'red or gray squirrel'

red or gray squirrel

Comment #125 Wendy (144.30.30.214) -

I found a baby gray squirrel in my yard about a year ago. I took him to the vet because I was afraid his leg was broken and also to learn how to care for him til I could release him. It turned out that he has cataracts and can't be released into the wild because he is blind. So I kept him. He's a wonderful pet.

Comment #126 Lisa (75.101.207.85) -

George, I am a squirrel breeder from Pennsylvania. I used to sell to the general public but stopped quite a few years ago. While I do not agree with some of the comments listed, I really don't think you know what you are getting yourself into. Squirrels need a lot of space and proper care. I used to want them as pets too, but I only breed them for the Pennsylvania State Game Commission now. They belong outside George. Yes they are are cute and cuddly but you really need to face reality. I am not going to tell you what to do but, you should think about what is good for the animals, and not yourself.

Comment #127 Steven (208.108.81.47) -

So i just caught a friggin grey squirrel in my garage and im keeping it in a dog cage. so all i want to know is if they can be trained and how long it takes

Squirrels are Friggin Sweet!

Comment #128 Cindy O (97.97.114.175) -

My daughter found a grey squirrel, 6 weeks old, fallen from a nest. She searched the web & learned to hydrate it first with either gatorade or a water, salt, sugar water. He is such a love. He sleeps with my husband & I. He often comes along with me prefering to stay in my shirt & peeking out from time to time. He has never been caged. I can let him out for an hour or so and he will return. Always by my side when not sleeping, a phenomenal pet.

Comment #129 The Cubmaster (192.104.67.122) -

Hey fellow squirrel fans,

My family lives by some nice woods and we love all the wildlife that is around. We have found orphaned rabbits before, and a baby bird once, and we took them to the local nature center. The boys recently were running around outside and found a squirrel lying in the brush, apparently hurt. They found a dead one in the same area before that, no apparent reason why it was dead. Well, they ran in and told me that they thought it might be going to die, could I save it, etc. Well, I went out and the poor thing was a adult squirrel but apparently had its back broken. We have owls and hawks that sometimes sit onour fenceposts and hunt, so I wondered if a hawk struck the squirrel but somehow dropped it. Well, I watched carefully and the squirrel pulled himself around by his front legs, his back ones were limp. I carefully netted him and put him in a cage, gave him food and water, etc. He seemed ok after awhile, and after he recovered somewhat was pretty feisty...so we let him go. He scrambled away and up a tree (amazing to see him use only his arms) and have not seen him since. I hope he is OK.

Has anyone ever had anything like this happen? Do you think the squirrel will make it or is he already probably dead? We all sure hope he is OK.

Comment #130 morgan (173.123.66.249) -

hey anyone know where i can find a goat preferably on thats into fisting let me know.... thanks

Comment #131 Dont Care (122.164.205.59) -

Guys.... Dont think about having a squirrel as a pet.... if someone wanna give it a shot.... go ahead... try it out n trust me... Youll have a hard time...

However nicely we care for them, it wont get tamed coz as people have already mentioned, they are wild...

Comment #132 Squirrel's For Pets (71.49.136.76) -

I have kept both Red Squirrels and Grey Squirrels for pets. Some I caught and tamed others were purchased. I have red a lot of comments but find few that actually know anything about squirrels. The first thing you need to do is check your State and Local laws to verify if you can legally keep a squirrel as a pet. My first advice is to obtain a squirrel from a USDA Licensed Breeder. That way you will have some assurance that the animal was bred in captivity and is healthy. Secondly make sure you can spend a lot of time with the animal, as the more time you can spend with your pet the better it will be, about 5 hours per day is the minimum or you must have more than 1 squirrel. If the squirrel is not having the interaction it will become aggressive and it might start to bite. All squirrels must have time outside the cage regularly. My experience is to have a room in my home that is squirrel proofed so they can not get hurt and let them have the run of the room for many hours each day. This is also a good place where you can interact with your squirrel and have it play with you. The most important thing about having a squirrel is that it is a pet that will bond with you and it will usually not accept a new person as its owner, in other wrods it will be your pet until it dies. Squirrels can live up to 15 years in capativity.

If you are not prepared to do these simple things it is best not to get a squirrel for a pet. If you are prepared it can be a very rewarding pet and companion.

Comment #133 Gonzo (75.186.80.153) -

I wish I could have a pet squirrel, but my dog would probably eat it. He's a Westie, so he was bred to kill rodents. And I've had three hamsters and I was heartbroken when they died. I don't want to go through that again. Do you know where I could get a robotic squirrel, a stuffed animal one, or a virtual one??

Comment #134 grey (205.188.116.206) - Sat Sep 5 14:48:26 2009

loking for a grey squirrel?

Comment #135 heather (71.168.252.221) - Sun Sep 6 17:36:16 2009

ummm ferret HAVE been domesticated for thousands of years, and if you dont handle them properly (just like any animal) they will nip or become mean. ive had ferrets my whole life not one EVER bit me. its all in who the owner is and how educated they are on the animal they buy. i also have a squirel that was abandoned by its mom (actually mom was hit by a car near the park by our home).i had her since she was on formula. shes awsome and even plays with my dog. of coarse she has her own room that resembles a forest with fake trees and lots of room.(plus alot of space outdoors in a bird type cage).they are not perfect. little destroyers if youre not careful. they get into EVERYTHING!they also require ALOT of attention. mine is with me all day, and pretty much has the run of the house during the day when im home. no need to jump down ones throat about it, he was just asking. if you wanna get tech. all animals are wild, domesticated or not. its not like hes lookin to adopt a bear.

