'red or gray squirrel'

red or gray squirrel

Comment #100 Richard (97.96.115.145) -

Ashlie:

I have a great suggestion.

#1. Try peanut butter and jelly on a pretzel.

#2. Grind up a Planters Peanut Bar. Warm it in the microwave for a few seconds and feed it on a wooden stick.

#3. Try to keep your hand away from the baby squirrel. Not because of safety sake, but he might smell stuff on your hand like meat rather than the scent of his natural food.

#4. Buy some raw peanuts and bang them in a ziploc bag and let him try to eat out of the bag.

My squirrels come out of the trees for some of these remedies and eat out of my hand.

Richard.

Comment #101 Shauna (194.176.105.43) -

I feed squirrels to my snake. He loves them.

Comment #102 Liz (64.12.116.206) -

We have a baby squirrel that is about 9 weeks now. We named him Lucky, because he was the lucky one. We rescued him when he was about a week old when our neighbor's tree was cut down right before Hurricane Ike. It was on 9/11 that we found him, and he was the only one out of three that survived the fall. The responsibility of taking care of him was like having a newborn...literaly. He is now a lot easier, although we are still giving him formula about twice a day. My kids take care of and feed him, with my supervision of course.

He is the CUTEST thing. He is so lovable, he rides around on our shoulders, and climbs all over us, we wrestle with him, and play games and tricks with him. He's kind of like a cat in personality, except less moody. Our intention was to raise him to about 12 weeks, but the longer we keep him, (and we are VERY attached to him) the more we are waivering about letting him go. We are so afraid something is going to happen to him outside. Our outside cat would probably get him first, and my kids and I would miss him horribly. Even my husband, who is NOT an animal person is very fond of him, and thinks we should keep him.

Comment #103 Kent Shoemaker from pensacola, fl -

I have a baby gray squirrel that my wife nursed with an eye dropper. He is the neatest little thing. recently, we have been feeding him grapes, bananas, strawberries, and raw unsalted peanuts. He has reached the age where he wants to chew everything. I'm guessing he's 3-4 months now. He is one of the best pets I've ever had. He loves my granddaughter but he'll bite and fuss at my son when he comes around. He loves to play. I have left him out of his cage at night and he'll crawl under the covers and sleep with us. I would like to find him a female mate. If anyone knows where I can get a female, please e-mail me at akshoe59@aol.com

Comment #104 LadyE from Ohio, Buckeye -

My boyfriend brought home a baby squirrel about 3 months ago, she didn't have her eyes open yet, I have bottle fed her and then she started eating nuts and seeds. She is so spoiled now. She thinks she has to try everything I eat or drink. I have to give her own cup of iced tea and it has to have an ice cube in it or she won't touch it. She has complete run of my apt. She has a big cage that she only stays in when she decides it is bedtime and for her it is about 5:30 or 6pm. she comes to me and gets on my shoulder and nuzzles my check and wants me to pet her and then she jumps down and wonders off to bed and I don't see her till about 8am the next morning if I am not awake yet she comes and wakes me up wanting her breakfast which she has to have a half of a pancake, no syrup. LOL!! This little girl has been such a joy and a comfort for me I wouldn't know what to do without her. My boyfriend says that she is such a spoiled brat. When he comes home on the weekends she will pick on him and all I have to do is tell her to go get him and she crawls like on her belly close to him and jumps up on him and runs up and down on him and then sits on his cap and looks down over the bill at him.

Comment #105 Ashley (76.249.19.166) -

Ok. On the ferrets. I have had ferrets since I was a little kid. They make excellent pets when trained properly.

BUT! Today I found a squirrel and it wouldnt leave our breeze way. I tried and tried. I put him outside and he just came back in. I gave him peanut butter (sorry if its a bad idea, im new) and he kind of just came into the house. I have him in a little cage for now. It's winter so idk if htey have specific breeding times or what but I dont know how old it is. Its young but its eyes are fully opened. It lets me pick him up but not for long. I'm kind of afraid of it but I really want to keep him. Please give me some insight. AND NOT MEAN INSIGHT!

Comment #106 deenna (66.241.172.69) -

My dad has always wanted gray squirrels in his yard in the country...he would gladly feed them if they showed up- but they seem to stick in town. does anyone know where i can buy some for him. Grey squirrels please- he lives in iowa.

