Squirrels are bush rodents with a fluffy tails from the family Sciuridae. Like other organisms, squirrels drink water when they are thirsty. They’ll drink about anything, provided it’s a liquid when they are dehydrated to quench their thirst.
These organisms are agile in their motion or when feeding on their prey. With over 200 species, squirrels are classified base on their characters/ habitat as ground, flying, and tree squirrels. Most individuals mistake squirrels for rats, but these two organisms are different.
Even though they belong to the rodents group, squirrels can best be differentiated from rats/mice with bizarre moves and fluffy tails.
Some squirrels are kept in parks/ game reserves with civilization to conserve the endangered species. In the rest of this article, I will dive- deep into the diet of squirrels and their relevance.
How do squirrels drink water?
Squirrels drink an average of 32 to 65ml of water in a day to sustain most of their body metabolism. These organisms insert their tongue into the water and begin lapping water into their buccal cavity. In splashing water, squirrels wrap their tongue to prevent water from dropping down.
In every ecosystem, there must be a predator and its prey. Squirrels are fed on by domestic cats, domestic dogs, or foxes. To evade the attack by their predators, squirrels drink water in a quick motion.
Most wild squirrels depend on water to quench their thirst. However, these organisms will drink anything when misplaced. Most of these organisms close to man tend to drink alcohol, milk, or sodas.
Where do squirrels get water from?
Mostly wild squirrels drink water from streams, rivers, or lakes based on the accessibility of their drey. Their primary water source is the water bodies that provide about 80 to 85% of the daily water requirement.
However, their foods complement around 20% of the daily water requirement. These animals feed on vegetables, fruits, and plant leaves that are scientifically proven to provide them with water.
Why is water essential for squirrels?
Like humans, squirrels need water to regulate multiple body processes. Squirrels have a high body temperature ranging from 36 to 39 degrees celsius. Water is very vital to cool their body temperature and also helps in the transport of nutrients to their body tissues.
However, the water requirement in these organisms increases during pregnancy, lactation, and drought. Thus it’s vital to give these adorable creatures water; suppose you keep them in the backyard.
What do squirrels feed on?
Squirrels are primary omnivorous animals that feed extensively on every plant matter. Squirrels mainly feed on leaves, fruits, mushrooms, nuts/seeds, eggs, insects, and other organisms. After capturing their prey, most of the ground squirrels burrow their food for future use or to feed their kittens.
The feeding habit of the squirrels is a time determined by the season and setup. Most of the squirrels in urban layouts can feed on slices of bread, cereals, junk, or sweetened beverages. Most of their calcium ion requirement is met by feeding on bones that strengthen their musculoskeletal system.
Talk about how you shouldn’t give squirrels beverages to feed on; most individuals visiting the parks love feeding the squirrels with soft drinks as they enjoy their greedy feeding nature. It would be best if you didn’t give the squirrel too many sweetened beverages like sodas as this can also affect their health.
What is the relevance of squirrels in the ecosystem?
The squirrels are conservatives of the ecology since they also love green forests where they forage for food. They are of great importance in:
- Reanimation of forests
- They are a source of food for other animals in the ecology
Are squirrels endangered?
Squirrels are one of the organisms on the IUCN’s red list as near threatened. With the loss of their natural habitat, the population of different squirrel species is declining each day. The wild squirrels are often eaten by some wild animals like the foxes or owls, thus reducing their number.
However, the red squirrel is at greater risk of losing its existence with the emergence of the grey squirrel from America. The grey species are parapoxvirus reservoirs that are fatal to the red squirrels.
What do squirrels drink: Final verdict
Some squirrels are arboreal animals that increase the existence and vigor of many trees as they move seeds from one point to the next(disperse seeds). However, mutuality should exist between humans and these rodents by availing of water.
When you’ve settled to get a squirrel as your pet, you need to consult with your veterinary officer for the proper guidelines to help you keep it safe. However, maintaining squirrels as a pet is discouraged as they may harbor infections.
We should aim at protecting these animals and providing them with food whenever we see one around.
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