We no longer work with flying squirrels, this page is up for informational purposes only, thank you! :-)
Southern flying squirrels are sweet fun little critters to have around. Below the photos there will be some information on how to care for these special little animals.
Some general information about southern flying squirrels
Anatomy:Southern flying squirrels have grey brown fur on top with darker flanks and are a cream color underneath. They have large dark eyes and a flattened tail. They have a furry membrane called a patagium which extends between the front and rear legs, used to glide through the air.
Natural distribution: The Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys volans) is one of two species of the genus glaucomys (the only flying squirrels found in north america) the other being the slightly larger Northern Flying Squirrel (G. Sabrinus). The southern flying squirrel is found in deciduous and mixed woods in the eastern half of North America, from southeastern Canada to Florida. Disjunct populations of this species also have been recorded from the highlands of Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras.
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What to expect from your flying squirrel
Southern flying squirrels or SFSs are commonly kept in the exotic pet trade and for anyone who has ever had the pleasure of owning a hand tamed SFS we know why! These little creatures are a delight to keep as a companion animal. They form very strong bonds with their people and are very busy and entertaining! Like any other animal these little guys do need to be socialized at a young age to make a desirable companion animal. If they're not handled frequently and loved on when they're little they are timid and difficult to interact with due to them being terrified of you! So make sure when ever looking into getting one of these as a pet to look for a good breeder that spends ample amounts of time with their babies and (if possible) hand raises them from a few weeks old so they're 100% human imprinted.
I do not reccomend purchasing from large online brokers or pet stores. Most pet stores purchase their flying squirrels from large online exotic animal brokers and these brokers or large scale mill breeders do not put time in with the babies when they're little - so these flying squirrels are rarely ever tame. Even the tamest flying squirrel still has the potential to bite! Just like any other small animal flying squirrels will nip if they feel threatend. Female flying squirrels also get nippy when going through estrus, usually in the spring and late summer months. Even if you purchase a flying squirrel from a pet store or larger breeder and it is not tame, they're still entertaining to watch if you want to provide them with a large enough habitat for them to live without getting let out to play.
Flying squirrels are nocternal so they're most active between the hours of 10pm and 6am. They will sleep on you most of the day if you let them, mine like to sleep in my bra but they will also sleep in a pocket or hood. They do love to come out and play at night, I have my flyers in a seprate room from the rest of my house so they can have supervised out of cage time at night. If flying squirrels are trained to sleep in your shirt or bra be prepared to be suprised with tickley shirt dives when they're out playing because they will dive right in there if they feel the least bit threatend and it tickles when you're not expecting it!!
Flying squirrels like to get onto high places (like the tops of doors or curtains) and give you flying face hugs! So that is anoher thing to be prepared for when you're playing at night. I have found my flyers love to chase feather cat toys!
Unlike sugar gliders flying squirrels do not have scent glands and so they're much easier to keep as far as the over all smell factor. Flyers smell even less than rats or mice and as long as their cage is cleaned once a week or so you won't even begin to notice any odor what so ever. They're very clean. Some flyers have even been known to be litter trained! Flyers tend to only use the bathroom in one part of their cage anyway so with a little time and patients you can get them to use a small litter pan with sand or dirt in it.
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Dietary needs
It's easy to take care of the nutritional requirements of the Flying squirrel. They will eat almost anything. In-the-shell pine nuts,pumpkin seed, sunflower seed, pecans, walnuts, acorns and hickory nuts are all recommended when available. Give the flyer fresh fruit and berries, blossoms and seeds from sugar maple trees, honeysuckle and white clover flowers. Add fresh cultivated mushroom, broccoli, fresh or dried ear of corn and now and then a bit of unsweetened cereal, such as Cheerios. Sweet potatoes have the correct CA/p ratio and are very nutritious. Just keep the diet varied and they will get everything they need. They eat very little so what they are fed is very important. WalMart carries the Morning Song bird and critter food called "Pumpkin Delight" and "Chuckanut".The mixes have pumpkin seeds, shelled corn and black sunflower seeds in it. You can use this as a base feed by combining and adding:
An equal amount of striped sunflower seeds, Uncooked macaroni or egg noodles and/or Small amounts of leftover dry breakfast cereal like raisin bran, Cheerios, Special K, Granola, etc., andSome raw peanuts in the shell. Mix well and serve with veggies, fruits, and hard shelled nuts.
WalMart sells two other wild bird foods, made by 3-D Pet Products. One is "Krunchy Nut" and the other is "Nut N' Berry. "They are very similar - both have sunflower kernels, shelled peanuts,"tree nuts" (may contain pistachios, almonds, walnuts, pecans or filberts), hulled pumpkin seeds and dried raisins. In addition, the Nut'nBerry has sunflower seeds, safflower seeds and dried cranberries. You can keep one of these in the cage at all times, just add some sunflower seeds to it.
