color changes

[la dame à l'écureuil]

I've noticed in a couple of posts that squirrels seem to have changes in their coloring. Is that true? Would a squirrel whose paws were all pale grey start to get rust colored? I can't tell if the juvenile I was feeding last week has had a color change or if this is a new one who is just very tame.

[Apple Corps]

I've noticed in a couple of posts that squirrels seem to have changes in their coloring. Is that true? Would a squirrel whose paws were all pale grey start to get rust colored? I can't tell if the juvenile I was feeding last week has had a color change or if this is a new one who is just very tame.


la dame - our fox squirrels started off with ivory colored undersides and light gray tails. Over the last month the underside had darkened (drtier??) and their tails are shifting to tints of red - or so we think. There appears to be fluctuation in their weight as well - all healthy looking between trim and not so trim. I guess for all we know there could be 10 different squirrels zooming around here and we think it is the same 3 or 4 changing - who knows???

[island rehabber]

My five definitely went thru color changes in the four months I had them. They were all blue-grey and white in the beginning.....then Percy became truly silver-white on his back, which is how he got his Arthurian name, Percival.....then Lance started to go all rusty colored on his head and four legs. Eventually, they all made the same color change as Lance and ended up golden and grey on their backs with rusty heads and rusty legs & tails. These were the first spring babies I have ever raised to adulthood, and their colors were definitely suited to spring/summer camouflage. All my other squirrels were late summer babies who became very silver/white by the time they were released in November. Makes sense for my part of the country.