New member needing advice about nesting box

[BluJae3803]

Hello all! I am caring for & loving an amazing 20 week old squirrel (that I found abandoned and wounded when he was approximately 5 weeks old) named Hollywood. He is doing so well, and I have to give tons of credit to the wonderful people who share their knowledge and experience on this board. I have a question about his wooden nesting box. I put some natural cotton bedding in there, and he then made it his own by putting other items from his cage (more bedding, a little towel, etc). I open the top and check it each time I clean his cage, and it looks clean and cozy and doesn’t smell. Should I remove the nest he has made and put new bedding in there and allow him to make a new nest? Is there a certain time that squirrels like to re-make their nests (i.e. Spring?) and would that even apply to an indoor squirrel? I don’t want to upset him by messing with his handiwork if it is not necessary to do so. Any advice would be so welcome! Thank you so much in advance!

[McCarthy]

Hello all! I am caring for & loving an amazing 20 week old squirrel (that I found abandoned and wounded when he was approximately 5 weeks old) named Hollywood. He is doing so well, and I have to give tons of credit to the wonderful people who share their knowledge and experience on this board. I have a question about his wooden nesting box. I put some natural cotton bedding in there, and he then made it his own by putting other items from his cage (more bedding, a little towel, etc). I open the top and check it each time I clean his cage, and it looks clean and cozy and doesn’t smell. Should I remove the nest he has made and put new bedding in there and allow him to make a new nest? Is there a certain time that squirrels like to re-make their nests (i.e. Spring?) and would that even apply to an indoor squirrel? I don’t want to upset him by messing with his handiwork if it is not necessary to do so. Any advice would be so welcome! Thank you so much in advance!

I'd only clean it if he stashes perishable food, or too much food in his nest. They usually keep their nest very clean, and they will clean it too, to a degree. If everything looks good, I'd offer him to rebuild a new den maybe twice a year.

Be careful when you remove his stash. Some will show their food aggression at that point. Some don't care, some will throw a fit, some will bite your hands. It's best to do this when they are not around.

[Spanky]

Hello all! I am caring for & loving an amazing 20 week old squirrel (that I found abandoned and wounded when he was approximately 5 weeks old) named Hollywood. He is doing so well, and I have to give tons of credit to the wonderful people who share their knowledge and experience on this board. I have a question about his wooden nesting box. I put some natural cotton bedding in there, and he then made it his own by putting other items from his cage (more bedding, a little towel, etc). I open the top and check it each time I clean his cage, and it looks clean and cozy and doesn’t smell. Should I remove the nest he has made and put new bedding in there and allow him to make a new nest? Is there a certain time that squirrels like to re-make their nests (i.e. Spring?) and would that even apply to an indoor squirrel? I don’t want to upset him by messing with his handiwork if it is not necessary to do so. Any advice would be so welcome! Thank you so much in advance!

Nest building... even stuffing their nest with fluff... is a good distraction and keeps them occupied for a while. As far as the clean out goes, it really depends on the squirrel and if they are ones that stash food and get aggressive IMO. And of what kinds of foods they tend to stash (if any)... nuts that will keep versus say rodent block or grapes that will spoil. My NR's are all different though none thankfully get overly aggressive about my "cleaning" their nests. My paralyzed girl gets her cloth nest swapped out regularly. The senior member... a 3 legged male named Zain... while he stashes nuts (in shell), I have gone an entire year in the past. Zain has a Jingle Ball from Henry's that has a small hole in it... about once a week I stuff it full of fluff, and he tears it out and puts it all in his nest. Interesting that he leaves the emptied ball carcass (does not take that into his nest) for me to refill. Eventually his Cozy Cube gets so full he can barely get inside and often sleeps on top... So I swap it out and we start all over. I even save what fluff I can when emptying the nest since, as you said, it is still clean. I have others that do not want a single thing inside their nest except themselves. If you are unsure how he will react to nest cleaning, best to separate him (as in a different room) from his cage while you clean the box. You do not want him getting upset and attacking.