Do squirrels make good pets?

There are so many reasons why squirrels do not make for good pets, and one of those reasons is because the humble squirrel is a WILD animal. Even if you have this animal from a youngster, taming it as it grows, it will still be a wild animal, and there will be certain reflexes it won't be able to steer away from. They are animals that need to constantly gnaw and chew, and they'll chew their way through most things you put in front of it as an obstacle. This is an animal that has the capacity to break into your home, so you know you're not dealing with an amateur here. Squirrels are noisy animals, and they're mostly active during the morning and evening times. You'll hear them gnawing on wood and other things, and they will try to escape at every opportunity. It will be hard work, and rather expensive, to create a cage-type dwelling that also gives the squirrel enough room to move around like it needs to. If you don't / can't provide the squirrel with the habitat it needs, it will become sick and then could potentially die.



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Squirrels are fun animals while watching them and they can play chase or bury the latest discovery they get from foraging. A squirrel has a fluffy tail and it is entertaining to see when it is hopping around or when it climbs a wood fence or trees around the home. The claws look as talons and they may inflict too much damage on the home. Some people think that it is a cute animal and they wish to keep them like pets.

Squirrels are found in rodent family also called Rodentia and it had existed for over 50 million years which means that it had adapted to live near humans easily. They can feed on scraps, seeds, fruits and nuts. They nest in trees within their branches which are strong enough to support their nests or they can live in trees that have hollow entries.

Squirrels are active during winter since it is the start of their mating season. Baby squirrels look too adorable and they can be hard to resist having them like pets but the looks in this case should not deceive you.

In six months of their lives, squirrels will be used to humans, they will be showing the affection and they can be dependent to humans to get their food. After 6 months, they teeth and claws are sharper, stronger and longer and it is easy to inflict harm on people, furniture or pets unintentionally. There are cases where children were bitten on the fingers and it reached on the bone.

During mating season, squirrel can exhibit harmful and aggressive behavior. The animal do not understand their strength and mostly they do not mean any harm, however, they are not designed to be safe around the home and they are better in the wild. During this time, many owners of squirrels choose to take the squirrels into the wild but this means a sure death. Squirrels are not able to survive since they did not develop the right skills that are needed for surviving in the wild like keeping away from the predators or finding their food. However, it is good to know how to change their behavior.

If you have raised a baby squirrel and at 6 months, you think that it should be set free to go back into the wild, then you should train it on how to survive in the wild and to develop the instincts that it is needed for wild survival. You can learn how to do it on your own or you can find a licensed rehabber to do it.

There are types of squirrels like flying squirrels which may be domesticated but they require enough time for them to get used to humans. However the process may not be effective and if there is a mistake, it may make the animal to make some serious injury as it grows up. This is why it is not recommended to keep squirrels like pets. There are states or countries where people are not allowed to keep squirrels like pets so if you have decided to do it, ensure that it is legal in your areas to adopt or to buy a squirrel to keep in your home.

Baby squirrels are born without hair and teeth and they are blind until they are eight weeks. Male tree squirrels are cleaner and they do take twice the time of cleaning and grooming themselves compared to females.


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