If you choose to use bird seed as a staple, a variety of nuts, such as walnuts,almonds, peatnuts & pecans both in the shell and unshelled along with fresh fruits and vegetable should be just fine, though the nuts are very high in fat. Flying squirrels also need a fair amount of leafy greens such as kale, spinach etc as it helps them to absorb calcium. It is also important for the health of a flying squirrel to have things to chew so it is good to give them nuts in shell as well as apple branches or other non-toxic woods. Their teeth will continuously grow if they're not worn down by chewing.
Flying squirrels LOVE bugs! It is a great source of protien for them and they sure do enjoy biting into a fresh mealworm! (gross I know!) If you can't stomache the bugs they will also eat peices of cooked chicken (without any seasonings or oils) or hard boiled eggs for an extra added protien. I like to give my flyers at least two nights a week where they get some egg or chicken and I give them atleast a couple meal worms almost every night, mainly because I love to watch them get eaten! They get very excited about their mealies!
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Caging
I have a lot of people ask me if it would be okay to just let your flying squirrel live in your house like you do with a cat or dog. Unfortunately (as cool as that might be) realistically they need to have their own cage for their safety. Flying squirrels are very small and fragile and can fit into almost anything so even the cleanest safest house still poses threats to them, such as escaping out the door when you're not looking, getting stepped or sat on, drowning in the toilet (this happens quite often actually), or chewing into walls or electrical cords. Flying squirrels are the type of animals that you can spend all day with while they're curled up sleeping in your shirt pocket and you can play with at night in a small room of your home but you have to give them close supervision while they're awake and playing because they will get themselves into trouble if left to their own devices.
The size of the cage depends a lot on how much time the animal is going to be in it but if I had to give a minimum I would say no smaller than 3ft by 2ft by2ft. My flyer collony is in a 5ft by 3ft by 3ft cage. You want to provide your flyer with a cage big enough to hold all of his/her things and still have room to jump from one side to the other. Bar spacing can't be anymore than 1/2inch.
In your flyers cage you will want to have atleast one nest box (preferably more) stuffed with a safe bedding material, I like to use the soft cotton bedding they make for hamsters that you can buy at wallmart or petco, it comes in a small plastic baggie. You will want to have a Stealth or Wodent wheel available for your flyer to get exersize! They LOVE their wheels! You should also have one or two pouches available for sleeping. I like to use bird toys for my flyers, they like things that hang and I reccomend hard plastic items that can be washed and withstand a little chewing. Safe to chew wooden bird toys are also good, but they will get chewed up! There are quite a few people online who make sugar glider toys and these are equaly as good to use for your flying squirrels! I will try and find a few links to add to this page.
Our flying squirrels
Our flying squirrels are fed a wild bird food mix staple with in-shell nuts, fresh organic apple branches, blossums (apple & clover when in season), leafy greens, veggies, fruit, chicken, egg, mealworms & cuttle bone for chewing and extra calcium. Our squirrels are provided with large cages furnished with nest boxes, pouches, hammoks, wheels & alternating toys for mental stimulation. We have a wonderful vet that cares for our animals, our adult flyers are happy and healthy which means happy healthy baby flyers!
Our babies will be pulled for hand feeding at around 4wks old, they will be hand fed and human imprinted. You have the choice when purchasing a flyer from us of having it pocket/pouch/bra or hood trained. flyers will be handled for a minimum of 3 hours a day every day (but probably closer to 6-7hrs a day.) Babies will come with one small cage set of sleeping accessories (pouches, hammok etc.) A weeks supply of food and 24/7 after sales support. There is a 72hr health garantee although it is your job to take your new flyer to the vet in that 72hrs if you notice anything seems strange about your flyer. We do offer shipping it is usually between $165-$225 depending on what shipping counter is used. There is also a $40 fee added to that because the airport is a 2 1/2hr drive plus a ferry ride away. None of the other small hobby breeders ship their babies, which is the only reason I decided that I would. I want everyone to be able to have the experience of a hand tamed healthy adorable baby squirrel. I will not ship babies under 8-12wks old depending on their independance.
If you're picking up locally you have the option to get your baby at 6wks old when it's still on 2-3 hand feedings a day for extra bonding.
Baby southern flying squirrels are $250, shipping is extra. Other fees may apply depending on your state importation laws and what kind of documentation the squirrel needs to enter your state. Flying squirrels are not legal to own in all places so make sure you check you state and local laws before inquiring.