|
|
|---|
|
Southern Flying Squirrel
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Geographic Distribution Glaucomys volans |
|---|
| Data provided by Global Biodiversity Information Facility |
The Southern Flying Squirrel or American Flying Squirrel is the squirrel most commonly found available in the U.S. pet trade. They are the littlest of the squirrel species with only a 3-4 inch long body. Their tiny size, along with a natural tendency to want to rustle around or even snuggle up and sleep in your pocket, makes the Flying Squirrel a perfect "pocket pet".
At first, Flying Squirrels are very shy when meeting new people. A young squirrel that has been raised in captivity or taken from its mother at weaning time will accept handling the easiest.
| Dr. Jungle chuckles...."wow Tinkerbell sure livens up her new family's life! | |
|---|---|
"This was her
first Christmas. My husband and I love her just like a daughter.
She is so cute! ![]() |
Tinkerbell is a female Southern Flying Squirrel. "One of her favorite foods
is sugar snap peas. Of course she also loves cashews, pecans and
whole un-shelled peanuts. |
|
Photos
Courtesy: Kym Johnson
|
|
Flying Squirrels are nocturnal so after sleeping all day, these little fellows will be very playful and full of energy from dusk to dawn. To keep their muscles strong they not only need places to play, but need a regular opportunity to glide. Putting your pet up on a high shelf and letting it glide back to you will be rewarding for both of you!
Background:
Southern Flying Squirrels are found mostly in the Eastern
part of North America, inhabiting parts of Canada, the United States,
and Mexico.
Description:
Southern Flying Squirrels or American Flying Squirrels
are just 7-8 inches long (with 4" of that being the tail), and they
weigh just 3 ounces when fully grown.
Flying Squirrels have a furred membrane of skin that stretches
from their forefeet to their hind feet which allows them to glide from
tree branch to tree branch, thus their name "flying squirrel",
Their fur is silky and has soft dense undercoat. Their overall
appearance of their fur is mostly rusty-brown or grayish-red, with a lightly
colored underbelly. But upon close inspection the hair is a actually a
mixture of several colors including gray, red, and beige, and there is
a soft gray undercoat.
They rest in the hollows of trees during the daytime, and
will search the treetops for food after dark. Their natural foods consist
of insects, birds' eggs, nuts and various kinds of fruits.
They not only have 20 regular teeth, but like all rodents,
they have sharp incisors that continually grow, and will need hard chews
to keep them worn down.
The female will produce a litter of three to six young twice
a year.
Interesting Facts:
- The furred membrane of skin they can stretch out parachute
like,enables
them to glide for long distances through
tall trees - sometimes up to160
feet! They often make sharp turns just
before landing.
- Flying Squirrels are nocturnal, meaning that they sleep
during the day and
are active at night. This means they have
to watch out for night predators,
such as owls.
- They live in very tall trees since their primary means
of traveling is by
gliding, and they are awkward on the ground.
They don't have to worry
about ground predators, but they do have
to be wary of such animals as
hawks.
- With their natural instinct being to save up foods for
the winter, they are very
active hoarders. Make sure to check their
nest regularly to discard any
perishables!
- Besides needing to chew regularly to keep their incisors
trim, Flying
Squirrels need extra calcium. Sterilized
bones and pieces of deer antler
work great for both these needs.
Comments from people who have kept this pet:
I got my flying squirrels from a job my husband did on a roof. The mother went of and left them so he brought them home. I didn't know what I was going to do. But now I would not take anything for them, they are my babies (lol). My 9 year old gets jealouse of them (lol). They want to be on me all the time. I had a cut from the dog and the squirels licked it like you see dogs do. They checked on it every day (I quess they call it grooming me, from my hands and to my arms. Now it has healed and never made a scab or left a mark. I was really surprised by that. I would recommend the Flying Squirrels to any one that is home a lot. When you are having a bad day they will make it bettter. I was going through depression, they helped my out without any meds.
Today I found some very tiny flying squirrels outside. Their mommy got crushed on the road so I brought them home. I fed them cat replacement milk and they are doing fine=). I think one is a boy and the other is a girl.
Our cats brought our little baby boy squirrels to us in Sept when they were pink and tiny. I fed them the recommended formula and now they are cute and tame, flying from one of us to the other off a cleaned branch in the living room, occasionally stopping to drink some coffee and eat a cookie. We put little doll santa hats on them and took a picture for the Christmas card this year! They are called Alpha and Omega and we hope to have them forever. I would love to have a female, but have never seen them in the wilds around here.
I am very close to Orlando and was gone this past week. When I got home last night my husband showed me what he found walking around in my sewing room--a baby flying squirrel. He is soooo cute! We think he came in the house the other night when my husband opened to back door to let the dog out (about 11pm) I have never seen them in the wild! I am giving him the formula that I used on other orphaned squirrels and have had success with. (The recipe came from a vet). I have been researching them online for about 3 hours and have read so many positive things about them. I am going to keep him as a pet! I cant find a nest in the trees, so I dont know how far from home he is. I love him already! Better go, its time for his next feeding....
On Thursday September 28,2007 I got a call from my cousin Dillon. He said that his sister Harley(my other cousin) and he had found a baby squirrel on my Nana's front porch. At first they wanted to keep it but they decided that since they didn't have the stuff to take care of it that they would let me have it. So my mom went and picked it up. Since it was late the feed store was closed, so she picked up some evaporated milk just for the night. That night I went online and found out that it was a Southern Flying Squirrel. The next day we got up and went to the feed store to buy a syringe and some Esbilac milk replacer. That night she opened her eyes, so I went online and tried to find out how old she is, it turned out that she is four weeks old. I have had her for four days now and she eats like a pig and she can now run around on the floor and climb around on my hands and arms. She is the sweetest thing, but mom and dad tell me and my sister Hanah not to get attached to it just in case something happens to it, so we haven't named her yet.
My friend is very close to her flying squirrel, as well as a certain owl :)
| Sponsored Links |
|---|
[Home] [Newsfeed]
[Saltwater Aquariums]
[Reef Aquariums]
[Freshwater Aquariums]
[Cats]