Breeding squirrels in captivity.

[Missy]

Hello (I'm not sure if this should go in the "Baby squirrel" section but here it is anyway)

My squirrel, Missy, is a female, but I think she is getting lonely, so here is my question:

I want to buy a male squirrel so that they can breed and I would like to have suggestions on how to do this.

Do i need a nesting box?

Is there something that should be added to their diet while breeding? (there is with some birds and that's where my experience lies)

Please help, make suggestions and tell me how i can do this!

[island rehabber]

You are in the Middle East, according to your profile, so we're not sure what type of squirrel you have. Many species of squirrels will not breed in captivity at all.
What makes you think your little girl is lonely?

[farrelli]

You should think long and hard about this one and discuss the situation at length here before acting. I mean, what will you do with the babies? Are you prepared for litters every year? Can you provide more stimulation and play time so that she's not as lonely? Would another squirrel ofthe same sex be better? Would they get along at all even if they're of the opposite sex? There's a lot of questions and a lot of opportunity for bad outcomes.

[Missy]

I have some pictures of Missy in my profile. could you tell what kind she is using them?

[Missy]

Why wouldn't she get along with a male? would they fight or something?

[farrelli]

I click on Photos in your profile and see nothing.

Yes, they could fight. There's really no more chance that different sexes would get along better than same sex. You never know with squirrels and most seem to be rather independant. Some make friends easily, some will fight brutally.

[mimipapa]

Is it really true that captive squirrels will not breed?
If so this is a big relief for us. We have three nuts from the same litter, 1 female and 2 males and we are always worried about this.

[island rehabber]

We always THOUGHT that was true, and read the same thing in many squirrel books and rehab manuals.

BUT....last year.....

We had not one, but two very experienced squirrel rehabbers who are members of this board actually have their overwintering squirrels MATE, and give birth, in the release cage! One pair were siblings!!

So, I am sorry to tell you, all bets are off......

[Mabels_drey]

I see your from NY we are hearing here up in Canada the gross lawfare and destruction of Peanut. Do you know who were the big mouth complainers that got poor Peanut euthanized? After 7 years they sent 8 agents and a warrant to report poor scared and now deceased Peanut. Praying for your state. Peanut owner was a animal sanctuary and rehab and still got lawfared. So sad.

Bless you and stay safe there in blue NY state.

[Stevelisa]

We always THOUGHT that was true, and read the same thing in many squirrel books and rehab manuals.

BUT....last year.....

We had not one, but two very experienced squirrel rehabbers who are members of this board actually have their overwintering squirrels MATE, and give birth, in the release cage! One pair were siblings!!

So, I am sorry to tell you, all bets are off......

About siblings.... in summer 2023 we released a boy and girl sibling (black squirrels) that we rescued as orphans. They fit easily into the local black squirrel community and were seen playing together quite often, either one riding the other's back or chasing each other. The girl Bella had a litter of 6 this past spring, which she chose to have in the nest box of their release cage. All 6 of them had a grayish-black mixture of fur color, exactly like Bella's boy-sibling named Barry. Barry was the only black squirrel in our neighborhood with that color scheme. All others are pure black. We are guessing the two siblings must have mated ?

[franklinsfriends]

We always THOUGHT that was true, and read the same thing in many squirrel books and rehab manuals.

BUT....last year.....

We had not one, but two very experienced squirrel rehabbers who are members of this board actually have their overwintering squirrels MATE, and give birth, in the release cage! One pair were siblings!!

So, I am sorry to tell you, all bets are off......

I know this post is very old but I found your reply on a Google search. I am in my first year of rehabbing squirrels and have a pair of overwintered fox squirrels. I think the girl is pregnant & we're literally just a few weeks away from them going to outdoor pre-release. Did your rehabber friends who had this happen do anything differently or just let them all live in the same cage? I only have one cage big enough inside and one big enough outside so it they need to be separated, I don't know what to do.

[island rehabber]

I only know for sure that one of the rehabbers immediately released everyone but the mamma who had given birth. There is always a danger with mammals that a male will kill babies in order to send the female back into heat, so he can do it again --most especially if these did not happen to be his babies. ( Ask any urban police officer about how this is true even in humans. It's called the boyfriend syndrome. )
Mamma squirrels will also become very protective and territorial once the babies are born, so it's imperative that whoever gives birth gets her own apartment.

[olorin19]

I only know for sure that one of the rehabbers immediately released everyone but the mamma who had given birth. There is always a danger with mammals that a male will kill babies in order to send the female back into heat, so he can do it again --most especially if these did not happen to be his babies. ( Ask any urban police officer about how this is true even in humans. It's called the boyfriend syndrome. )
Mamma squirrels will also become very protective and territorial once the babies are born, so it's imperative that whoever gives birth gets her own apartment.

I overwintered then released sister Arya and brother Iggy - released early May at about 9.5 m.o. While they were released in adjacent cages, after release they always slept in same release cage for several months before moving to the trees. Arya moved back into her release cage and had three pups in late July. And brother Iggy was no longer welcome near the pups.

I have another release from a year ago who is back in her release cage with pups in her nest box. And she guards that space near her pups quite zealously from all other squirrels.

[franklinsfriends]

I only know for sure that one of the rehabbers immediately released everyone but the mamma who had given birth. There is always a danger with mammals that a male will kill babies in order to send the female back into heat, so he can do it again --most especially if these did not happen to be his babies. ( Ask any urban police officer about how this is true even in humans. It's called the boyfriend syndrome. )
Mamma squirrels will also become very protective and territorial once the babies are born, so it's imperative that whoever gives birth gets her own apartment.

Oh boy. That’s what I was afraid of. The babies are most definitely his. This is my first yr rehabbing and I was told these guys were too young to pro-create. They have been overwintering with me just the 2 of them all winter. I have room to get a different cage and house them adjacent. Would you recommend that? They’re literally just a few wks away from outdoor pre-release so now I’m afraid for him to be by himself but know she needs to be with her babies. 😭 Also, thank you for responding! I need to figure out how to get notifications.

[olorin19]

By notifications, do you mean when there is a new post on this thread?

If so, go to Thread Tools on upper right then add a subscription for instant notification by email.

[franklinsfriends]

By notifications, do you mean when there is a new post on this thread?

If so, go to Thread Tools on upper right then add a subscription for instant notification by email.

Thank you! I finally figured it out. What a way to start my first year rehabbing. 🤦🏻*♀️