Squirrels as pets: NOOOOO!

                         Mom in a calmer moment

Squirrels are NOT suitable pets. I personally think they are darned cute, but they are not pets. They are clever, resourceful and family oriented:

Sitting at the window last week, out of the corner of my eye I saw a squirrel rushing up a tree with what appeared to be a small slice of white bread. I was struck by two things – the urgency to get the bread up the tree, and the fact that I am the only person in the neighborhood feeding squirrels (it comes as a surprise to me too) and I hadn’t thrown out any bread. I went outside for a closer look. By the time I got out the front door, the squirrel and what I’d thought was bread had disappeared. I stared up into the tree they’d vanished into, and saw no sign of either. Then I looked down and saw the baby squirrel that had fallen out of the nest above my head. It looked pretty big to me, so I figured any minute it was going to run right up the tree after the other squirrel and its’ bread sibling. It did not. It was breathing, its eyes were open, it was alert and moving all four limbs, but it just laid there on its white-bread belly. The only I knew about baby squirrels was that you could pet them and mom would still take them back, so I petted it. Mom showed up right about that time, in a neighboring tree, having a COW. She was yelling at me in squirrel, tail flicking angrily back and forth, angry squirrel eyes glaring at me. I went inside quickly, expecting mom would come tend to her baby now. After 15 minutes with no sign of mom, I asked the RatMaster (who is around squirrels at her volunteer job) about this. “Just leave it alone for about an hour and see if the mom comes back.”

                    Squirrel nests as we see them

An hour?!! I figured she didn’t know what she was talking about, so I went to an online squirrel rehab site for factual information. They said to wait 1-2 hours to see if mom comes back. I didn’t tell the RatMaster this. I stayed by the window keeping an eye on the squirrel. While I waited, I read the rest of the emergency squirrel care information and emailed the Squirrel Rehabber, Pam, and another nice person, Nonda, who would be helping me find a rehabilitation center for the squirrel if mom failed to return. It was suggested that I get a berry box, put some hay in it and affix it to a tree, to encourage mom to come retrieve her child. This at least gave me something to do while I waited. I went to the garage to search for a berry box, added hay, and went out front to affix it to a tree. I reached out towards the baby, who began slowing creeping along on its’ bread-belly. I wondered if it would creep out of the box. I reached towards it, and it “startled” and sort of snorted and made me think I might want to get some leather gloves on. With a gloved hand I reached towards the baby, who “startled” again, then started calling out. Loudly.

   Fur-lined nursery with separate area for mom to get away

Suddenly mom reappeared, looking and sounding like an angry conservative at a debate on healthcare reform. She was FURIOUS. She yelled at me, flicked her tail, and waved her front paws in the air. I beat a hasty retreat into the house, and watched. This time, she ran down the tree to the baby, and turned the baby over on its back. I was horrified, thinking maybe this was actually a strange squirrel out there trying to kill the baby – else why would it be turning the baby onto its back? Lickety-split, the baby was on its back, the big squirrel grabbed it by the scruff of the neck with its mouth, the baby held on with its arms and legs, and mom carried that big baby – almost as big as she was – up that neighboring tree in no time. It was absolutely amazing.

I learned from Pam that squirrels have back-up nests, in case something (like this) happens to the original nest. Pretty smart. Pam sent me some great photos of squirrels and a cozy fur-lined nest, for those of us who have always wondered what the inside of a squirrel nest looks like.

If you should find a baby squirrel, follow this link to find out what you should and shouldn't do.

More photos of squirrel-nest interiors here.

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