Breeding the common squirrel in captivity

Probably, there is no person who has not seen squirrels at least once - while walking in the park or in the forest. Many people feed squirrels, especially where they are accustomed to humans and do not hide from them in the treetops when they appear. Squirrels appeared on our home territory a long time ago. At first, the squirrel chased the starling out of the birdhouse for two years, then when she succeeded, she chewed up a larger entrance and took up residence in it. In mid-May, we saw a baby squirrel under a tree, but after it, others climbed out of the birdhouse. There were six in total. So two squirrels stayed with us. At first we placed them in a small cage and fed them soft foods: carrots and raw seeds, but after a week, we realized that our pets willingly eat peeled hazelnuts, dandelion leaves, and tree buds. When we decided that our babies would stay with us forever, we made a large cage for them and began to watch them.

Getting to know squirrels

This is an animal with an elongated body and a long fluffy tail. The length of my pets is 22cm (at the age of 21 months) and weighs about 600g.

The lifespan of an animal in the wild is 7 years, in captivity - more than 10 years. The head is rounded, the nose is slightly elongated, the eyes are large and black and located on both sides of the head. The ears are relatively long, with long tassels at the ends of the same length, but only in winter; in summer there are no tassels. The hind legs are very powerful and large, and the front legs are short, with which she holds and deftly and quickly turns over the objects she needs. The fingers are elongated, with extremely tenacious claws. The color of the fur depends on the season, from silver-gray in winter to bright red in summer, but the pet’s belly is always light white. In winter, the fur is always soft and fluffy. The animal's tail is very fluffy and long - about 25 cm and helps them maintain balance when moving, and also plays the role of balance when jumping for a long time onto a tree or onto the ground.

The creative role of man in life

It is very surprising that the female squirrel is dominant and larger than the male. She easily took away the hazelnuts he had already peeled from the boy. Might drive him into a corner. In a word, the male was inferior to his neighbor. By November, we began to notice that the male had grown up and reached sexual maturity. But the female is not there yet. She didn't let him near. During this period - December - he called her, chased her around the cage, even bit her (she barely had time to hide from him), and in general there was a strong squeak. Everything dissipated when on February 26 we heard a faint squeak - near the house. Although before this I noticed that our pet eats a lot, has gained weight, has a rounded tummy, and folds her front paws and always holds them on her chest.

Yes, and her behavior before giving birth was a little strange. She deftly collected the hay with her paws, crushed it, crumpled the hay and brushwood with her teeth, and then dragged it to a secluded, quiet place in the cage - behind the house.

The appearance of baby squirrels

Squirrels are very touching mothers, but males do not care about their family either in captivity or in the wild. Four cute little squirrels were born - two girls and two boys.

I brought her a drink so that she could drink, because she could not leave the kids for two days. They slept all the time, only squeaking occasionally. Three days later, we freely took the little one into our palm, the mother squirrel allowed us to do this.

Description of baby squirrels

The cubs are born naked and blind, small pink lumps, but with claws and not small ones. After giving birth, she cleans everything herself. For the first two days she does not leave the nest, because... babies need mother's warmth and milk. Newborn cubs have a body length of about 5 - 5.6 cm, and a weight of 7.5 - 8.5 g. Their hair appears on the 14th day, starting from the tail. First, the lower incisors of the jaw erupt in babies at about 3 weeks - these are two sharp pencils, slightly diverging from each other, and after 35 - 40 days the upper teeth also appear, but already straight and even pencils. In general, squirrels’ teeth are quite sharp; they easily gnaw through hazelnuts: 3–4 teeth, a small bite and the nut is open. At first they are white, but gradually they acquire a dark yellow color, which indicates good health.

Eyes open very late on the 35th day. But still, this does not prevent them from crawling a little, and at this time the mother very carefully takes them, moves them with her paws, and can even, holding them in one paw and in her teeth, spin the wheel with them around the cage, thereby strengthening their their vestibular apparatus.

But as soon as at least one eye begins to see, and they open gradually, starting with narrow slits in one (and only after 2-3 days the other eye) they begin to look out of the nest and crawl out. Why crawl out? And their legs haven’t gotten stronger yet. Squirrels are very trusting, and babies can be easily picked up and then put back in place. A month and a half after birth, the baby squirrels can already jump with might and main, although they still feed on their mother’s milk. They are quite nimble and playful, rushing after each other, but mom is right there. After two months they eat on their own, they can already be given a full-fledged food: nuts (hazelnuts, pine nuts, and halves of walnuts), unroasted seeds, they really like cores from apples and pears, dried mushrooms, preferably old ones, white bread, and, of course, mineral ones vitamin supplements, which are sold both in sticks and in the form of pebbles. Drinks are also varied: water and milk.

At this time in nature, the mother squirrel kicks them out of the house to freedom.