Comment #107 squirrel guy (209.42.184.179) -

HEY everyone, I sell squirrels!!They do make great pets.Dont listen to everyone on here..1270-980-0525 www.squirrelsguy.com

• squirrels

Comment #108 Jeff (67.84.32.102) -

I have hand raised a gray squirrel from approx. 5 weeks when it fell from a nest. It's eyes were closed and I bottle fed him two to three times a day. He was showered with attention. Early on he lived in my daughters closet and would sleep in the bed with her. I would bring him outdoors and supervise his roaming the yard and he would willingly come back when tired. He would wrestle like a kitten and was always in control of himself. At approx. 4 months of age I moved him outdoors to a large tool shed which I enclosed. I let him out and supervised his roaming the yard. At approx. 5 months he began biting hard and then began jumping at my face unprovoked. He became extremely agitated when I brought in food and would attack my hands when he was eating. After the first time it happened I began to wear goggles when entering the shed to feed him. Their nails are so sharp and they are so fast, you could be easily blinded as they run across your face. I am at the point now where I feed him daily and the slightest movement provokes a jump at my head. There was absolutely no sign of this behavior beforehand and I assumed me handraising him and being his surrogate parent would prevent it. Regardless of why he is doing this--the turn from perfect domesticated pet to wild unpredictable animal was overnight and has not reversed .

Comment #109 Audrey (65.248.93.200) -

Jeff, A squirrel is still a wild animal no matter how domesticated you believe it to be. Two reasons I can think of for the sudden change of behavior, One: I have read that a deficiency of Calcium in the diet can cause a squirrel to become very agitated and aggressive. Two: Their fear instinct begins at roughly 6 months of age, plus, as you introduce the squirrel back to it's wild environment, it's wild instincts will be heightened all the more.

I have a 2 year old female fox squirrel, raised her from 1 week old. She's the love of my life. I've done endless hours of research on nutrition and any other information I can get my hands on. Personally, I believe you will only be able to domesticate a squirrel as much as it will allow you. Everything is on their terms, it's all about them, not you. Letting your squirrel to roam outside has breathed the "Call of the Wild" into it's soul. I'm all for keeping a squirrel as a pet if it wants to be. My squirrel has her own room, she's never caged, plus she has an outdoor cage she can go into directly from her room through an open window. Her room has 5 windows and 2 skylights. She looks directly out to 5 large Cedar Elm trees where I feed the outdoor squirrels. Her squirrel friends come to visit daily and she is learning things from them I'm sure. I want her to be as educated as possible since she was not raised with other squirrels. She is at a disadvantage because of that, therefore, I keep her inside but I do whatever I must to keep her happy and healthy. Squirrels are very high maintenance. She is the sweetest, funnest, most adorable pet I've ever had. She's my baby, but I still keep it in the back of my mind that one day, she may tell me she's ready to go but in the meantime, I do everything possible to keep her happy.

As far as wanting to purchase a squirrel, (not you Jeff) I think it's unethical. I feel so blessed that this little baby came into my life unexpectedly. She's changed my life in so many ways. But they deserve the chance to live their life as intended. I believe my squirrel has instincts to be a mother herself as she gets really moody and protective of her nest during mating seasons but then she gets over it. I hate to deprive her of that opportunity. Anyways, I could write a book! Good Luck with your squirrel!

Comment #110 Boris's Mom and now Giftee's Mom (24.182.106.24) -

Well, after ten months, the day finally came when I felt I was depriving Boris of a happy life. I came to this conclusion one day as I was watching Boris look out the window at other squirrels. He was ten months old and was laid out on his tummy on his platform, mesmerized by his wilder counterparts, and to me, he looked depressed. What a stab in the heart! But honestly, I knew the day would come when I would have to let him go. He was big and healthy, and his inner skwerl was just dying to be released. Far be it from me to deny my skwerl anything he wants or needs to be happy and healthy. So, after a couple of weeks spent getting him used to the outdoors and with a tear in my eye (I mean several tears), I released him and watched him happily climb to the highest point he could on one of our oak trees. Boris never came back and I never saw him again. I hope he made it. He would have certainly died if I hadn't rehabbed him, so at least I gave him a chance at life.

The month before Boris' release, we had another baby boy squirrel turned in to the vet clinic where I work, the day before my birthday. This tiny baby pinkee was found lying on someone's back porch beside his brother skwerl, who was lying in the sun and was already dead. "Giftee" (my birthday skwerl) was obviously less than a week old, and I began rehabbing him. As he aged, I noticed something wasn't quite right with Giftee. He was much smaller than other baby skwerls I've raised, and as he got old enough to eat solids, I found he leaned to the left when standing on his hind legs while holding something to eat. Eventually he would just fall over, right himself and continue to try and eat. Eventually, he would have to actually lay down on his tummy to control his food so he could eat it. I did some research and discovered skwerls can have Downs Syndrome and other congenital/genetic problems just like people, and I wondered how lying in the hot sun when he was a tiny baby affected him. Something isn't right.

