Couple novice squirrel questions

[jillybean]

Hi everyone! I am completely new to raising a rescued squirrel, so I might need a little advice and forgive me if my questions are absolutely ridiculous or funny (I'm not trying to be, I'm really asking)

Can you train a squirrel to use a litter box or is that not possible? I was just wondering since this little guy is living with me know, I figured I'd at least see if he needs a proper bathroom area :)

Second question - my squirrel (Ricky) tends to move a lot in his sleep, like dogs do when they sleep. I was worried he might be experiencing seizures, but I wanted to see if that was just him dreaming or basic squirrel nerves.

My last question is - At what week do they start to open their eyes? I only ask because I didn't know how old he was when I found him, but he's right around the time where he looks like he's 4-5 weeks old. Is that the typical age where the eyes start to open?

Thanks for any advice!

[Spanky]

Hi everyone! I am completely new to raising a rescued squirrel, so I might need a little advice and forgive me if my questions are absolutely ridiculous or funny (I'm not trying to be, I'm really asking)

:Welcome to TSB.


Can you train a squirrel to use a litter box or is that not possible? I was just wondering since this little guy is living with me know, I figured I'd at least see if he needs a proper bathroom area :)

You can provide an option of a little box/pan but it hit or miss if they choose to use it... miss more often than hit, but sometimes they hit it.


Second question - my squirrel (Ricky) tends to move a lot in his sleep, like dogs do when they sleep. I was worried he might be experiencing seizures, but I wanted to see if that was just him dreaming or basic squirrel nerves.

Likely just dreaming especially if it only happens during sleep... this is a little one based on the next question?


My last question is - At what week do they start to open their eyes? I only ask because I didn't know how old he was when I found him, but he's right around the time where he looks like he's 4-5 weeks old. Is that the typical age where the eyes start to open?

About 5 weeks, give or take a few days.

[Lighten-Up]

Can you train a squirrel to use a litter box or is that not possible? I was just wondering since this little guy is living with me know, I figured I'd at least see if he needs a proper bathroom area :)


My experience seems to show me that squirrels use urine to mark their territory, so while I was able to train them to go in a litter box, they did not use it exclusively. Sometimes they used it, sometimes they didn't. They peed lots of other places to mark things. Finding this, I just eliminated the litter box and lived with it.

[jillybean]

My experience seems to show me that squirrels use urine to mark their territory, so while I was able to train them to go in a litter box, they did not use it exclusively. Sometimes they used it, sometimes they didn't. They peed lots of other places to mark things. Finding this, I just eliminated the litter box and lived with it.


Thank you so much for everyone's advice! I'm like a crazy squirrel mom now trying to make sure this little guy is safe and sound, and so far... so good. I just hope his little eyes open soon :) Thanks again!

[stepnstone]

Hi everyone! I am completely new to raising a rescued squirrel,
Since you are "completely new" to this we can help you raise a healthy baby with a few questions of
our own ...well maybe more then a few.:grin2
For starters....
How long have you had him?
How did he come to you?
What are you feeding him?
How often and with what?
Do you know his weight to be feeding the proper amounts?
Can you post a picture, it can tell us a lot.