Do squirrels grow big?

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It is believed that there are over two hundred different species of squirrel, and many of them actually reside right here in the USA. There are five different “types” here too - red, gray, fox, flying and even ground. They've got all the bases covered!



The Eastern grey and Western gray squirrels are the two species of gray squirrel you will find, and also named gray squirrels, can actually be a number of different colours, including red, cream, grey, and even brown. Some even look more like black. The Eastern grey can grow to 22 inches, including the tail, weighing between 15 and 20 ounces. Western grey squirrels tend to be slightly larger, growing to around 24 inches, including the tail, and up to 35 ounces in weight.

The red squirrel is about half the size of it’s gray cousin, and it is often called the pine squirrel because of the pine forests it likes to live in. You will generally find these hanging around in the colder, Northern states.

The fox squirrel is the largest of the tree squirrel species, and these can grow to lengths in excess of 28 inches long. Also known as the Bryant’s fox squirrel or eastern fox squirrel, the ones that are found in the West of the country generally tend to be a bit smaller than those found elsewhere.

Moving on to the ground squirrels, and there are quite a few of these hanging around the states. In the Southwestern areas you may come across the white-tailed antelope squirrel, but across the board you will find spotted ground squirrels, California ground squirrels, and the thirteen-lined ground squirrel, also known as the leopard ground squirrel or striped gopher. This one is quite small in comparison, growing to up to 12 inches in length, with an additional 6 inch tail, and weighing around 10 ounces.

There are just two species of flying squirrel here - the Southern and Northern flying squirrels. Out of the two, it will be the latter that is the larger, and you will find these if you live in Arizona, Michigan, Alaska and California. Growing to around ten to fifteen inches in length, they aren't the largest squirrels on the block, and if you've ever seen them trying to walk along the ground, you’ll notice that they are quite clumsy. Although named Southern flying squirrels, you will actually find them in more Eastern spots - Florida mostly. These are actually one of the smallest squirrel species.

Around the globe, the pygmy tree squirrels are the smallest you’ll ever find, only weighing in at a teeny-tiny half an ounce. These are only found in Africa, and if you head to Kazakhstan, you’ll fd the biggest and heaviest squirrel around the world, the gray marmot. This is quite the beast, weighing in at a whopping twenty pounds.

The more squirrels can eat, the bigger they will get. Squirrels that live in and among humans tend to be heavier and larger than their more “wild” cousins, and this is because many of us are making food so accessible to them.

For more information, you may want to click on one of these guides that I wrote:
How much does squirrel removal cost? - get the lowdown on prices.
How to get rid of squirrels - my main squirrel removal info guide.
Example squirrel trapping photographs - get do-it-yourself ideas.
Squirrel job blog - learn from great examples of squirrel jobs I've done.
squirrels in the attic