Artificial Tree

[dextersmom]

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[dextersmom]

My squirrels love to climb and jump in my artificial tree,but I see them chewing the fake leaves can this be dangerous?

[lennysmom]

My squirrels love to climb and jump in my artificial tree,but I see them chewing the fake leaves can this be dangerous?

Yes I would think so - it's hard to say what kinds of chemicals might be contained in them and could be dangerous if they ingested that too.

[Diggie's Friend]

I have read that any plastic can be a choking hazard for rodents.
I wouldn't want to take the chance to include any plastic of any kind in the habitat of a tree squirrel.

A better choice for a tree squirrel to play on is one of those carpeted play trees.
Some I have seen have a nice large hole right down the center so the squirrel can climb down in side like a hollow log and find a spot to rest.

Our girl loved her upholstered play tree, that resembled a giant mushroom!
She spent much of her day going up and down on it, as well as stretching out on it to rest.

She would climb up to the top of the padded tree, then look up at the top of the cage wire above, and then look at me,
and then look up again, and then jump twisting in the air to land on the underside of the top of the cage wire above.

She so enjoyed hanging and climbing all around the inside of her enclosure, which was to her, her home.
When we brought her into our living room, she knew right where to head to go home all on her own.

She did did this little trick of flipping to hang upside down up to the last month of her life, at 11 years old.
Our vet said she had a very strong heart, which we atribute to her getting weight bearing exercise daily,
and the E. Walnuts we fed her, that are very heart healthy; even so sad to say we her far too many.

[Jen413]

I went out and cut down a tree, trimmed the branches up and screwed it into a wooden base. I've attached baskets and shelves to it. I'm planning to drill some holes into it where I can insert small fresh branches with leaves. My guy LOVES it.

[dextersmom]

Thank you! You gave me such great ideas!!

[dextersmom]

Diggies Friend, You miss her so much! You were a great mother to her. 11 years!! What did you feed her? She was a lucky little girl to have you in her life and you in hers!

[Diggie's Friend]

I went out and cut down a tree, trimmed the branches up and screwed it into a wooden base. I've attached baskets and shelves to it. I'm planning to drill some holes into it where I can insert small fresh branches with leaves. My guy LOVES it.

I bet he does! Sounds like a great play tree! I'd love to see a photo of it when you finish working on it.
I assume you know it is a safe wood tree having been here awhile; just keep a watch out for bugs,
as non-sprayed trees, though not made toxic with sprays, may be buggy, as I found out one year with a Christmas tree that had spiders on it.

[Jen413]

I bet he does! Sounds like a great play tree! I'd love to see a photo of it when you finish working on it.
I assume you know it is a safe wood tree having been here awhile; just keep a watch out for bugs,
as non-sprayed trees, though not made toxic with sprays, may be buggy, as I found out one year with a Christmas tree that had spiders on it.

Post #462 shows a picture of it in the very beginning. https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?55205-Sammy-Baby/page24

We've tweeked the base and added a basket, shelf, and toys to it since that picture was taken. He loves it. I can't remember what kind of tree it was but yes, I made sure it was a safe one. :grin2

[Diggie's Friend]

Thank you for letting me know about the photo; sadly for now at least, my computer isn't compatible with the present one so I can't vew most all photos posted on the board.