Squirrel: description and photo. Protein is common, forest and domestic. Description, content, breeding

This charming animal, which evokes sympathy both in adults and children, has recently quite often become a pet of many townspeople. Funny animal as if created to decorate our nature - dense forest, city park or room living corner.

Squirrel is very attractive externally. This is a very proportionally folded animal with a thick fiery-brown coat in summer and silvery-pale - in winter, with dark brushes on sharp ears and a fluffy tail. Her face is adorned by clever black eyes. All this together creates the impression of subtle elegance.

Have you ever watched how the protein moves? The description of her movements can be reduced to several words - lightness, dynamics and grace. All the movements and poses of this beauty are elegant and refined - whether it climbs over a huge tree trunk, flies lightly from branch to branch, or enthusiastically gnaws a bump, grabbing it with small but powerful paws, while fluffing its unusual tail.

Habitat

The life of squirrels has always interested not only scientists, but also ordinary travelers. It is always interesting to observe the behavior of the animal, its incredible activity, curiosity, sweet credulity, lightning-fast transitions from one action to another.

These are wild animals. The protein in natural conditions in Russia is found in the forest-steppe and forest zone. Since the end of the XX century, this animal began to inhabit parks and gardens near various settlements, and sometimes even on their territory. They are not afraid of big cities either.

Protein, a description of which can be found in many publications, from school textbooks and ending with special reference books, settles in hollows or in special nests in the form of a ball-gaynah, which she makes of rough branches outside and soft bark from the inside.

In populated areas, birdhouses and other bird nests are often taken with pleasure.

Squirrel - the animal is extremely clever. She is not in a hurry to migrate to warmer regions even in the very severe winter, if she has no problems with food or people feed her.

Squirrel: description, external features

Squirrel is a fairly small animal with a slender, slightly elongated body, a tail with a "comb" and a head of regular, rounded shape. Ears elongated, in the winter there are pronounced brushes.

On the muzzle, abdomen, forelegs there are vibrissae, special senses that help animals better navigate in space. The hind legs are much longer than the forelegs, and the toes on the paws are crowned with sharp, tenacious claws. On the sides of the tail, the hair is longer than the entire body, so the tail has a somewhat flattened shape.

Squirrel in winter finds soft, tall and fluffy fur. In the summer it is rarer, stiffer, short. Color varies seasonally, within the limits of one population. Zverek moults twice a year (except for the tail - it only sheds once).

In the spring, molting takes place in April-May, and autumn - in September-November.

Nutrition proteins

This cute rodent is a typical inhabitant of the forest. Probably, therefore, the basis of her diet are seeds of trees and shrubs. Squirrel prefers to live in mixed coniferous-broad-leaved forests. Here it has the best fodder conditions. In addition, the animal is very fond of mature dark coniferous plantations - spruce forests, stone pine forests, fir-trees; Followed by deciduous plantations, mixed pine forests, thickets of cedar stems. In the Caucasus and Crimea, the common squirrel feels very comfortable in the cultural landscapes - vineyards and gardens.

Lifestyle

The squirrel is a mobile and living animal. It easily makes huge "flights" from tree to tree. Sometimes they "fly" in a straight line up to 10-15 m, while masterfully "steering" the tail. In the snowless time, as well as in the period of the rut, spend a long time on the ground, along which it moves in jumps.

In the winter, the squirrel moves mainly along the "tops". At the slightest danger, it hides in trees, usually hiding in the crown. Active in the morning and evening. Up to 80% of the time she spends in search of food.

At the height of winter leaves its nest only at the time of feeding, in severe frosts from the nest does not come out, falling into a half-demented state. The squirrel is not territorial - individual plots are poorly expressed.

Proteins differ in the ability to hide and find hidden seeds and nuts, quickly realize that people can be a source of food and get used to eat from the hands.

Despite the charming appearance, they are quite aggressive, moderately suspicious, and even distinguished by inflexibility. These cute animals can easily be tame animals, but pet pets in the usual sense is unlikely. They can not be attributed to animals that can be cuddled or "cuddled." Even with the warmest friendly relations you only occasionally manage to stroke the animal by fur.

