Do squirrels make good pets?

Squirrels chew on wires and cardboard, gas pedal and dashboards because it has to chew on something. Car wires are under the dashboard and glove compartment and fairly easy for squirrels to reach. The squirrels can chew on them to wear down their front teeth that keep growing during the squirrel’s entire life time and must be constantly filed down in order for the squirrel to be able to manipulate nuts and other foods. For this reason, squirrels will chew on car wires.

There are many of us who think that squirrels are really cute and cuddly and that is what the question on whether they make great pets has been asked over and over again. They are really fun animals to watch regardless of what they are doing and people have spent a long time just looking at the lovely creatures. Usually, you may discover that a single squirrel becomes a regular visitor in your backyard and they can be really friendly and accustomed to humans.

Before you even think of bringing a squirrel into your home, remember that it is a rodent first of all. These animals feed on scraps, seeds, fruits, and nuts. Regardless of how adorable they look, you need to know that these creatures can be very destructive when they want to be.

In the first months of their life, squirrels are totally friendly to humans and they can start depending on you for food. As they are growing, so do the teeth and the claws and they can inflict harm on the furniture, pets and even humans without the intention to do so. There are different reports which support the facts and serious bites have been known to happen even on little children.

Squirrels can also exhibit very harmful and aggressive behavior especially in the mating season. They may not do it with any intent bit they are not safe for domestication purposes and should therefore remain in the wild.

When you have been with the animal since it was little and then it grows up bringing destruction, you may decide to let it go and leave it in the wild. However, this is not a great thing today and it may actually be a death sentence. Squirrels need skills so as to survive and without them, they will perish. They need to know how to find food and avoid predators. They also need to know how a territory is established and how to find that potential partner. However, these are animals that can be trained and changed so that they can be wild again.

To avoid all the problems involved in managing a squirrel, it is best that it remains in the wild at all times.

Go back to the How to Get Rid of Squirrels page or email us if you have any other questions about Do squirrels make good pets?