What does a squirrel need?

[Axlebomb]

Hello, my name is David Cassara, I am looking to adopt a squirrel and to raise and care for it however I am merely a novice in this field. I am inquiring about which supplies would be best to support the life of a squirrel. What it needs exactly to eat and such. Any and all help is much obliged.

[Scott]

I'm not the most experienced on TSB but others will sign on soon. Some of the questions they will need answers to are:

How old is your squirrel? What is it's name? Can you post some pictures ? Do you know the weight of the squirrel? What type of squirrel is it?

Below is a URL you can plug into your browser that will explain a healthy diet.

You need to get HHB's which are healthy blocks For an adult squirrel. These should be given 2-3 per day and will prevent Metabolic Bone Disease MBD. Squirrels in captivity are susceptible because they do not get as much activity as wild squirrels. Also wild squirrels have an abundance of food to eat in the wild. You also need a varied amount of vegetables and fruits. Nuts and seeds have a lot of phosphorous and should be avoided except for treats.

If you have trouble posting pictures, please contact me and I will post them for you.

HealthyDietJan2014.pdf

[island rehabber]

Hello, my name is David Cassara, I am looking to adopt a squirrel and to raise and care for it however I am merely a novice in this field. I am inquiring about which supplies would be best to support the life of a squirrel. What it needs exactly to eat and such. Any and all help is much obliged.

Hi David, and welcome to The Squirrel Board. Let me give you the straight, hard facts first:

Squirrels do NOT make good pets. Especially tree squirrels (Eastern Grey, Fox Squirrel, Red Squirrel, Abert's Squirrel). They are wild creatures, not modified by humans through generations of domestication like, say, domestic rats or guinea pigs. Squirrels want the trees, not our homes. More importantly, in nearly every state of the union it is illegal to possess one without a rehabilitator's license -- and even then you need a special permit to possess because rehabilitators are supposed to RELEASE, or euthanize, any squirrel they take in. If you have a pet squirrel in an illegal state, you cannot bring him to a vet and your neighbors can turn you in for having him -- in which case he'll be seized and euthanized by the authorities.

There are some very good wildlife rehab centers in California, including the Coast & Canyon group of wildlife centers. You might want to volunteer with one of them and really get a feeling for what squirrels are like. You'll see what we mean when we say they don't make good pets.

Sorry to be such a downer. There are people who have NR's -- non-releasable squirrels -- in their homes and, on a case by case basis, it sometimes works ok and other times it doesn't. Most often it doesn't, because squirrels want the trees.