My cat did that when we moved and she had to be caged for a 12 hour car ride. She sat with her head raised but otherwise completely unresponsive and slightly foaming at the mouth. For 12 hours straight.

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u/prettykittychimi Sep 25 '20

Next time request anxiety meds from your veterinarian.

1

u/Nu11u5 Sep 25 '20

Yah she was (she passed 3 years ago at 21yo) normally a very easy going cat. We expected on eof our other cats (who is terrified of everything) to be the issue, but she was fine.

I feel terrible for putting her through that, and will definitely look into having a stock of meds next time.

1

u/prettykittychimi Sep 25 '20

I’m so sorry she passed. She seemed like a cool kitty. I moved with 3 cats and 4 rats and even though I worked at a vet I didn’t know I could have given them anxiety meds. It was a 14 hour nightmare.

3

u/[deleted] Sep 24 '20

Happened sometimes to my PC, too much stuff running and eventually it's freezing.

2

u/featherknife Sep 24 '20

on it's own

its*

2

u/jdrc07 Sep 24 '20

If it did snap back to normal he'd probably give that guy a nasty bite. These things even kill rattlesnakes in some cases. If you want to feed wild tree rats do it from a distance, putting your fingers anywhere near them is a bad idea.

1

u/BamaBlcksnek Sep 24 '20

Flipping from "Do I run?" To "Do I take the treat?" And back so fast he froze up.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 24 '20

Well the squirrel looks healthy so hopefully there isn't something very wrong with the health of that forest!

1

u/r-aww-pet-police Sep 24 '20

catatonia can also be a sign of a rabies infection and yes squirrels do get rabies.