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Found a young squirrel in the parking lot at work. (thelemmy.club)
submitted 5 months ago by to c/aww@lemmy.world
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This friendly little guy was lost and confused, so I'm taking care of him for a bit.

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[–] [S] 23 points 5 months ago (8 children)

He's been doing pretty well with peanuts, carrots and strawberries. I think he's past the bottle phase.

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  • [–] 60 points 5 months ago (5 children)

    Cool, please still do. He needs to get back into the wild at some point and you really want him rewilded properly so he doesn't approach less friendly humans with dogs or depends on humans for food and starves to death in winter. :) please

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  • [–] 50 points 5 months ago (4 children)

    Not OP, but right after Hurricane Katrina, we rescued a young squirrel, not much bigger than the one in OP's photo. We took care of it for about a week while people were busy cutting fallen trees and cleaning up debris, then we let the little fella go.

    He came back damn near every day for about 6 months!

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  • [–] 16 points 5 months ago (3 children)

    I've had friendly squirrels in places I've lived before, I really like it. They're like a pet you don't have to be responsible for, just offer them some unsalted peanuts. They LOVE those.

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  • [–] 3 points 5 months ago (2 children)

    Are there any issues with having pet squirrels? Not that I'd want to adopt one for the sake of it, but if you have to rescue one like OP is there any issue with just adopting it as a pet?

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  • [–] 7 points 5 months ago

    Like someone else noted, they tend to go bonkers when they are mature enough and you have to let them outside. They have extremely sharp teeth that can cut to the bone and can be destructive. But if you rehab one they often visit.

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  • [–] 8 points 5 months ago

    If you are serious about keeping him for any length of time, please please look up proper diet for them. They are on milk much longer than you might think, and they have high calcium requirements (which nuts deplete). They can have seizures if their calcium levels drop too low. I have seen it too many times with people who have baby squirrels.

    He is cute now, but when adolescence hits and his brain shifts into adult/wild mode, he can abe dangerous for you. Please reconsider taking him to a rehabber. He deserves a shot at a wild life.

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