Radderz’ Randomness

River was my pet squirrel. Before the wrong kind of animal loving people start attacking me, he was rescued as a baby and would not have survived an hour longer in the wild, therefore I felt sorry and decided to take him in.

Having been wandering through traffic for most of the day, and then finally being attacked by a cat, he ran up to me for safety - being the less scary option. I took hold of him, and from that moment he bonded and wouldn’t leave me alone.

River and Me

I strove from then on to bring him up, as a cage free animal. This of course is a hard task. I obtained a large ferret cage which had multiple benefits that it would be big enough while he was young, allow me to litter train him with greater ease, establish it as his nest, and ultimately once litter trained you could allow the cage to be permanently open, and maybe install a cat flap so it has the freedom to explore the outside and do what it loves the most.

Large Ferret Cage

From the experiences I have had with him I found that squirrels make an interesting pet for those that can give the huge amount of focus they require. Don’t underestimate the word ‘huge’ however, they are a very big commitment, and require constant attention during the day. You do get a break during the evening and night though, as you put them to bed when it gets dark and they sleep all the way through till just after sun rise. They always want to play, climb, explore, berry things, eat, solve puzzles, or just sit in a big pocket or on your shoulder; Coupled with the fact they live for around 10 years as a domestic animal, and they are mischievous little creatures that you always have to keep your eye on - They know exactly how to annoy you, like pick up and hide your post-it notes :p

Walking around the house is interesting with a squirrel attached. You can literally get on with your everyday tasks with it just grabbing and hanging onto you, whatever angle they end up in.

I like this arm

Diet of a Squirrel

Squirrels are vegetarians, which suited me quite well. Most people think that they only eat nuts, but this is not true. While they love nuts, they must get a varied diet. Different fruits are good. Like human, it boils down to personal preference, you’ll work out some that they absolutely love, some that they hate, and others that they like once in a while.

Squirrels are very messy eaters. They eat about 1/3 of a nut, the rest goes in very small pieces all over the floor. You get used to clearing up after it, but it will quite often squirrel nuts away into its cage or favorite place.

You have to be careful though. Don’t feed them too many junk nuts like peanuts (In fact avoid, they have no nutritional value, and could end up having a seizure). Mine could never resist a good Pistachio, and especially loved opening it. It would choose them above anything else, however make sure they get their greens too. Feeding them too much of the things they adore will turn them into fussy eaters. It loved Peaches too, and sometimes a small slice of apple.

Yum Yum Nuts

Squirrels and Vets

Sympathetic vets are like gold. Most don’t want to know, although in the UK they are obliged by law to treat any animal in need. It can help if you assure them that you are taking responsibility and will be paying for treatment, however few will be trained on how to treat them. Exotic veterinaries may be a better bet if you can locate one.

Treatment can be a problem, as most vets will not know how to treat a squirrel. Even if they diagnose that something is wrong, and what medication should be given, they don’t really know the correct dose that should be administered, so any research before visiting the vets could prove invaluable.

In regards to diseases squirrels can carry, there are a few, but only one is potentially transferable to humans being Rabies which can be detected with relative ease, and fortunately is extremely rare in squirrels and virtually non-existent within the UK.

The main sign to look out for in regards to other squirrel diseases and symptoms, is if it starts to sneeze a fair bit, you should get it checked out without delay as this could easily be fatal.

Squirrels don’t hibernate in the winter either, so don’t be fooled if it starts to sleep the majority of the day, even if it’s only happened for a day or two, it’s highly likely that something is seriously wrong and should be checked out - make sure it has drunken sufficient and has still got an appetite. Try giving something that contains high amounts of vitamins if you suspect it could be diet related.

More photos

Personal Squirrel