Flying Squirrel

[QRTRHRS]

I had some bluebird houses set up around my place. Around February or March one year while walking around the property I thought that I would clean out the old nests. When I went to open the side panel oin one of the houses, momma' flying squirrel came flying out of the entrance hole, jumped on my chest, scaring the be'jesus out of me and then bolted into the woods. She had a nest full of babies so I closed the door and wished them well.

 

[ruffdog]

Ha! I read what the OP wrote and it made me wonder if I had started a thread! Funny. I had never seen a FS until about 3 weeks ago when it jumped off the bird feeder when I was near. I shown the light up into the spruce it jumped to and I didn't have a clue what it was as it just sat there looking at me. At first I thought it was a super sized mouse, then I saw the very unique flat tail. A short time on the computer and I figured it out. I sure wish I had taken a picture. I keep cob corn, sunflower seeds, suet, and cashews out there for the critters. It took me 50 years to finally see a flying squirrel.

 

[MossRoad]

Went out to refill the bird feeder this morning. Found one of these guys chowing down. He didn't see me until I turned the feeder around. Needless to say we were both startled. He sat there at arms length for 5 seconds then jump into a tree. These guys are very rare around here.

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Are the rare or its just that they're so nocturnal that no one notices them? We have had them up here in northern Indiana for as long as I've lived here. I've seen one in my car headlights in the 80's in my parent's driveway. Kinda weird to see a fat chipmunk run 10' up a tree and jump off and fly across the driveway!! :laughing:

And our family has a story about the cat bringing one into the house, letting it go, and it running up a wall, jumping off, and landing on my sister's head across the room.

 

[Paddy]

rekees4300

I'm in Southern IN, pretty common. They are only active at night so spotting them is rare. We had an "invasion" in our previous house, attic. Used a live trap and caught 20+. I was sure they were not re-entering, each one got a spray-paint red tail at release.

As a side note, flying squirrels are good pets. You have to start with baby ones but they are "shirt trained". google it

 

[rekees4300]

rekees4300

I'm in Southern IN, pretty common. They are only active at night so spotting them is rare. We had an "invasion" in our previous house, attic. Used a live trap and caught 20+. I was sure they were not re-entering, each one got a spray-paint red tail at release.

As a side note, flying squirrels are good pets. You have to start with baby ones but they are "shirt trained". google it

Wondered why they have such big eyes. Never heard of making them pets. :squirrel:

 

[MossRoad]

Wondered why they have such big eyes. Never heard of making them pets. :squirrel:

They're too small to eat! :laughing: I also think they are a protected species, as opposed to the other three squirrel species in Indiana.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I had one for a while as a pet when a child. It loved to sleep in my pocket and scamper around on our bodies. It would fly from one kid to the other where it would go up on the head and sail over to another person. I finally let it go back into the wild which is where I found it. We didn't have any idea how to care for it properly which is why I finally let it go.
Some pet shops will sell them along with Sugar Gliders which are similar but according to internet, Sugar Gliders like to urinate on their surroundings including their owners which Flying Squirrels do not do.

 

[MMagis]

Are the rare or its just that they're so nocturnal that no one notices them?

You're correct. They're not rare at all, but very difficult to see since they're nocturnal. I've only seen one in person my entire life. But when I put a corn feeder in the woods in Jan, and then put a game camera close, I get all sorts of pictures of them.

 

[OldGerald]

I haven't seen any in over 40 years until last summer. Unfortunately my serial killer cat found a nest of them and over the course of a couple of weeks, brought 7 of them home for presents.
We have since moved, so I hope there were enough left to re-populate.

 

[Tompet]

Cool. A friends relative had a couple different ones over the years as pets. Rescued as baby after storm each time. About seven or eight years ago I looked up an audio file of the sound they make and realized I have heard that chirp at night in the woods for years. Just never seen them.