Squirrels at the Feeder

Many people say that squirrels are basically rats that were handed a better deal in terms of cuteness.  While I agree that squirrels are much cuter than rats, the question remains, “How different are they?”  It turns out that rats and squirrels belong to completely different animal Families but they are related in that they are both Rodents.  Here is a look at some similarities and differences between these animals.

Squirrels and rats are distinct Families both belong to the largest Order of Mammals, Rodentia.  All Rodents have specialized teeth for gnawing that constantly are growing.  Both Families exhibit intelligence, problem solving and memory. Other than their teeth and mental capacities squirrels and rats have little in common in terms of behavior, life cycle and impact on humans.

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I love woodpeckers and have been delighted that we have started making and selling woodpecker feeders at The Squirrel Shop!

Here are a dozen wonderful bird feeders that your woodpeckers will love 🙂  The first few products are made by us at The Squirrel Shop but I included other options are well to make sure you had plenty to choose from!  All of the bird feeders listed have a reasonable price and are a great way to bring nature a little closer to your home.

Dual Compartment Deck Rail Feeder for Woodpeckers and Blue Jays

This is my absolute favorite bird feeder that keeps a steady stream of red headed and red bellied woodpeckers coming up to my house.

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There was a massive thunderstorm in Baton Rouge last week that brought me joy, terror and a BUNCH of questions.

The joy came from watching the new drainage system in our yard work perfectly!  We had a “dry creek bed” and some underground drainage pipe installed and the system does an amazing job of funneling the water out of the yard without washing away the sod.

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Have you ever been confused between a chipmunk and a squirrel? I know I have. This is especially in the case of certain types of ground squirrels that have a stripes that are similar to chipmunks. However, there are some notable differences between ground squirrels and chipmunks. Let’s take a look at what these are:

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When people are trying to learn about squirrels they often get confused by all of the different names.  A squirrel will often have multiple common names and those names will often overlap with the common names of other species of squirrels.  For example, in the US there are three distinct species of tree squirrels that are called “Gray Squirrels” (Eastern, Western and Arizona).

Another point of confusion is that the squirrel family encompasses many more creatures than just the common tree squirrels that we see in our backyards.  It turns out that creatures as diverse as chipmunks and groundhogs are also technically considered to be squirrels!

After you sort through all of the confusion and add up all of the different types of squirrels in the world you will find that there are 289 different species!

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Squirrels have an admirable level of resistance against cold weather and some species survive in sub-degree weather. But how do they do this? How do their bodies respond as the temperature drops? Do they rely on layers of fat like most other mammals for warmth or are there other ways that allow them to survive?

As per the usual, my curiosity got the better of me and I ended up reading about how do squirrels survive in cold weather. Here’s what I found:

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