The male remained at the other end of the cage all this time, and did not take any part, leading a normal life. It’s easy to find out by the behavior of my pets what the weather will be like. For example: if the cold weather sets in, the squirrels drag more hay into their house, sleep together - in one house, and cover the entrance with anything: either a small pillow (we gave them) or hay. Squirrels are most active in the morning and evening hours; they are inquisitive animals, quickly moving from one activity to another.

Description of the nest

The cage in which the squirrels live should not be small - approximately 200x150x100cm, so that it is convenient for them to jump. There you need to lay out sticks, thanks to which the squirrel will grind off its claws. Hang two houses or hollows, a drinking bowl, and sprinkle everything below with hay or sawdust. It is useless to put food in the feeder; the squirrel will hide it anyway. The cage must be removed from the husks and even treated for parasites once every three months. Squirrels are clean animals and will clean their house themselves.

All day long they rush around the cage, while a clattering sound can be heard, and if this clattering sound is present, then at the same time there is also stomping of the hind legs and wagging of the tail. It is very interesting to listen to how the male calls the female - it is a strong, drawn-out cry.

Difficult times for animals come during molting. In males, molting occurs earlier and lasts until June. In females a little later. At this time, they acquire bright red fur and lose the tufts on their ears. Autumn molting begins at the base of the tail and the growth of the tassels, and this happens at the end of summer - after the rut, again the males are the first to molt. During this period, the squirrels do not look very beautiful; the fur seems to hang in clumps.

Proteins and diseases

These animals, like others, are also susceptible to disease. They should not be overfed (especially small ones) - otherwise the metabolism will be disrupted, and at home they are limited in movement, therefore, there will be obesity. The cage should not be placed on a window or in a draft. They also suffer from the same diseases as all mammals. This includes rabies, pulmonary diseases, colds, heart diseases, etc.

Kids always sleep together, curled up and hugging each other; may be covered with a tail.

To make friends with a squirrel, you need to treat it from your hands as often as possible, trying to get it to follow your hand. And only then can you stroke it freely. But we must not forget that the squirrel has a “short memory” and without regular communication it quickly runs wild.

Squirrels and cats

Cats in urban environments often hunt squirrels, which is especially dangerous for small defenseless children. Although you can't tell from my picture. My cat is a soft and warm bed for them.

Variety of squirrel

Squirrels, according to zoological classification, belong to the class of mammals, the order of rodents, the squirrel family, in which 5 genera are noted within the territory of the CIS: squirrels, chipmunks, thin-toed ground squirrels, marmots, ground squirrels.

All representatives of this furry family differ noticeably in size: the smallest are flying squirrels, their body length does not exceed 23-20 cm, and the largest is the common squirrel, whose body length reaches 19-25 cm. Although it fluctuates, that is, it decreases from mountainous to flat areas.

All types of squirrels are forest dwellers. You won't find them in the steppes or deserts.

Squirrels are perhaps the most graceful and energetic of the rodent family. They attract us with their colors and boundless energy. Almost all types of squirrels are true arboreal animals, staying in the crowns of trees and rarely descending to the ground. They usually spend the winter alone, but there can be up to 3-6 animals in a house. They have several nests. They lead a nomadic lifestyle. In nature, a squirrel that is older than 4 years is considered old. Offspring 2 times a year, but in the southern regions it can be three times. Usually 2-4 baby squirrels.

Having squirrels in the house that bear offspring, I noticed a pattern that squirrels born in winter (February, early March) are covered with gray wool and have tassels on their ears, and squirrels born in summer (July) will have brown fur and the tassels on their ears will be missing.

The exception is the species - chipmunks.

By type, proteins are divided into:

common squirrel;
Persian squirrel;
chipmunk, or ground squirrel;
flying squirrel;
American flying squirrel;
two-color squirrel;
gray squirrel;
striped or palm squirrel;
giant squirrel.

On the territory of the Russian Federation, the common squirrel is widespread, which originated from the extinct saber-toothed Scirus smilodon, but the roots go even deeper to the ictidosuchus, then the cynodonts, and even earlier from the small predatory animal-toothed lizards theriodonts.

From the research I conducted at home, I conclude that the common squirrel can reproduce in captivity. I would even note the fact that I didn’t put in much effort, and my family of squirrels gave birth strictly twice a year: in winter - four little squirrels and in summer - two. However, I would also like to note that, like any animal, they need: decent care, proper nutrition, constant physical activity, as well as care, affection and attention. This is probably the key to my success. For example, my squirrels are very sociable, you don’t have time to approach the cage, and they are already waiting for you at this edge.

Breeding squirrels in captivity is necessary in order to replenish their population in those areas where, for some natural reason, their number has decreased. Those. so that there is no imbalance in nature; the food chain has not been interrupted, and, of course, it is possible and necessary to note that where a large number of squirrels live, forests grow thicker.