As Giftee grew, he continued to be very small, even with a nutritious diet of Zupreem monkey biscuits, rodent block (which skwerls will eventually quit eating), Calcium and vitamin supplements and all the leafy greens he would eat. I gave him few nuts/seeds due to the upside down Calcium-Phosphorous ratio. After several months, he was still leaning and falling, and I started noticing that he didn't seem to see very well, either. He would jump for me while we were playing and would totally miss me. He cocks his head so his right eye looks down to look at something. However, with all of these strikes against him, he is full of energy and very playful, and without a doubt he's the sweetest skwerl I've ever met. I think of him as mildly handicapped -- he's not very strong, he falls over and he can't see well -- so I don't know if I will ever be able to release this baby. He would be killed, I'm sure, since he's so very small and weak. So this little darling is my baby right now, just the sweetest little skwerl you could ever hope to have. He's about six months old now and thriving. I'll keep ya'll posted. . .

Comment #111 Squirrel mom from -

I just wanted to say that having a squirrel as a pet in Florida, is legal. I happened upon a squirrel as a pet after the hurricanes came through central Florida, 4 1/2 years ago. I initially started with 3. One fell ill by aspirating the formula and then had to be returned to the rehabilitater. The other 2 remained with me and were the best of sisters and of friends until the approximate age of 6 months old. I never expected that I would be put in the position of releasing one of my fury & sweet babies. Nothing could have prepared me for what I had to do. Nonetheless, one of the females began daily fights with the other in order to gain "dominance". Her intent was obvious annihilation of the "other" female. Well, sad to say, I had to release the more aggressive female. With much tears & much hesitation, she was released to my mother's backyard. My mom feeds all of the animals in her yard daily. Also, in her yard is a perfect hollowed out tree home for just the perfect squirrel. Now that tree has a forever friend.

After the sad but necessary release, I continued the bond with the little female squirrel remaining in my home. BTY her official name is Roo, but she does have many others. In my wildest dreams, I never thought that a squirrel could actually become a companion pet. But she has!

As a child, our home was always filled with the usual loving pets like cats and dogs. I was quite use to the "normal" issues and concerns of "normal" pets. But my Roo came around and has blessed me greatly. She is a precious gift from God and a glimpse of what Eternity must be like. In Heaven the lion will lie down with the lamb. And in heaven, my Roo will live in "perfect" peace forever, along with all of my other pets that have already passed.

Yes, having a squirrel for a pet, isn't without challenges, yet is still very rewarding. So, if you want your own little piece (peace) of Heaven, by all means ~ get a squirrel.

There are many things that I have learned about my Roo. For instance, I do have an exotic pet veterinarian that can see her when she is ill and when she needs front teeth help. The latter is extremely important in squirrels because the root can become infected. Also, the teeth can splinter & grow through the top of it's mouth causing either severe infection or death. It is real important that your pet squirrel gets plenty of gnawing items like fresh cut oak, green pine cones (available in the spring), acorns (that haven't been sprayed by pesticides), and a mineral block to name a few. Although squirrels do like apples, strawberries and other "soft" fruits and vegies, it is best to limit these. She/he will choose the easier foods over the rougher foods out of convenience. This WILL cause problems (and money) as I have found out. These types of foods are higher in caloric count which can add extra weight because a squirrel can consume much of these easy food items in little time. My vet recommended even hiding some food around the house, so that your squirrel can forage, which mimics more of his/her natural instincts.

I do not cage my Roo at all in her home environment(only on trips to her awesome exotic pet veterinarian). She has her own bedroom complete with her own nest that she made~not I. She has complete roam of the house. However, the bedroom doors, the bathroom doors and the laundry room door are closed for obvious safety reasons. She also has full access to our screened in porch, which is huge. On the porch is 2 very large cat trees, a wooden perching shelf & many other climbing items that she enjoys.

I have learned a lot of facts about proper care & feeding of squirrels. Someday, I may write a book. So...If you want a squirrel, I recommend a female squirrel. Please DO obtain as much information as possible, BEFORE bringing one of these little animals home. Know that they are not always predictable. The last thing you would want to do is to get a lil' squirrel, realize that it wasn't what you imagined, and then release it to a certain death. Remember, that after a certain release time (around 6 months), you can jeopordize a squirrel's ability to survive in the wild.

I am new to this whole forum thing, but if you want to contact me with questions, please feel free to do so. I may be able to help if I have experienced it with my Roo as of yet.

Take Care & I hope that all of this helps in your decision process! :)

Comment #112 squirrel vid (76.254.127.191) -

i think all of ya need to see my video on youtube heres the link youtube .com/watch?v=-ApfMWcp1hw ya have to write in youtube.com it was to long .....i had my squirrel since it was a baby had him for 5years now , and now im afraid to let him go ..he does not like my back yard everytime i take him outside he runs back inside ... he loves us and we love him..

