Water is life for all living things. So how do squirrels drink water in the wild?

Squirrels drink water by moving their heads close to the water level and lapping it up with their tongues. They find water in streams, rivers, bird feeders, pet bowls, squirrel feeders, fountains and other water bodies. They also find, and drink the majority of their water from the underside of leaves.

All animals, both human and wild animals, need water to survive. There is no animal infrastructure that helps animals access water so they need to find their own ways. Sometimes this entails drinking from rivers, streams, dams and other water bodies.

Animals have different ways of drinking water. If you have a keen interest in squirrels you may be wondering how squirrels drink water in the wild. This article looks into it. 

How do squirrels drink water in the wild?

A squirrel in the wild will find a water body to drink out of. They will choose a waterbody where there are no predators in sight. They will lower their heads so that their mouths are close to the water and they will lap up the water like a dog or cat would. 

You may also be wondering how squirrels drink dirty water in the wild. Squirrels are susceptible to getting sick just as humans are. The difference between humans and squirrels is that squirrels have a stronger immune system. Immunity is transferred from mother to child during childbirth and this immunity helps them defend against any sicknesses they can get by drinking dirty water. 

How long can a squirrel live without water?

Squirrels need a lot of water to survive. They need to drink water twice a day at minimum. Thus they cannot survive a full day without water. Squirrels can survive 5-8 days without food but water is something that they need daily. 

Squirrels find, and drink the majority of their water from the underside of leaves. When the morning rolls around, squirrels will lick the underside of leaves where dew has formed from the night before. This is a convenient and safe way to get water as they don’t have to risk being attacked by predators in the ground level 

Certain squirrels will hibernate in the winter and thus won’t need water. Many squirrels don’t hibernate but the thirteen-lined ground squirrel does. It will hibernate for 8 months with no water and food intake at all. This animal will not eat, drink or pass anything as it hibernates. 

How do squirrels get water in winter?

Water is much more difficult to get a hold of in winter for animals. If streams, rivers and other water bodies freeze over then these little animals will use the next best thing, snow. In winter there’s an abundance of snow everywhere and it’s easy to access to any animal. Squirrels will eat snow to stay hydrated in winter 

If squirrels living in urban areas or areas close to human settlements, they will find water in your bird feeders, pet bowls, squirrel feeders, fountains and other bodies of water that haven’t frozen over. Just as with wild squirrels, these squirrels will also eat snow if they can’t find any other water sources 

Should I give squirrels water?

You definitely can and should give water to squirrels, it’s a friendly gesture that they will surely love. Leave a bowl of water close to where squirrels frequent like at the bottom of a tree.

The squirrels can run down the tree, drink water then run back up without having to leave the tree. Having the bowl at the base of the tree is helpful because it will give the squirrels some protection from predators of the sky. 

Summary

In summary, squirrels drink water by moving their heads close to the water level and lapping it up with their tongues like dogs and cats do. They cannot survive one day without water and will even eat snow as a means to get water in the winter. If you want to give squirrels water place it in a bowl close to where squirrels frequent 

If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other squirrel related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: How do squirrels breathe, why do squirrels eat green pine cones, how do squirrels get calcium in the wild, why do squirrels run away, why do squirrels stop in the middle of the road, how do squirrels trim their nails