Flying Squirrels - What Should You Know!

Rocky & Bullwinkle featured a Jet Age ace named Rocky. Many other animated films or shorts have featured an equivalent sort of animal - a flying phalange. Flying squirrels are a kind of squirrel with forty-three differing types of squirrels in their family. Unlike what their name suggests, flying squirrels don't really fly. The more appropriate name will be a skate squirrel.

Flying squirrels "fly" through the utilization of the patagium. The patagium may be a flap of skin forming a parachute-like extension of the body which catches air and allows the squirrel to glide. The steering wheel is done by modifying the beauty of Patigium. To regulate the patagium, the squirrel moves a cartilaginous carpal bone. While on the wing, the squirrel uses its tail as a stabilizer. Before landing, the tail serves the aim of acting as a brake. The brake function is important because a squirrel is often moving pretty quickly before landing on the new tree.

These little squirrels are known to measure between 10 and 15 years in captivity. While within the wild, they typically have a lifetime of about 6 years. The difference in life isn't thanks to some increase within the quality of food or availability of food in captivity (though that probably plays a role), but rather to a big drop in the number of predators with which a flying phalange must contend. Within the wild, flying squirrels are a well-liked part of an outsized number of predators' diets. Everyone from house cats to birds and even raccoons enjoys a flying phalange for dinner.

In addition, flying squirrels are nocturnal mammals. Nocturnal means they're active within the evening or during the night hours and sleep for the bulk of the day. These cute little guys will eat just about anything they will get their hands on. Like all squirrels, they enjoy the fruits of a spread of trees like acorns. They’re also known to eat insects, seeds, spiders, slugs, snails, tree and shrub buds, flowers, berries, bird eggs and babies, and tree sap.

When keeping a flying phalange as a pet, it's important to remember their natural tendency towards a calcium deficiency. To combat this, calcium and vitamin D supplements should be added to the squirrels food while the quantity of phosphorous should be limited. Additionally, providing a calcium block or cuttlebone also as a mineral block will help to stay the squirrel's life healthy. If you are interested in knowing about this topic, then see more .