Two ground Squirrels have a question

[Michelle]

My daughter recently purchased two baby Ground Squirrels. They have been with us about a month or so and we have no idea how to determine the sex of them. Can anyone tell me how to do this. They are housed together in one of those 3 tier cages and they eat together and sleep together. They have started fighting and we have no idea why. HELP!!!

[Squerly]

Hi Michelle, and welcome to the squirrel board. Where did your daughter purchase these "ground squirrels"? At a pet store or private breeder? And is it possible to post a picture of them so that we can determine their age, actual breed, etc? I'm probably not going to be able to answer your question but I am apparently the first one to stumble onto your post time morning and I'm sure that pictures are something that one of the resident rehabbers is going to ask for. (Not to mention, we all wanna see um!) :)

[Michelle]

They were purchased at a pet store and we were told that they were Richardson Ground Squirrels. We asked there exact age at the time of purchase and were told that they did not know but they were babies. I do not have any pictures that I can post right now. I will get some as soon as I can. They are so much fun and we love them we just want to make sure that we are doing everything that we can do the right way. I went back to the pet store this past weekend and asked them if they knew how to determine the sex of the babies and I was told that they had no idea. Thanks for the reply.

[Squerly]

I see there isn't a lot of information on our site about ground squirrels, but I did find this and it had a couple of useful links (http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=351&highlight=richardsons+ground+squirrels). Nothing about age though but you might find it helpful.

[Michelle]

Thank you. I have searched and searched and can not find to much about the little guys. Maybe some one will have some answers for me.
Thank you again.

[Mrs. Jack]

hmmm... not much is there. This is what I found..


The Richardson's Ground Squirrel is sexually mature at approximately one year of age. The female usually bears her young between the months of April and May, in the safety of her burrow or nest. After six to eight weeks, the pups are ready to some out and begin to learn foraging techniques from the adults. In the wild, once a young squirrel leaves the nest, the chance of the pup surviving to the next year is one in four. The average lifespan of the Richardson's Ground Squirrel is three to four years. No information about captive breeding has been found.


from here http://centralpets.com/care/pets/mammals/rodents/4274/7/1/petcare.php

Your best bet may be to take them to a small animal veterinarian and get as much info as they can give you.