Very rarely the protein becomes so handy that it allows you to pull yourself together. Young animals adapt much more quickly to new conditions, rather than adults.

Types of protein

The animals that are kept in captivity include the common squirrel and the squirrel-squirrel.

Protein ordinary refers to rodents, it is familiar to every person - an adult and a child, even if he saw it only in the picture. Distributed throughout Russia. The only exception is the zone of deserts, steppes and semi-deserts.

Protein-teleutka - a special subspecies of squirrels. It is mainly distributed in Eastern Siberia, on the Kamchatka peninsula, acclimatized in the Crimea and the Caucasus.

These types of proteins differ from each other only in size and color - teleutka is larger.

Lifespan

On average , the life expectancy of these animals in natural conditions is no more than 3.5 years. At home, when the animal is not threatened by frost, it is provided with food and protected from predators, the proteins live up to 10-12 years. Cases when proteins live in captivity to 16 years, rather, an exception to the rules.

Nutrition proteins

The diet of this small animal is varied. It consists of more than 130 different feeds. Most of them are coniferous seeds - pine, cedar, spruce, fir, larch.

In the southern, oak forests with an undergrowth of a squirrel with pleasure, he sits on hazelnuts and acorns. In addition, it consumes mushrooms, shoots and buds of trees, tubers and rhizomes, berries, lichens, grass. Quite often, with a lack of protein feeds, it actively eats the fir buds, causing a significant damage to these trees.

During the breeding season does not refuse from animal feeds - insects and their larvae, feeds on eggs, chicks, small vertebrates. The daily amount of food consumed depends largely on the season: in spring, during the rut, it can be up to 80 grams of fodder per day, in winter - about 35 g.

For the winter, a stocking protein collects small stocks of nuts, acorns, cones, dragging them into nests or hiding them among the roots. In addition, she dries mushrooms, like a good housewife, hanging them on the branches of trees.

True, quite often she forgets about her warehouses and finds them in the winter quite by accident. This is often used by small rodents, birds and even a brown bear. The squirrel itself uses the reserves of its forest neighbors (nutcrackers, chipmunks, mice), which it senses even through a 1.5 meter layer of snow.

Maintenance and care

Home protein is a creature with an irrepressible energy that can jump and run for hours. To keep it in the house you need a spacious enclosure or a large cage.

For one animal, a cell of dimensions 50x60 cm and height 150 cm is required. It is better to make the rods galvanized, or to coat them with a good powder paint. The gap between the bars should not be more than 2 cm. The cage needs to be equipped with a sliding pallet to make it easier to clean. Put a hay, cane, or forest moss on a pallet.

Necessarily in the cage there should be a drinking bowl, a feeder and houses, where squirrels usually arrange nests. One small animal needs two houses, which must be well fixed at a sufficient height. Put in the cage pieces of soft tissue, pieces of woolen yarn, small wood dust, a little cotton wool, which the squirrel necessarily uses when organizing the nest.

The owner must have access to the house (a flap or a wide entrance can be used for this). Do not forget about mineral and salt stones, which should be installed in a place convenient for the pet, it is better if it is a place next to a water bowl or feeder.

We have already talked about the fact that proteins are in dire need of movement, so you can not do without various ladders, hammocks, swings, large branches and wheels.

Protein home will feel comfortable in a cage, set far from drafts and direct sun rays. It should be cleaned every other day. This will save your pet from infectious diseases.

Breeding

In the middle latitudes, in natural conditions, the proteins multiply twice a year. Up to 12 cubs are born in the litter. Pregnancy of the protein in the home lasts 5 weeks. Immediately after delivery, the protein begins to fulfill its maternal duties. She is a very good mother, who surrounds belchas with care and attention. At the age of two weeks, the young are covered with fur, at 4 weeks of age they begin to see. By the 40th day, the kids begin to look for food themselves, at 2 months they go on to independent life completely. Complete puberty occurs by five months.

It should be borne in mind that at home the protein does not multiply often. The description of specialists suggests that this process in captivity is possible only with good care of the animal and its high-quality nutrition.