Should You Keep a Southern Flying Squirrel as a Pet?

Flying squirrels make cute pet rodents for the right particular person. Southern flying squirrels are the smallest of the tree squirrels, nonetheless their northern cousins (a much bigger species) are moreover saved as pets. Southern flying squirrels are primarily nocturnal, with huge, spherical eyes that help them see at night time time. They keep in timber and glide from tree to tree, using a flap of furry pores and pores and skin between their legs like a parachute. Southern flying squirrels will spend time with you if there’s a pouch or pocket accessible and, if raised from a youthful age, they’re going to type a deep attachment with you.

Can You Private a Pet Southern Flying Squirrel?

Legality

Confirm the legality of defending a southern flying squirrel as a pet in your state, as a result of the authorized pointers differ and alter over time. Even when proudly proudly owning one is permitted the place you reside, it is attainable you will be required to build up explicit permitting or paperwork as a strategy to validate your possession. You must positively uncover all licensed stipulations sooner than shopping for a southern flying squirrel as a pet—the very last item you want is having your pet taken away from you as a consequence of illegal possession.

Ethics

Almost about ethically proudly proudly owning a southern flying squirrel, quite a few it comes proper down to every the best way you provide your pet and whether or not or not you presumably can accurately maintain it. Previous guaranteeing that you just simply go to an excellent breeder, it is best to make sure you can current your squirrel with each half it should not merely survive nonetheless thrive beneath your care. This incorporates each half from time and a highlight to the financial functionality to buy what you need for it. Furthermore, southern flying squirrels could also be injured and even killed by completely different pets (significantly cats) so do not get one if in case you’ve gotten a mischievous pet throughout the dwelling.

Southern Flying Squirrel Conduct and Temperament

Like sugar gliders, southern flying squirrels type an intense bond with their homeowners within the occasion that they are acquired at a youthful age. They’re usually pretty blissful to spend time climbing and collaborating in on their proprietor, almost as in case you are a human tree. They are going to even search out safety and luxurious throughout the sleeves or pockets of your garments.

Bonding pouches are essential in serving to create a strong attachment between an proprietor and a southern flying squirrel and are generally used all by means of the lifetime of the squirrel. Though they’re primarily nocturnal creatures, southern flying squirrels can spend a complete day sleeping in an proprietor’s pouch or pocket. Should you occur to mean to remain bonded to your pet, anticipate your pet will want to be with you all day prolonged. If this time dedication is not attainable, get two squirrels so that your pet does not get lonely.

Squirrels that are not hand-reared or handled rather a lot may chew if scared and could also be very fast and skittish. It might be virtually unimaginable to tame a wild, grownup southern flying squirrel—in fact, it’s is unusual to even see them throughout the wild, since they switch so quickly and are very shy.

Housing

Southern flying squirrels is not going to be huge, to permit them to make do with a reasonably small cage. Nonetheless, they will need ample room to run and climb as a strategy to thrive. Vertical space is additional important than floor space, so a tall cage is biggest. An enclosure designed for sugar gliders can work successfully, as long as the spacing throughout the mesh is slim (1/2-inch by 1-inch at most). Some homeowners uncover {{that a}} hand-crafted cage works successfully too.

Southern flying squirrels are great chewers, so make certain that they can’t chew their strategy out of their cage (wire or metal is hottest). A floor space of 2-feet by 2-feet is ample and the minimal peak should be 3 ft tall (nonetheless as a lot as 5 or 6 ft tall is even greater).

Current your squirrel with branches of their cage for climbing and chewing. Cotton ropes hung throughout the cage might current an different for climbing and play. A working wheel is nice to supply for prepare. A solid-surface wheel is essentially the most safe different for flying squirrels resulting from its prolonged tails.

Specific Substrate Needs

Provide nest packing containers with facial tissues or paper towels as nesting supplies (avoid one thing with threads that will wrap spherical a leg and set off hurt) and line the underside of their cage with bedding or litter acceptable for rodents.

What Do Southern Flying Squirrels Eat & Drink?

Inside the wild, southern flying squirrels eat a variety of nuts, seeds, fruits, and bugs. In captivity, they do successfully with a distinct weight reduction program that will embrace nuts (pine nuts, pecans, walnuts, acorns, hickory nuts), seeds (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds), birdseed mixes, hamster pellets, mealworms, moths, waxworms, and a variety of up to date veggies (corn, sweet potatoes, mushrooms).

In captivity, feed your pet the equal of about 1 tablespoon of meals throughout the morning and at night time time. Because of they’re foragers, you presumably can place meals in a couple of small cups in areas the place you already know the squirrel does not often defecate to permit them to look it out. Take away any uneaten meals after 12 hours. You can add occasional treats of hard-boiled egg or rooster for additional protein of their weight reduction program.

Since southern flying squirrels are susceptible to calcium deficiency, embrace a complement of calcium and vitamin D3 (important in calcium metabolism) with their meals. Limit objects that might be extreme in phosphorous, as a result of it binds calcium throughout the physique. Current a calcium block or cuttlebone along with a mineral block. These meals dietary dietary supplements double as tooth recordsdata since their tooth repeatedly develop.

Baby squirrels are usually not completely weaned when you get them. You’ll have to current them goat’s milk or a pet milk substitute methodology by means of a syringe or an eyedropper thrice a day until they’re absolutely weaned (spherical 6 to eight weeks of age). Grownup southern flying squirrels can have points with sipper tubes on water bottles, so current a shallow bowl of unpolluted water accessible in your squirrel’s cage at all times.

Widespread Nicely being Points

Southern flying squirrels don’t desire any routine vaccinations and won’t be susceptible to any well-known diseases. It is common for them to develop calcium deficiency points, nonetheless a calcium block throughout the cage may assist cease these factors.

Prepare

Southern flying squirrels need a wonderful amount of exploring and prepare, nonetheless since they’re so small, most of this can be completed contained in the confines of their very personal cage. Nonetheless, as well as they thrive with day journey of their cage, as long as they’re intently supervised to cease hurt. In-cage toys and actions are moreover an easy methodology to carry your squirrel vigorous.

Grooming

Healthful southern flying squirrels will groom themselves often, and an absence of grooming can level out completely different factors alongside together with your pet. That being talked about, it is best to not at all bathe your squirrel or submerge them in water—they’re going to merely go proper right into a state of shock or hypothermia. Whether it is advisable to clear your squirrel for some trigger, you presumably can spot clear them with baby wipes or baby powder.

Teaching Your Southern Flying Squirrel

Almost about teaching your souther flying squirrel, you shouldn’t anticipate rather a lot. You’ll not be succesful to observe your squirrel to do rather a lot previous be comfortably handled and perhaps cozy into your garments. Provide treats as incentive to get your squirrel comfortable with coping with and being out of their cage.

Shopping for Your Southern Flying Squirrel

Earlier than you buy a southern flying squirrel, guarantee you’ve gotten a neighborhood distinctive veterinarian who can cope with your pet if emergencies come up. Distinctive veterinarians are generally an outstanding place to start for a referral for native, verifiable breeders. If these squirrels are native in your house, do not attempt to take one in from the wild. Most frequently, it is illegal to take motion.

Associated Pets to the Southern Flying Squirrel

In case you’re involved with pets identical to the southern flying squirrel, strive:

• Northern Flying Squirrel Species Profile
• Sugar Glider Species Profile
• Guinea Pig Species Profile

In another case, strive completely different distinctive animals which may be your new pet.