• youtube

Comment #113 me (1) from htx -

or go to youtube and type in domesticated funny squirrel

is like the second video

Comment #114 ME (96.254.0.104) -

Instead of buying one why dont you adopt one? I know a lady who runs a squirrel res. She takens them in, gets them on their feet and returns them to the wild when she can. For ones she cant she finds homes for. If you are still looking email me and Ill give you her info.

Comment #115 JULIA (66.56.49.38) -

I grew up having pet squirrels. If you think their any different in temperament from a dog you have obviously never met a domesticated squirrel. Once they were a few months old they would make a nest in the yard and come down to hang out and go inside during the day. They always had the option of a large two story cage my father made but the door always stayed open. They usually only used it when there was a bad storm. They see their owners as family and want to be with them. Sometimes when we had people over one of the squirrels, buddy, would hang from the window screen to the dinning room longing to come inside and take part in the festivities just as a dog or a cat would do.

Comment #116 Jackie (71.239.182.204) -

I have a pet squirrel that i have raised since he was baby. He fell out of a tree but his eyes were open and he had fur. As a baby he was very calm and could be easily handled. Now he is about 8 months old and still a great pet, however, when he "plays" (like many other domesticated squirrels that I have seen on youtube)he bites really hard. I let him out of his cage every day for at least an hour and he is very well fed and well taken care of. I've noticed that if I yell "NO!" really loud when he bites, he stops, but not permenantly. But I was wondering if there was a more effective way of training him not to do this. I love him and would never release him back into the wild because I know he would not survive. So for all of you experienced squirrel owners out there who can play with their squirrels with their bare hands...I AM JEALOUS!!! PLEASE SHARE YOUR SECRET!!!

Comment #117 Joe (75.214.106.22) -

Squirrels are awsome!!!!!!

I feed them peanuts and once in a while they let my handfeed them. it is very cool! i know where you can pucase a squirrel. go to exotic pets.com

Comment #118 Jackie (71.239.182.204) -

Has anyone ever had their pet squirrel's teeth filed by a vet? I was wondering if it would eliminate the biting problem...and I was also wondering how long it would take them to grow back if I decided to do it...

Comment #119 Latrissa Stoner (208.100.239.200) -

I have a pet Grey squirrel his name is Fuzame he is the sweetest pet ive ever had, even though hes only a couple months old he wont go anywhere without me he thinks im his mom.I rescued him from someone who shot his mom i wouldnt recomend taking one from its mother but if you can find someone who raises them or sells them get one! he also sleeps with me sometimes and he does have a cage. they can be caged but the cage has to be large and have many branches and toys so the squirrel wont get bored when your gone. you haveto be with them constantly or they will start to fear you. i take mine everywhere i go he doesnt run away he wears little shirts. hes like my child. i love him. theres nothing wrong with having a squirrel as a pet there great pets as a matter of fact as long as you have them when there young and there like dogs as long as you train and handle them correctly theyll attach them selves to you and be your best friend for years to come. i suggest having one there a great family member to have :] Latrissa Stoner <3

Comment #120 Bobs Butt (64.147.4.199) -

hey What in the name of pig are you stupid cows screaming about??? Squirrel are squirrels they can be tame and they can be wild!!!

You are so stuck up about squirrels, get over it get a squirrel and never go online again!! I work for the FEI Federal Elien Idiots.

Comment #121 Squirrel (64.147.4.199) -

Hey I am a squirrell. and I hate the fact that we are kept as pets. I have three brothers that were eating by mother teresa and one sat one by you!!!!!!!!! I hate the fact that you are reading this but if any one asks squirrel can talk!!!!! I work as CNI=AKA=corn nut idoits

Comment #122 Audrey (65.248.93.200) -

Reply to comment #120 and #121; An I.Q. above ZERO is a prerequisite to participate in this forum. You speak with no evident intelligence and should look elsewhere for your twisted entertainment.

Comment #123 steve scott (98.217.213.50) -

I think that we ought to cage chad Butyl..or what ever the idiots name is> Reporting everyone to the police??? OHHHH NOOO!

Betcha he spelled his name wrong. I am going to release every squirrel I catch from my land in his car! Where is it??? C'mon...give Chad the squirrels...maybe he'll take a liking to them...after he realizes that they like nuts!

Comment #124 Travis (63.148.172.237) -

I have 3 that i caught in my back yard. They are not kept in cages, they even sleep outside. They have NEVER biten me. They are reds and when they get too excited they do tend to be motor mouths. As long as you have time to spend with them everyday then they make great pets.

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