Baby/ juvenile Southern Flying Squirrel behavior
A month ago I was outside at night on the trail to my shop and heard something fall and it was a baby Southern Flying Squirrel. I rounded up a box, blanket, and heating pad and got her situated. About 1.5 hours later I headed to the shop to look for something and there was another baby in the same exact spot. I imagine she had been there for a little while but backed off and waited 15-20 min to see if momma might show up, but didn't.
So I had 2 baby girls straight from the nest that I guessed were 4-5 weeks old. Their eyes were open and they had all their fur and were both between 19-20 grams.
I live in the woods and have been rescuing animals since I was a kid and have taken care of just about everything at one point. I rescued a SFS a long time ago and got her weaned off milk and released where found though that was before the internet and better information. Since then I've raised quite a few gray squirrel babies and released them and have a good amount of experience with squirrels.
Since I found 2 that were the same sex I figured they made great candidates as pets, especially since my 10 yo daughter instantly fell in love with them. Plus I already have a 6'x4'x2' cage I made for a previous squirrel that got a little too bonded and kept coming back so I made her a place she could stay on the porch but also go outside. She eventually had a litter and moved out permanently but would always come jump on me to say hi when she saw me.
Anyways, for the first 3 weeks the 2 SFS had tons of attention and spent hours every day being held or in someone's jacket or pocket. But about a week ago one started eating less milk and getting more "squirrelly" or wild acting. She will stay on me when I try to feed her milk but usually runs to my back so I can't bother her and will jump off and go explore and frequently goes to the fireplace that is surrounded by a rock wall she can easily climb on. She will run away from me if I try to get her, at least for a while. One night it probably took an hour before I was able to get her again. She also runs one way then another and acts skittish or scared? But maybe that's normal SFS behavior? She has gotten pretty good at jumping 5-6 feet but not really gliding yet. The other is acting similar but still likes to be held and will run and explore but then runs right back and jumps back on us. That one still drinks milk occasionally but they seem to like their veggies, fruit, pecans, white oak acorns, and Henry blocks better.
Does this sound normal for 2ish months old? Could it be the equivalent of turning into teenagers at that age? Or maybe they are smaller and older than I thought? They are about 42 grams now and seem very healthy. They sleep a lot but are also very active when they are out being held or playing/eating in the cage.
I also have a big dog (rescued Foxhound) that loves babies and would lick them and let them run around on her and would never hurt them but they don't know that. She will lay on the ground 6 feet away and just watch them play and has given the cage a sniff a couple times but I don't know if that's enough to scare them and possibly causing some of the "wild" behavior? Being a hound she will bark a couple times if she hears something outside which might not help?
I'm willing to make the commitment of keeping them as pets if they are happy and will like to be held and played with. But if they are going to be unhappy or scared because there is a dog around, and wild and try to run away from us then I'd rather let them go. I'm pretty sure there is a healthy SFS colony in the area since it's almost all hardwood forest around us and they fell from a nest in the yard that I can see in the day. I've also heard little squeaks moving thru the trees and see a few things zip thru the air if shining a flashlight late at night in an open area between trees. So I think they will have a good place to go to if necessary.
Sorry this is so long, but does this sound like normal behavior? And at this age? Or could having a dog be scaring them or causing stress even though she doesn't bother them? Any other thoughts or suggestions or resources on SFS specifically? And let me know if anyone has any questions.
Thanks!
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