We gave her a stuffed animal that she took the stuffing out of to give additional nesting material. We have also provided plenty of nesting material: old socks and t-shirts are good. For Beebz, we hung a canvas shopping bag by the straps from the top bars of the cage. I would not recommend anything much smaller than that for an adult squirrel. Beebz lives in a cage that is four feet tall, four feet wide, and three feet deep.

The cage will have to be large enough to provide a humane living space.This can include sticks and branches, and a piece of bone or antler, which has the added benefit of providing calcium in the diet. It is extremely important that you provide things for your squirrel to chew on, as a squirrel's front teeth grow continuously and must be worn down by chewing. Even if you don't mind teeth marks on your furniture and possessions, chewing on electrical cords or electronic gadgets such as cell phones will always be a danger. This also includes (3) chewing on anything and everything, which is the biggest reason you will need a cage. Anything that you see squirrels do outside-climbing, jumping, running-they will also want to do inside. Your squirrel will explore every place that she can get to, and they can get to just about any place.

The main point is, you can not simply give a squirrel the run of the house, as you would a dog or cat, for several reasons: (1) Squirrels are intensely curious. It would have to be squirrel-proofed, meaning no electrical cords, containers of anything toxic, or other objects that would be dangerous if chewed on. This is non-negotiable-well, with one exception, if you have a spare room that you are willing to turn over to your squirrel. That having been said, here are some things to consider before taking on the responsibility of keeping a squirrel: It will not have learned the behaviors and skills that it will need to survive. This is even more so if the squirrel has been around other pets like cats and dogs. If you find after a few months that caring for your new pet is more trouble than you had expected, don't think that you can just turn it loose in the backyard or local park. Once a squirrel has become used to being around people and has lost its fear of us, to return it to the wild will likely be a death sentence. The longer a squirrel is kept in the house, the less likely it will be that it can be rehabilitated and returned to the wild. If you do find yourself caring for an orphaned or injured baby squirrel, and think that you would like to keep it permanently, please, above all, consider-very carefully-this question:Īm I willing to commit to caring for this squirrel through its entire life?Ī squirrel can live in captivity for up to twenty years. And here is a page with some advice about caring for a pet squirrel. On the other side of the coin, here is a page that argues that in at least some cases, squirrels can be kept as pets. Whether you agree or not (and obviously I don't), the argument is well-intended and should be considered. Here is one web page that makes the case against keeping squirrels as pets. In the interest of fairness, I should point out that there are some people who will argue that a healthy squirrel should never be kept as a pet, and that the goal should always be to return a squirrel to the wild. While we are happy with this decision, and Beebz is a loved and treasured member of our family, nevertheless this is not something that I would recommend for everyone. After our son Kaleb found Beebz in our backyard, orphaned, cold and dehydrated, we made the decision to keep her. If you need help locating a wildlife rehabilitator, you can call your locale humane society or a nearby vet's office.īefore we met my wife Karen worked as a wildlife rehabilitator, and has experience caring for squirrels including a blind male squirrel that she kept as a pet.

In most cases, the next best alternative is to locate a wildlife rehabilitator who can care for the baby and ideally reintroduce her to the wild. As these sites point out, the ideal outcome will be to reunite the baby with its mother, but this is not always possible. You can find help here, or here, among others. There are many other web sites that give advice and instructions on caring for the immediate needs of a baby squirrel. The first priority is to keep the squirrel alive. So you found an orphaned baby squirrel in your yard.

Squirrel mowing acorn drawing