Have you ever come by a squirrel and wondered what their age could be? Determining the age of a squirrel can be a little problematic without proper knowledge. To tell the age of a squirrel you’ve to look for some growth and developmental signs. Body weight, fur and teeth pattern, tail hair, eyesight, and activity level are characteristics to watch out for.
Also, the activity level, sleep time, and dependence on the mother are some behavioral signs to follow. Researchers group them into Young (up to six months old), subadults (six months to one year), and adults (one year plus). Tag along to learn all you need to know to figure out the age of a squirrel.
Methods Used To Tell The Age Of A Squirrel:
Laboratory Methods:
According to a ResearchGate publication, researchers determine the age of a squirrel by sectioning the teeth, using X-rays to measure bone growth, weighing eye lenses, etc. These are authentic ways to know the age of a squirrel. But not practical as these are based on complicated scientific equipment.
General Methods:
As laboratory methods are rare and costly, it’s best to determine the age yourself. General methods are free of cost and can be adopted by anyone. Just look for the developmental signs, both physical and behavioral. These methods also focus on the time of year.
Though without laboratory testing, there’s no way to confirm a squirrel’s age, you will have a close approximation using the following information. Body color and weight, fur density, swollen mammae, etc. are considered. Some techniques used in the general method are given below:
Time of the Year:
Squirrels are born in March or July. So, in which month of the year you have found the baby squirrel can give you some idea about its age. Count backward and find her age in months.
Squirrels normally become self-independent within 3 months of age. So, it’s unlikely to find an abandoned baby squirrel more than 3 months old unless sick or injured.
Rate of Physical Growth:
Have you ever seen a newborn squirrel? Soft to the touch, all pink and hairless. pink and hairless. If you notice carefully, you can guess their age by seeing the color of their fur, eye and ear condition, presence of teeth, etc. Here I’ll discuss some indicators to measure physical growth and determine age thereby:
Eyes:
Squirrels are born with their eyes closed. They usually open their eyes between 3.5 to 6 weeks of age. Eyes can be either clear or cloudy at this stage.
Ears:
Baby squirrel ears remain closed at birth. These usually open at 3 – 4 weeks old age.
Fur:
At birth, squirrels are found completely hairless and pink in color. Hair starts to appear on their back at around 2 weeks of age. At the age of 4 weeks, fur appears on the tail. By the 6th week, a squirrel is fully covered with fur and has a bushy tail.
Teeth:
Remember the sharp, white teeth sticking out of a squirrel’s mouth? This is a unique indicator to know the age of a squirrel. The lower teeth appear at 3 weeks of age. But the upper one is absent until 4,5 weeks old.
Behavioral Changes:
Age can be approximated by how a squirrel behaves socially and independently. The hours of sleep, sitting pattern, climbing speed, and general activity level are important characteristics. The squirrels start to respond to sound by the 2nd week of their life.
By the end of the 3rd week, they respond to visual interferences. In the 4th week, they slowly start moving around and playing. By 8th week they turn very naughty, playful, and ready to thrive in the outside world.
Squirrel Age Groups:
Squirrels are sensitive little creatures. Without age-centric proper care, it’s difficult for them to thrive. It’s important to determine the age of a squirrel if you plan on raising one and need to plan meals for her.
Whether it’s an abandoned baby squirrel or one planning to adopt, consider the rules about raising wildlife in your country. Squirrels have different physical and behavioral characteristics that change with age. We can categorize them into the following age groups for easy understanding.
Newborns:
Squirrels can be called newborns for the first 5 days of their life. At birth they are hairless, eyes and ears are completely closed. At this time, their tiny fingers are joined into a single paw.
Weight can be around half an ounce. They mostly need their mother’s bodily warmth.
1–2 Weeks Old:
By this time, the squirrel may appear slightly grayish as their fur grows. You may notice some ear movement and little noise from the face. The nails will also be growing.
The eyes are still closed and they have no teeth. At 2 weeks old they’ll gain an ounce of weight.
3–4 Weeks Old:
The squirrel’s little and sharp teeth will cut through at this stage. The bodily fur will get thicker. By the 4th week, the squirrel will double in size. Their eyes will still be closed.
5 Weeks Old:
At this stage, the eyes will begin to open but they won’t be able to respond to sight. They’ll be able to identify shadow and motion only. They pretty much don’t need their mother’s warmth anymore.
Front teeth will stick out. They’ll start crawling and moving a little bit but mostly sleeping.
6–7 Weeks Old:
At this stage, you’ll find the squirrel more like a full-grown squirrel. They’ll become more active, climbing and exploring around. The tail will curl up. The daytime sleeping will be less than before.
8–10 Weeks Old:
Finally, at 8 weeks old, they can collect food and protect themselves from predators. This is the last stage of visible growth to identify age. They’ll look like a miniature of the adult squirrel soon they will turn into.
Squirrel Age Chart:
| Squirrel Age( in weeks) | Characteristics |
| Newborns (up to 5 days old) | Hairless.Pink in color.Fingers joined into a single paw.Size of a thumb.Eyes and ears closed. |
| One to Two weeks old | Fars are starting to appear.Grayish pink in color.Eyes and ears moving slightly.Nails and whiskers growing. |
| Three to Four weeks old | Lower front teeth starting to emerge.Eyesopen, ears unfold.Responds to sight and sound.Tail hair becomes longer. |
| Five weeks old | Far is thicker by now.Tail gets bushy.Sleeping and lying down mostly.Start using their legs a little more. |
| Six to Seven weeks old | Turns very inquisitive and playful.Fully coated with fur.Tail gets fluffy.Learn to sit and climb. |
| Eight to Ten weeks old | Becomes independent.Teeth are sharp and fully grown.Very active and jumpy.Has a full and silky coat of fur. |
| Ten plus weeks to adult | Starts playing on trees.Full set of adult teeth.Gain adult size and weight. |
How Long Can A Squirrel Live?
The life expectancy for young squirrels is pretty low as they fall victim to predation, fall out of nests, or get infected. According to A-Z Animals an Eastern gray squirrels usually live to 2 years old when in the wild. At birth, their chances of survival are low but if they can reach adulthood, their life expectancy can be up to 4-6 years old.
On the other hand, Red squirrels may live for up to seven years, in the wild. So, we can conclude that, on average a squirrel has a lifespan of 4-5 years.
Conclusion:
It’s exciting to care for a cute, little life, isn’t it? They may be a tiny part of nature but play an important role in the ecosystem. Every baby and young squirrel grows at a different rate. Instead of considering a single attribute, it’d be wise to pay attention to some or all of the characteristics listed above to know the age of a squirrel.
We often find squirrel nests fallen out of trees, and babies in need of help. The first option should be trying to return the baby to its mother. And if you fail to do so, you can give it shelter by yourself.
Now that you know all about how to tell the age of a squirrel, you’ll be able to care for them properly. And let them free in the wild when they’re ready to survive on their own.
