Questions regarding rescued southern flying squirrels.

[sundogdayze]

Hi all! 6 months ago, I helped a friend of mine who had found 2 baby southern flying squirrels in her barn, with a rat snake eating their mama. :( I have experience with raising and bottlefeeding ground squirrels, so I took them in and raised them. I have a male and a female, and they are happy and healthy and doing very well.

I'm so torn on whether to keep them as pets or try to prepare them for release. I wouldn't normally consider keeping wild animals as pets, and have successfully released lots of ground squirrels before. But these flyers seem so much more...helpless...and they are such people-loving animals that I worry they will not make it. My yard has plenty of large trees and I have quite a bit of wildlife living around here, but I live in a neighborhood and there are outdoor cats around, and I've seen lots of owls and hawks flying around. I keep waiting to see signs that they are ready to live on their own, like emerging out of their cage in the screened in porch, or looking for food on their own, but they don't want any part of it.

On the other hand, keeping them seems to have a lot of issues, too. Firstly, I always feel bad for wild animals kept in cages. I can't avoid that if I keep them. Also, they will be breeding age soon, and I don't really want to have babies, but you can't spay/neuter a flying squirrel successfully, so I have heard, because they will self-mutilate at the incision site. They are so bonded that I can't imagine separating them.

So I guess my questions are:

Is there some key difference I'm missing when it comes to "wilding" ground squirrels vs. flying squirrels?

Are the rumors about spaying/neutering true, and if so, how could I keep them together without breeding?

Does anyone have experience with keeping them as pets, and making sure all of their health needs are fulfilled?

Thank you for any information, and please don't hesitate to ask anything or tell me what I am doing wrong!

[HRT4SQRLS]

Hi sundogdayze,
I have 3 flyers... all males. Thanks for helping these poor babies after the loss of their mom. Southern flyers definitely do have a 'different' nature from other squirrels. They are very different from grey squirrels. I'm not familiar with ground squirrels so I can't comment on any differences.

As colony dwellers, flying squirrels do have the ability to bond with people. They can be very tame and they do enjoy being with their people. Because these two have been raised in captivity, they are definitely 'pet' prospects if that's what you want. Of course, they probably could be released as a pair in your yard with a proper release. From what I've read of others experience, they can be very difficult to release because they will be content to stay in the release cage and not venture far. They will set up a home base in the release cage and not leave. They will be content to let you feed them and not forage for themselves. I know of a outside cage of flyers that didn't really leave even after they were free to go.

There are a lot of things to consider. In captivity they can live to be 15 years old so it's a long term commitment. In the wild they would only live 3-4 years because they are the tiniest prey animals. Another consideration is the fact that they are bonded to each other. I would definitely HATE to separate them. If you keep them though you really wouldn't have a lot of choice about neutering. They will breed in captivity and you definitely do NOT want that. I have always been against neutering them because of the issue of self mutilation BUT I do have to concede that a member on this board has had at least 3 males neutered without any problems. I would want an experienced vet to do it though with minimally invasive technics. I have read the horror stories of self mutilation and it does scare me but based on others experience it can be done.

Flyers do make great pets. I enjoy my boys a lot. With every positive there is a downside. The nocturnal thing is difficult for day workers. I can't be up all night with them. Your 2 would have each other so that would be good. Like you, I too, am not much for caged animals. I have to say that my oldest (5 year old) actually prefers his cage to running free. He doesn't venture far from his cage and is very content to be in it. The other 2 definitely do need time to roam. As long as I give them a night 'out of cage' time they do fine. They will go in my closet and explore. They love that. These 2 would not do well in a cage all the time.

I haven't had health issues with my boys. The first came with a seizure disorder but they have passed and he has been seizure free for over 3 years. I haven't had to take them to a vet. Following a proper diet will help to avoid many health issues. I see you're in Jacksonville. There is a vet south of you in Port Orange that has neutered flying squirrels for our member here. She is very experienced and has had no issues with neutering.

