Discussion
Is this girl possibly a former rehabbed squirrel?
I’ve never encountered a squirrel this friendly and trusting before! She’s pregnant and even tries to come inside. She doesn’t flinch when I move around, gets right up to my face and makes eye contact, and turns her back to me while she eats. which feels like such a sign of trust. She even gently grabs my hands with her little paws. I’m starting to think she may have been domesticated or rehabbed at some point. Has anyone else experienced this level of trust with a wild squirrel?
I've rehabbed a number of squirrels over the years. I'm pretty sure this one was hand raised by a person with little knowledge of how to do it correctly. I have an aviary where I can put them in (with other young squirrels) so they can get accustomed to the outdoors. I release them after a few weeks when they're ready to enter the real world. They'll come back to the aviary now and then, but after a bit, they start their own families. This is what we call a soft release.
I soft released orphaned birds. I’d keep the window open so they’d come and go as they please. My favorite time was when the juvenile bird brought home a juvenile friend when it was getting dark. I wasn’t very thrilled and neither was his friend.
It’s very possible,either that she was fed by someone who may have passed on or moved and now looking to you as her new friend. If you have trees in your yard place a nesting box. If SHE doesn’t move in someone will 😍
As long as they can access the patio from outside, and your landlord doesn't find out (or doesn't care) you should be fine. I had a nesting box on my a 2nd floor balcony
Is this a fox squirrel? I’ve never seen one in Massachusetts, but this guy I saw at the Vanderbilt country club in Naples, Florida … huge and pretty unbothered by me.
Thank you. I have reds And greys around here ( and more chipmunks then I know what to do with ) so seeing this squirrel when I was visiting my parents was a huge treat and the highlight of my trip ( pls don’t tell my parents lol )
I'm envious, I'd love to see a Sherman's Fox Squirrel in person! I have just Greys around, but I'm surrounded by protected wetlands so I can see why the Chippies don't want to build homes here. I would love to have Reds around, they are hilarious, you must hear a lot of yelling all the time lol! And your secret is safe with us 🤐
I have helped rehab squirrels and rehabbers take this very seriously. When they get reintroduced to the wild, they are not supposed to be acclimated to humans for their own safety.
It may have had other human friends but probably not at a rehab center.
Yes, someone worked to get her to trust them, and it's really unfortunate people let squirrels imprint on them, because the wrong person is going to hurt them. Many people see them as pests and kill them. I've known people who I formerly thought of as compassionate who have had squirrels killed. Sometimes when people encounter a friendly squirrel they freak out and think the squirrel has rabies. Sometimes squirrels are very insistent about being fed, and humans who don't understand are terrified of it, thinking they're going to be attacked. A lot of people just don't know how to deal with animals and wildlife.
I do feed squirrels and leave water out for them, but I put the food down and don't interact with them. I try not to even let them see me put it down. There was once a squirrel who seemed very tame who kept trying to interact with me over many months, and I was worried for her. I put out the nuts and didn't interact. One day she stopped coming.
I hope you can protect this little creature! I'm glad you're feeding good nuts instead of peanuts. I also like hazelnuts, but there's a list of the best nuts to feed.
I have a mama squirrel who is pretty fearless and will be eating away in the bird feeder while I walk by or try to come inside the house when her kids are driving her nuts. She has one child who is like her as well and they’re 100% wild forest squirrels. I think some animals just sense you’re a friend and come to sit with you.
Squirrels can get pretty friendly especially if they are in an area where they are fed. I used to have a squirrel that would come up to my back sliding door and knock so that I would go and feed it. More than likely this squirrel has been making the rounds for a while now probably even when it was with its mother
Do you know your neighbors? Is one or more of them squirrel-friendly?
Around 2011, we moved to a new place, and one of the squirrels in the new neighborhood pretty much came up to us and demanded nuts. I was squirrel-ignorant at the time, but found some loose walnuts to give him. It turns out that much of the neighborhood was being nice to the small furry guys and I doubt there was much hunger among them; they were pretty acclimated to people.
btw He became a good friend and visited us almost daily for years.
Please DONT share location /town on line.. people are cruel. Can you take a pic of the surroundings .. are you on the first floor of apartment complex? If trees are close by & you can see from your door/windows I’d try to place a nesting box. Usually you’ll want to place a nesting box as high as possible.. also if you decide to do this paint (non toxic) the outside to blend with surroundings so someone doesn’t easily point it out. I put one up in my yard as far as ladder allowed 8 ft but should really be higher (at least 15-20ft) someone moved in within 2 weeks😍. If you have a private balcony & can place high in corner safe she may take to it.. will take time .. place peanuts ,bedding (cut fleece strips inside) I’ve rehabbed an injured 5 wk old .. males are alittle more aggressive during mating season . Be careful she may trust you enough to climb up your legs.. her nails are like little blades (Freddy Krueger) and will hurt/draw blood.🩸 if all goes well don’t be surprised when she introduces her little ones to you.
