These nocturnal mammals are highly social. They must have plenty of hiding places and comfy material for their nests.
Your squirrel will need a large home cage, and plenty of safe, extra space for flying and exercise. They will require added calcium to maintain health, and your veterinarian may recommend additional supplements. Your squirrel will require a varied mix of nuts, grains, and fruits or veggies.
You must be ready to take on the commitment of unique and unusual animal care and maintenance. To own any unusual animal it is important to thoroughly research the animal. If it is legal in your state, flying squirrels can make a good pet. Domesticationįlying squirrels are kept in human care, but they are not considered domesticated. This decreases the genetic diversity of the population, and animals are more likely to reproduce with a relative. When squirrels are separated by large expanses of impassible habitat, like roads and cities, the separated populations can no longer interbreed. Human development can cause habitat fragmentation. Deforestation and land development are slowly decreasing the range of these squirrels. Like many other animals before them, some species of flying squirrel are threatened by human interaction. Foraging at night does not slow their productivity, and these rodents use their large eyes and keen sense of smell to find food. They will feed on nuts, fruits, eggs, and fungi. Diet of the Flying Squirrelĭiet will vary based on species, but flying squirrels all have relatively similar eating habits. These adaptive mammals are relatively widespread across the globe. You can find flying squirrels in North America, Southeast Asia, Malaysia, Borneo, Indonesia, Finland, Japan, and Thailand. The many flying squirrel species can be found in a number of different locations. Some examples include deciduous forests, and mixed forests with hickory and beech trees. They can be found in lots of different habitats, but prefer forests. There are many different species of flying squirrel that live in different areas. Their immensely large (and adorable) eyes help them see in the dark. This helps them avoid diurnal (daytime active) predators, but still leaves them vulnerable to owls and other nighttime hunters. Nocturnal Living – Rather than glide through the trees during the day, flying squirrels secretly swoop from branch to branch at night.Instead, they search for a home someone else has made! Large groups of flying squirrels will make their home inside abandoned woodpecker hollows. Couch Surfing – Flying squirrels do not create their own nests or tree hollows.Other squirrels break open the entire shell. Efficient Feeders – Why waste time breaking apart an entire nut, when a small hole will do? Unlike other squirrels, flying squirrels will gnaw a small hole in a nut or acorn and use that to extract the food inside.If they do not chew and grind their incisor teeth down, they can even grow too large for the squirrel to eat! Continuous growth allows rodents to chew as much as they need to, without worrying about their teeth wearing down. Born to Gnaw – Like other rodents, flying squirrels have continually growing teeth.Flying squirrels have many other traits and behaviors besides gliding. This group of rodents has evolved for survival.
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