Squirrels Mammals 
The squirrel has two pairs of gnawing teeth, which 
are long and strong, and he needs to gnaw hard sub- 
stances with them constantly or they will grow so 
long that he cannot use them at all, and will starve to 
death. He is very clever about opening nuts so as 
to get all the meats. He usually opens a hickory 
nut by making two holes which tap the cavities which 
contain the meats. In walnuts, or butternuts, which 
have much harder shells, he makes four small holes, 
one opposite each quarter of the kernel. 
The young are born in a protected nest, usually in 
the hollow of a tree. There are from four to six 
young in a litter and they appear in April. 
It is quite useless to try to tame a red squirrel 
unless taken when young. The gray squirrels, on 
the contrary, will become very tame, and will soon 
learn to take food from the hand of the master or 
mistress. 
HOUSE 
It is wicked to keep such an active creature as a 
squirrel in an ordinary small squirrel cage, even 
though it be provided with a wheel. The way to get 
the most pleasure from pet squirrels is to give them 
their freedom in the trees about the grounds, and 
tame them by feeding. If the squirrels must be 
confined, they should be kept in a cage of chicken 
wire of half inch mesh, and it should be at least six 
feet square. At one side near the top there should be 
a nest box about one foot square, with a hole at one 
side near the top, about three inches in diameter; 
the box should contain dried grass or leaves. In the 
cage there should be branches spread across so that 
the captives may leap and play upon them. A pair 
may be kept in such a cage, but there should be two 
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