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Southern Flying SquirrelAmerican Flying Squirrel

Family: Sciuridae

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"Tinkerbell"Glaucomys volansPhoto © Animal-World: Courtesy Kym Johnson

     These intriguing little squirrels have a large fold of furred skin stretching from their forefeet to their hind feet which they spread out like a parachute and glide from tree branch to tree branch, thus their name "flying squirrel"!

     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.

     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!

For more information about the care of Flying Squirrels see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Squirrel

Scientific name: Glaucomys volans

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.

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 loves to play on our curtains in the living room, coming down to play with us or see if we have something to eat!"	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. Tinkerbell has a ferret sized wheel in her cage which she runs in at night while we are asleep. Recently she likes to play this game in the living room where she climbs up high on the curtains and "flys" to me. We do this over and over again. She never gets tired!! When she gets bored she will climb inside my shirt and nip at me until I play with her. We just love her so much! My life would be so boring without her. I can't believe how lucky we are to have her."...Kym Johnson
Photos Courtesy: Kym Johnson

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Latest Comments
I see Annonymous has Climbed up on a soap box about Flying Squirrels not to be kept as pets, that they belong in the wild. Well my most intelligent friend so should be cats, dogs, horses... Have u ever heard of DOMESTICATED? Do u have any idea the average lifespan of a flying Squirrel in the wild? They are eaten like Popcorn out of my oak grove by the hawks and bats! I have a male that I took from a bird that had nearly killed him. I have had him for 3 years and we tolerate each other quite well. He certainly eats better than in the wild. He is never hungry, cold, or lacks companionship. Without intervention he would be dead long ago. So I ask what is the harm of prolonging the life of the little rodent? Every day I go down to the oak grove and see tons of dead flying squirrels. I guess I am being EVIL for caring for this one and not feeding him to the Hawks!! Gee Get a life and worry about something real... Don Raptor 2009-09-25
I’ve got a Southern Flying Squirrel named Rocky; he was blown out of a tree when he was about six months old. We didn’t have to bottle feed him, but he did bond to the family. Rocky is now five years old, his favorite games are shirt diving and running on his wheel, he likes to run on it then hold on and spin round and round. He likes to eat anything from ice-cream cakes to acorns; we don’t feed him junk food very often just on special occasions. I love my squirrel even though he dose like to make messes and eat my bug collection. For all those who do want a Southern Flying Squirrel make sure he gets plenty of attention and love. Also if you have a cat or a dog that likes to chase squirrels I wouldn’t suggest you get a squirrel. We had a cat and he tried to eat Rocky so we got rid of the cat. Southern Flying Squirrels do make a mess and they will sing during the night sometimes, if you can’t hear high pitch your ok. All in all for everyone who loves small, soft little critters then a Southern Flying Squirrel is a good pet to start out with. victoria 2009-08-20
I have a pet Southern Flying Squirrel,his name is Rocky. I found him after a bad storm. His eyes still closed, I fed him via syringe with Kitten Milk Formula until his teeth came in. He is now almost a year old. In his large, tall cage, is a Calcium Salt Lick, but I add Repti Cal to his meals every night. He gets a variety of things to eat... cooked ground chicken/turkey, Mealworms, and raw Veggies/Fruits like: Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Kale, Green Beans, Apples, Grapes, Blueberries, Strawberries, and Blackberries. Nuts with shell on for his teeth: Peanuts, Pecans, Walnut, Pistachios, and lots of acorns off the trees found where I found him. He is my buddy and hangs out with me most of the day and evenings. At night he goes wild! I got him a Rodent Wheel from Sun Coast Sugargliders with the sand paper in it to keep his nails trimmed. Recently he has started to bite! I think it is because it is the beginning of mating season and he is frustated. :o( Kyra Boggles 2009-02-02
I got my squirrels about a month ago. A man who had gotten them when their nest was blown out of a tree had raised them. He had gotten into trouble and had gone to jail. I was going up and feeding them every other day (round trip of 30 miles) and then found out he was going to be gone for a year and a day. Also, he was keeping them in a curio cabinet. Well, we built a nice big cage and brought them home. We feed them well and they seem to be doing very well. They are very sweet but we don't try to handle them, I'm not sure that they are hand-tame or not. However, I have raised three gray squirrels and released them to the wild, but these two were too habituated to the house and wouldn't last a day outside. Squirrels, as a rule, aren't very good pets because they simply aren't adapted for life inside a house. However, these wouldn't be safe outside, so I think it's best that they live indoors. Gail Dolly 2008-10-25
On Southern Flying Squirrels, no, I don't really care that some government hack feels that I need a permit to save a blinded animal from a house cat. As for those of you that feel that I should care, please note that I regularly shoot deer and grey squirrels with a crossbow. If I want to save a tiny little critter from a cat, then I will. If I'm paid to shoot a bigger critter to keep it from eating fascia, I'll do that too. If you have a problem with that, apply for the position of God - since she's dead, I'm sure you'll get right in. When you get that spot, I'll be happy to listen to you. Until then... steve 2008-10-25
Some of the coolest comments:
Hi all you Flyer Lovers! I'm a wildlife rehabber on the east coast and have been for 13 years. It was interesting reading your comments on this website. As a matter of opinion I'd like to say that while I am an advocate of releasing back to the wild any animals that we can help, I also advocate captivity in certain circumstances. My only trouble after all these years, is the failure of some folks to get educated on keeping wild animals and their lack of commentment to keeping that animal for the duration of its life. Even though most wild animals can be somewhat humanized, they will still stay wild to a certain degree. It takes many centuries to fully tame a species. However I have found that my little flyers do so well in captivity that its plain to see why they make good pets. So I know what its like to want to keep them and also know how to set them free. As long as a person is willing to provide everything these animals need, then I feel they are much better to have as pets in the U.S.A. than some exotic species from other countries that doesn't have any business being here. They make great pets and all animals were wild at some point as one of you have said. victoria 2009-11-02
Comments Dr Jungle REALLY Likes to Hear!
We found an approx. 5 week old flying squirrel 10/9/09, and after reading up on them did our best to care for him. The local wild life authority said we could keep him. He was doing great(on low fat milk), but after I started him on formula from a local pet store he died. We are broken hearted. We had bonded with him so quickly I feel awful that maybe I did something wrong. When he was on the milk he was looking much better than when we had first found him. Don't know what I did wrong, but know I saved him from all of the hawks, owls, etc. we have around. Would love another one, reading more about them all of the time. Thank you for your wonderful web page. debbie Debbie Tsikuris 2009-10-15

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