Pet Chipmunk

COMMON NAME : Chipmunk

SCIENTIFIC NAME : Many species such as Eu tamias sibiricus and Tamias striatus

DISTRIBUTION : Temperate sub-tropical and tropical regions of the world, though the animals usually kept are from Asia and the USA

HABITAT : Originally, forest underbrush and broken rocky ground with plenty of groundcover, bushes and Bees. Being opportunists, they are also found in similar places in close proximity to humans and many gardens and parks have a population of chipmunks, or ground squirrels as they are sometimes known. They are abundant in many zoos where they take advantage of the food put out for the captive animals

ADULT SIZE : 25 cm (10 in)

GENERAL : Chipmunks spend much of the day (and the night) rushing around being busy. They rarely stop except during brief periods when they freeze and peer in concentrated fashion into the distance for a few seconds. They seem to be looking hard at something. This habit is known as a 'ghost stare'.

They spend a good deal of time preparing for winter by stockpiling food, and sometimes you find little piles in their cages. If your animals are tame and live indoors, and are sometimes given the run of the room, you will discover odd sunflower seeds hidden down the sides of chairs, under mats and all over the place. It is a good idea to remove all these otherwise in time you will find that the chipmunks are becoming reluctant to return to their cages as there is plenty of food outside. They move very fast, and can, if they set their minds to it, bite very hard indeed.

FOOD : In the wild chipmunks eat nuts, seeds, insects, leaves and occasionally tree bark. Though they live on the ground they will readily climb trees for berries or nuts. They also take insects and fruit. The best basic diet in captivity is a commercial hamster mix supplemented with chopped fruit and vegetables, and insects such as mealworms or crickets. Too many peanuts are not a good idea for caged chipmunks. You should also provide fruit-tree branches for the animals to gnaw so that their teeth are kept in good condition.

Clean water is essential and the best way to provide it is through a fountain attached to the side of the cage - an open dish of water will either become full with rubbish or be tipped over when an animal decides to see what lives underneath.

HOUSING: A metal or glass cage, which should be as large as possible if chipmunks are to be kept indoors, though they will do a lot better outdoors in an enclosure not less than 1.8 X 1.2 m (6 x4 ft).

All chipmunks are escape artists, so every care must be taken to see that the tiniest holes are closed. The chipmunks must have sleeping/breeding boxes which ought to be draught proof and warm with plentiful supplies of bedding, such as shredded paper. Chipmunks are active animals so lots of branches, hiding places and so on must be provided for them. In my chipmunk 'aviary' I have placed a giant bale of moss peat with a few holes cut into the plastic and they happily spend hours tunneling through this. Cage floors should be covered with wood shavings or shredded paper. Ordinary sheets of paper are of no use as the animals tear it to pieces to use as bedding, leaving the cage floor bare. In a cage a hamster wheel is a good idea if the animal will use one. A good ground covering in an aviary is peat and leaves.

BREEDING : Although the sexes are alike, a male in breeding condition can be identified by its large scrotum. A male that is ready to mate lets out a short high pitched whistle every now and again. Chipmunks breed well in captivity and nowadays are almost always captive-bred. They seem to copulate throughout the year but the breeding season is in early spring. Successful mating takes place in February or March, and gestation is 31-40 days. A female will disappear into her nest box to have her babies at which time the male is removed to live elsewhere. Generally between four and eight young are born and at birth they are blind and almost with-out fur though one can see the stripes even at this stage. They grow fast and are soon independent. It is important to start taming chipmunks when they are tiny, but do not disturb the nest box nor try to clean it out until the offspring are a good four weeks old. Although chipmunks will live for several years the females cease to breed after four or five.