SAFE HAVEN RESCUES & REHABILITATES MANY SPECIES OF SQUIRRELS.

Fox squirrels and grey squirrels...

• Live in hollows of trees. Grey squirrels prefer oaks, but fox squirrels (left) enjoy variety.
   
• Also utilize outside nests. Occasionally, squirrel babies fall from the nests, risking injury and exposure to the cold.
   
• Eat nuts, seeds, berries and bark.
   
• Are most active during daylight (diurnal).

The squirrel at left above is 10-14 days old; those in the center are 3-4 weeks. The squirrel at right above is learning to drink water from a bowl. Once their eyes open contact is reduced to prevent habituation and encourage socialization with like species.

Flying Squirrels (Glaucomys volans)...

• Do not actually fly, but glide by using the extra skin between their front and back legs. They use their smooth, flat tail as a rudder.
   
• Live in tree hollows, preferably oaks and maples, usually near rivers. They often occupy woodpeckers' abandoned nests
   
• Are omnivorous, their diet consisting of hickory nuts, fruits, berries, seeds, insects, and eggs, as well as other opportunistic food sources such as carrion or leftovers at bird feeders.
   
• Forage on buds on trees, thereby encouraging tree growth.
   
• Contribute to the growth of the forest by burying nuts and seeds. Their diet also helps to control the insect population.
   
• Generally have two reproductive periods per year, with litters averaging 3 or 4 babies. The females are very protective and address threats with staring, stomping, or even slapping another squirrel in the face! They do not allow the males to participate in rearing the young.
   
• Communicate with high-pitched whistles and chirping. These sounds may assist in echolocation, the sensory process also used by bats.

Flying squirrels are very gentle and sociable, so handling is minimized during their interim care to prevent habituation to humans. It is preferable to raise them in groups to encourage socialization with their own kind.

Thirteen-lined ground squirrels...

• Live in areas of grass and weeds.
   
• Eat insects, weeds, grass and seeds.
   
• Are marked with alternate lines of stripes and spots.