I recently came across an advertisement for a Malaysian Dwarf Squirel for sale. I've decided to purchase him as a pet. I've put the deposit down, but I can't pay in full until I'm ready. I know I need an enclosure for him. Any store bought cages seem too small and not right for a squirrel. I've decided to build one. How do I do this? What do I need? How big should the enclosure be? What do I use for a squirrel house? What about chewing? Do squirrels use an exercise wheel? After the enclosure is built I plan on getting a USDA license to keep squirrels. But, I need the enclosure first. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Shouldn't you have found all this out BEFORE you decided to buy?

It seems from your other posts you're out to have as many animals as you can - AND breed them - without knowing much about them...

Debs

If you are interested in all these exotic pets I think it would be better to find out all about them before you commit yourself to keeping them.  In the process of finding out you can also ensure that you know enough to ensure that you source them from a knowledge, reputable source who will also be there to guide you in their future care.  Unless you know exactly what is involved how do you know that you are going to cope with all these new creatures all at once?  How do you know you will even enjoy having them?

You might be right. But, they've given me to the end of the month to pay in full and have the animal shipped. Is that long enough to build an enclosure and everything? I know I don't know much about squirrels, but I'm hoping someone on here does.

I agree Isabel. I am taking on a lot at once. I love animals though. They are a hobby for me. I'm a stay at home wife, and don't have much to do. So, I'm looking for something to fill my time. But, you're right...it may be a lot to take on at once. I've always loved squirrels very much. I think it would be fun to have one as a pet.

Unless you do a great deal more research I doubt it would be fun for the squirrel even then I have never felt captivity was much fun for any wild animal.  There are plenty of domesticated pets to choose from who will probably value you as an owner more than a wild one ever could.

A very tactful reply Isabel!  :)

rather than jumping into having these animals and potentially causing probs in your life and ruining theirs might i suggest you do not consider these living creatures a hibby and start thinking of them as family members. living things are not hobbies, you can do hobbies with them such as showing but its not the same as embroidery or tennis or something, its a living breathing creature.

> I'm a stay at home wife, and don't have much to do

can i suggest a job??

squirrels??? i give in the worlds gone mad!!! by purchasing this animal you are contributing to them being taken from the wild! take up a hobby...try swimming, knitting even stamp collecting!, for gods sake adopt one from a zoo and contribute to its species! sorry if this offends but some people really do not think before they act!!!!! wild animals belong in the wild!!!

I have the feeling that the OP is from overseas inthemustik!  Thank God you can't buy a squirrel from a pet shop in the U.K. (.....at least, I don't think you can!!)

I think it's illegal to keep one here and why would you want to anyway? 

even abroad wild animals should be left in the wild! i bet you can buy anything over here! its question of supply and demand..although why anyone would want to buy  a grey squirrel beats me! they are vicious and no where near as pretty as the red ones...

> no where near as pretty as the red ones...

shhh! you'll be giving ideas

Just re-read the OP's post and it seems that it isn't your every day garden squirrrel but a 'Malaysian Dwarf Squirrel' (Whatever that is) that she has bought.  I still don't like to see animals caged though!  :)

i personally think its a hoax posting  designed to annoy
if i am wrong then i hope the squirrel escapes and heads back to its native country..i will donate the airfare for it!!!

suppose its no different to keep gerbils or chinchillas or any other wild beastie...but plenty of people do it!! Mys friend has a pet red squirrel reared from a blob to adult hood and has an aviary about 8 feet high and 6 feet wide and 20 feet long with plenty of trees and cover in it if that helps?

I would imagine it is very different to gerbils or chichillas - those (and similar pets) have been captive bred for generations.  Even degus, which are only just getting popular, have been around for many years and are on the whole very tame little beasties (and ace, I miss them!).

I've never heard of a Malaysian Dwarf Squirrel but I'm willing to bet that it's the latest new fashion in exotic pets, along with the marmosets and similar that are popping up all over the place on freead sites at the moment.  Not really suitable as pets I'll bet.

If the OP likes squirrels, why not get chipmunks?  They still need a lot of space but I would think they'd be a lot more tame then whatever these MDSs are, so better to actually enjoy keeping.

Or better yet, get some rats :-D plenty looking for homes!

what i can gather the females only live 4-6 years, and only breed once a year,they are very hard to breed , and are kept in cages like nikita said, very hard to keep in pair and they hibernate a good part of the year..

my advice if you have not done your homework then leave well alone..

Google doesn't seem to recognise malaysian dwarf squirrel? Am i right in thinking that this is all made up?

I have found an advert for one.  Could be a designer squirrel :-D

I have never heard of that either Malaysian Dwarf Squirel - what does one look like?

I have seen sugar gliders here for sale but not as often lately. We do have wild red and grey squirels which we feed lol They are so pretty- had a lil baby red squirel coming around bury something by our tree, jump around then dig it and jump around and do it all over again- lol we sit on our front steps and watch them. They are very amusing and I just love to watch them, I love to bring as much wild life to our house as we can- wood peckers, birds but wish the pigeons would stay away lol

I don't think they exist which isn't important to trolls. ;-)

> I don't think they exist which isn't important to trolls. ;-)

lol!

I've noticed sugar gliders have been declining lately too - I reckon it's because a) they are very expensive and b) their diet is very difficult to get right, and from what I understand many die after a year or so due to malnutrition. :-(