I hope this helps. It really is a difficult decision. If you can make the 15 year commitment I would say keep them as pets. If not, I would release them (in the proper way of course). :tilt

[Mel1959]

:goodpost

[HRT4SQRLS]

I did think about something else. There is a member here that has been wanting flyers. If I remember right they are in your area. If it's something you would want to consider I could probably find the user name. They posted again with their desire in the last week or two. I'm not sure of their experience level but IMO commitment and intentions are more important than experience. A person that's committed can be taught.

It was almost 5 years ago that I took a flyer into my home and I had ZERO experience with flyers. I had never even seen one other than pictures. :tilt I knew that if someone would trust me with a flyer that I could provide a good home because I don't give up and I don't treat a life of any kind like a commodity that can be neglected when the fascination has past.
I now have 3 flyers AND experience. :grin2 I have a 5 1/2 year old and two 3 year olds. We're in it for the long haul. :Love_Icon

It's something to consider.

[sundogdayze]

I did think about something else. There is a member here that has been wanting flyers. If I remember right they are in your area. If it's something you would want to consider I could probably find the user name. They posted again with their desire in the last week or two. I'm not sure of their experience level but IMO commitment and intentions are more important than experience. A person that's committed can be taught.

It was almost 5 years ago that I took a flyer into my home and I had ZERO experience with flyers. I had never even seen one other than pictures. :tilt I knew that if someone would trust me with a flyer that I could provide a good home because I don't give up and I don't treat a life of any kind like a commodity that can be neglected when the fascination has past.
I now have 3 flyers AND experience. :grin2 I have a 5 1/2 year old and two 3 year olds. We're in it for the long haul. :Love_Icon

It's something to consider.

Thank you so much for all the fantastic information! I am feeling better about them being pets, since it seems they don't yearn for the wild and languish in cages, like I'm used to seeing with ground squirrels. On the selfish side, I would love to keep them forever, but I also know that it may not be the best thing for them for a few different reasons. Could you please track down the person who was interested in getting some? Maybe they will be the answer to all this!

Thank you again!!

[HRT4SQRLS]

Here's the original thread. http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?53223-Willing-to-adopt-a-southern-flyer&p=1147342&highlight=#post1147342

This thread was started on 3-3-16. This member posted 2 days ago confirming their desire to have a flyer. They did rescue one in the past and fell in love with flyers at that time and now desire a 'pet' flyer. You can send a Private Message to this person and you can talk. I do not know this member so I can't give a reference but maybe you can communicate and see if this a 'fit' for both of you. Make 100% certain that you are comfortable with any arrangements that you make. I would not separate this pair.

Just a disclaimer... TSB does not in any way promote the selling or buying of squirrels of any kind. That does include flyers. I wanted to put that out there so you know that TSB is NOT a broker for selling flyers. We do realize the rehomings are sometimes necessary and adoptions are encourages. Good luck to you. :thumbsup

[sundogdayze]

Here's the original thread. http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?53223-Willing-to-adopt-a-southern-flyer&p=1147342&highlight=#post1147342

This thread was started on 3-3-16. This member posted 2 days ago confirming their desire to have a flyer. They did rescue one in the past and fell in love with flyers at that time and now desire a 'pet' flyer. You can send a Private Message to this person and you can talk. I do not know this member so I can't give a reference but maybe you can communicate and see if this a 'fit' for both of you. Make 100% certain that you are comfortable with any arrangements that you make. I would not separate this pair.

Just a disclaimer... TSB does not in any way promote the selling or buying of squirrels of any kind. That does include flyers. I wanted to put that out there so you know that TSB is NOT a broker for selling flyers. We do realize the rehomings are sometimes necessary and adoptions are encourages. Good luck to you. :thumbsup

Thank you! I'll be in touch with them soon! I definitely understand about TSB not wanting to promote sales, and I am definitely not trying to make any money/breed animals. I just want to do whatever is best for the babies. Thanks again!