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View Full Version : Giving wood to squirrels - Poison/Safe?



Crystalis178
01-19-2013, 09:36 PM
Hello everyone! I had a few questions about giving wood to Scout for him to nest with, chew on, etc. We have pine trees outside and I bring Scout small branches whenever I find them outside (pinecones if they are sealed as well!). I recently brought a much larger pine branch to his cage and discovered about 30 medium sized ants crawling around inside his cage. Naturally, I removed Scout immediately and cleaned his cage and left anything that might still have ants in it outside (A tiny hassle as I had just cleaned his cage the day prior).

I was more curious about types of wood that are okay for squirrels to nest with, bite, chew, etc. I have been told that Pine and Oak wood are good for squirrels. I have also been told that Pecan tree wood was poisonous to them and birch branches weren't good for him. Is there a master list of ALL GOOD tree wood to give squirrels and ALL BAD tree wood to give them? The last thing I want to do is hurt him from simply not knowing and not asking around.

On the same note, I purchased this for him to jump on and nest in today but haven't introduced it to him yet: http://www.petco.com/product/117390/Planet-Petco-Small-Animal-Hideaway.aspx?Ntt=1448714&OneResultRedirect=1 Is this acceptable to introduce to him?

Skul
01-22-2013, 07:56 AM
Branches from most hardwood trees are not dangerous.
Maple, oak, apple, orange, pear, beech, birch, willow, pecan, walnut, elm, hazelnut, &etc, are not bad.
Perfectly safe for squirrels. :)

Scooterzmom
01-22-2013, 09:39 PM
As skul said, all those are fine for them. However, be aware that fruit tree branches do tend to attract ants more than the other kinds ;) I brought great apple tree branches in for my guys and the 1st thing I knew their cage was FULL of ants within 48 hrs.

Crystalis178
02-16-2013, 03:29 AM
Thank you for your feedback! It really helps out! Also, I HATE ANTS IN MY ROOM. It was a nasty surprise to find about 30-50 ants crawling around his cage shortly after I gave him a large pine branch once. I'll definitely be more careful with branches.

LaShae1995
07-28-2022, 09:29 PM
Branches from most hardwood trees are not dangerous.
Maple, oak, apple, orange, pear, beech, birch, willow, pecan, walnut, elm, hazelnut, &etc, are not bad.
Perfectly safe for squirrels. :)

Can they have the leaves as well of the oak trees?

I'll try my best to check this asap but I've been really busy. Thanks guys