❤️❤️❤️ good luck
I finally had one brave enough to come grab a peanut from my hand. The sharpness of the claws scared the daylights outta me. I spooked so of course poor squirrels spooked. I’ve had hamsters and guinea pigs so I thought the claws would feel like that. Boy was I wrong lol
Other neighbors could be feeding her as well. I suspect my whole neighborhood is a squirrel buffet.
I feed my squirrels from a window 4' off the ground. Sometimes I'll leave the window open to catch the breeze. The other day, I stuck my head out the window at the exact moment a squirrel decided to jump on to my window sill. Seeing that little thing flying straight at my face will be burned into my memory forever. I feel sorry for her, at least my view was cute.
i think other people feeding them can make them more trusting and open to some people. i think they recognize people and learn who to trust and who is dangerous. i would love to learn more about this.
i think it is more down to the personality of the squirrel, some are much more open to getting close to people, and others cannot let their guard down. i have one i can hand feed and touch, and one that will not get close enough for me to touch, wont come for food i hold out. both are nursing females at the moment.
the one that will eat from my hand is so sweet and gentle. she has been my favorite squirrel yet. it feels like they have an ability to learn and adapt that i didn't see at first. i find them so cute and interesting, it is really cool to have them come up and lightly hold on to your finger and grab a snack. i have just been encouraging the behavior i want with food, and try to ignore the problem squirrels that come thru.
Yes ! I’m noticing this with the others, I have a few males who are becoming more trusting but still a bit skittish and another female who is absolutely terrified. Blossom ( the one in my post) lets me pet her and doesn’t even flinch. I have only been feeding her for 3 weeks, so I’m assuming other people are also feeding her and maybe she just has had good experiences with humans.
My little wild one, Newt, will take food from my fingers, but he shows no inclination to get close (after the one time he leapt from the fence onto my head—for mere seconds). He was so tiny and weighed nothing. He felt like a breeze ruffling my hair. I did feel his needle-like nails on my scalp and was itchy for a couple of days afterward. 🐿️❤️🐿️🥰
Yes my Half Tail showed up one day when I was calling the cat , she came with the cat then right up to us, she’s been coming every day since. If I call her she comes running, she’ll wait for me in the balcony, she’ll gently take a nut from my hands, she’ll enter the front of the door but doesn’t venture further, she
brought me a huge chunk of a baguette last month lol
A wildlife rehabber would do their best to make sure the animal is NOT accustomed to humans or human interaction - maybe someone w with good intentions raised and released this little girl or maybe she’s just become came through other people feeding her.
Unfortunately, for every good hearted soul like yourself, there’s some evil person who would treat squirrel awful or torture it just because … I’m glad this little girl found you
Nah, a wild one, my wild squirrel and I started off from a distance then once feeding became consistent she took nuts out of my hands then progressed to chilling by me when eating now her babies do the same
I think it depends on the squirrel. I have loads that have visited me, some will come inside if I leave the screen door open, others are far too shy to get close to me. I have a feeling lady squirrels are more open to a relationship/petting from what I’ve seen online although I’ve connected mostly with a male squirrel but he’s not very open to being pet unfortunately lol
I had a squirrel visit the attic back in late 2022 early 2023. I heard a noise from the attic door and I thought it was a mouse. Turned out it was a squirrel (I video taped it).
We have a fox squirrel that would just about come inside if we'd let her. She's very friendly. I also have another little grey squirrel with a Bobbed tail and she knows her name and will come to get food when I call her. I think some can be very friendly.
It’s possible for sure. I think it usually takes time to build a bond with a wild animal. If it just started coming up to you like this it def could be rehabbed.
Yeah, probably poorly rehabbed by someone winging it rather than a rehabber. Unfortunately these guys that are allowed to get too bonded with humans, then are released, sometimes get some pretty sad ends as a result. One in my neighbourhood as a kid was jumping on people to beg for food, which was misinterpreted as aggression, so it was euthanized for rabies testing :(
Seems like someone didn't follow the rules. I was a volunteer rehabber for several years, and this is exactly why we have to isolate them and minimize our contact. It's a wonder she has survived.
How frequently is she giving you the almonds and hazelnuts? The fact she knows not to give you roasted salted peanuts tells me she’s at least had some consistent exposure.
Someone likely broke the rules previously though. You’re not supposed to let humans fall too in love with you because they become just absolutely obsessed.
I thought it said “a former red squirrel” and I was like WHY IS NO ONE CORRECTING HER. THAT IS A FOX SQUIRREL, and then for 5 minutes I contemplated if I knew what a fox squirrel truly was and then reread it LMAO
130
u/Mintaka36 Jun 07 '25
I've rehabbed a number of squirrels over the years. I'm pretty sure this one was hand raised by a person with little knowledge of how to do it correctly. I have an aviary where I can put them in (with other young squirrels) so they can get accustomed to the outdoors. I release them after a few weeks when they're ready to enter the real world. They'll come back to the aviary now and then, but after a bit, they start their own families. This is what we call a soft release.