How to Design a Large Squirrel Rehabilitation Cage

Squirrels are small rodents of varying forms, with 6 to 12 inches in body length and 4 to 10 inches in tail length. They can be wonderful pets if handled with care and love. Like all animals, however, they might get sick or catch some kind of disease. The normal symptoms are watery eyes, abnormal feces and listless attitude. The best thing to do is to take him to the veterinarian. In the meantime, however, you need to build a safe place for your little friend.

Things You'll Need

Pencil and paper
Wood
Circular saw
Hammer
Nail box
Hinges
Leaves
Knife
Sandpaper
Trough
String

Instructions

- 1
  Sketch the main plan for the structure of your squirrel cage. Remember that squirrels love outdoors and grassy landscapes; so it's better if you adapt the cage to survive bad weather conditions.
- 2
  Consider both the entrance size and the cavity size. The entrance should be 3 inches in diameter and 2 inches from the top of the squirrel box. The box should be, approximately, 30 inches high and 20 inches wide, since it's more of a vertical cage than an horizontal one.
- 3
  Measure and cut the wood according to the measurements of the box you previously sketched.
- 4
  Build the box with hammers and nails. Make sure you hammer the wood in a good way to avoid the space gaps. (The squirrel may try to escape through any hole he finds.)
- 5
  Add hinges to the roof of your squirrel cage. This will allow you to clean it easily.
- 6
  Drill a hole on the bottom of the box to allow moisture and other fluids to drain away. With a knife, eliminate any extremely rough edges. Fill the empty space with leaves or sandpaper to make your squirrel feel comfortable.
- 7
  Drill a hole in the middle-top place in the cage. Put a trough in there; you can attach it using little hinges or a normal string wrapped around the cage. With this trough, the squirrel is able to drink water.