Comment #136 Brittany (98.154.242.203) - Mon Sep 14 16:10:24 2009

Hey, Im a new squirrel owner.. I acutally found mine in pretty bad shape, hes a ca ground squirrel.. I found him at the beach where they like to live on the hllsides here.. he was about 4 or 5 weeks old and I really didnt think he would make it.. I think something may have happened to his mom and he was too young to fend for himself... Hes now about 5 months old. He has a large cage that he is rarely in and I spend pretty much all day with him.. Hes still a brat though... he comes and cuddles up with me in bed and prefers to take his naps on my lap. Despite these wonderful qualitys hes still nips if I try to make him do something he doesnt feel fit to doing and gets a little rough during playtime. Does anyone know of any ways to calm down the nipping, I was hoping he may grow out of it.. he is calming down some as hes getting older, Im afarid the blame falls on us though becaus ewhen he was younger and would play we would encouarge the biting behavior as it did not hurt :/ I read other people on here with the same play behavior and have seen videos of pet squirrels doing the same. it this regular squirrel behavior?

Comment #137 tami jordan (98.20.229.167) - Tue Sep 15 09:30:47 2009

Okay....i have had a few pet squirrels in my life and they aren't kept in a cage. But they do stay around because they have bonded with me. I believe them to be very intelligent and can be very loving. My squirrel would turn my tv on and sit on the end of the bed and watch it. She was such a snob that she would only eat out of a plate or drink out of a cup. But i loved her. when she decided after 5 years to go in search of "man" i was heartbroken.....but i would still see her from time to time. Now i have a new baby. I have had her a few weeks. I am in arkansas and was curious if anyone knows where i may buy another gray cat squirrel or one that needs rahab? i want her to have someone to play with. Squirrels are the best. I have had almost every animal possible....i have a huge farm and although i love my goats ....my squirrel was the best pet i ever had the joy of taking care off.

Comment #138 Julia (205.188.116.206) - Wed Nov 11 12:55:15 2009

"A good place to start..."

ratkateersrodentry.com

Ratkateers used to have squirrels, but now they mainly advertise the flyers. I'm sure they could find you a reputale breeder as close to you as possible. I also recomend scouting out hoobly. Be sure you have a permit if your state requires it. :) You can shoot your state representative an email (or a phone call) to check up about what is required. It's pricy, but I also recomend a USDA liscence and/or game/wildlife permit-- it's sort of insurance in case your state ever bans squirrels as pets. (...it does happen.)

As for all the hype about captive "wild" animals, a USDA liscenced breeder does not take these animals out of the wild. They're not typical "pets", but they are bred in captivity if you obtain them legally. Every animal, with the exception of certain domestic species (ie: your cocker spaniel which has been bred, imbred, and compromised from its wild form...), roams wild somewhere. You can find wild gerbils, hamsters, mice, and who knows what else on different corners of the globe. In order to have these domestic animals, the wild animal was kept in captivity and bred down to its domestic form we have today. If you're going to ban pets-- ban them all. See how popular your agenda is then. Responsible ownership of animals is an excellent way to preserve biodiversity. The offspring can be re-introduced to the wild with successful rehabilitation. Be careful about what priveledges you remove from the people-- you could be driving a species closer to extinction. On the flip side-- no animal should be owned irresponsibly: it's cruel. Be sure to do your homework and know what you're getting into. Good luck to you, and don't get discouraged! There's a lot of great Yahoo groups with more information about owning and rehabilitating squirrles.

Comment #139 Suzy (72.11.36.71) - Fri Nov 13 10:07:04 2009

"Pet /rescue squirrels"

We rescued a baby squirrel 3mths ago her eyes weren't even open...she has become a fixture with us now. My 2 labs keep an eye on her while she runs....we let her decide if she wanted to stay or go but she decided so far she likes the inside of the house but likes to play outside. We do have a cage but she was only in it when we were unpacking from our move. She has "run of the house" and a "squirrely door".

I rescued squirrels, raccoons and birds as a kid so this isn't new to me. Having a pet squirrel "caged" would break my heart. There is that old saying....

"If you love something set it free"...(Now my part) If it comes back and decides to stay for a bit great..love and accept it. If it leaves, still love it and accept it... :)

I know I love my lil gal and I know I will shed some tears if she decides to leave this spring but that is nature...

Have a great day all.

Comment #140 J..............J (69.2.202.199) - Sat Nov 14 16:22:21 2009

"Jo Jo"

If this keeps goen on like thes, you guys might be arguin bout mashed potatos by april.

Comment #141 Wayde (69.48.11.8) - Sat Nov 14 20:19:02 2009

"Sanctuary Owner"

Sorry kids, but squirrels do not, as a rule, make good pets. I have raised hundreds over the last 40 years, along with cougars, bears, wolves, coyotes, and many others. They really do belong in the wild for everyone's enjoyment. As to those who claim they have good ones, remember that is the exception. Even if you hand raise them, eventually they become mature and will want to leave their family and stake out their own territories. Their bites are very painful-and they will eventually bite you-guaranteed. While a very few wild animals {such as skunks, servals, and sugar gliders} can make god pets, these are really for experienced, dedicated animal owners.

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