While it's a well-known fact that squirrels carry rabies and rodent plague, by far the most DANGEROUS thing they do is to carry Lyme positive ticks into your yard, to be carried into your house by your pets. You too, can pick up these ticks when you handle plants where the ticks have crawled off of the squirrels.
Squirrels can be cute to admire from a distance, but it is now unwise to do anything to encourage them to visit your yard, unfortunately. Lyme is not in our radar because we didn't always have spirochetes in the ticks. That's a different story. It's said to have begun in a Plum Island lab off the coast of Old Lyme, Connecticut.
Squirrels are subject to rabies but they do not commonly carry rabies, and if you live in the city its highly unlikely that the squirrels have rabies because they aren't exposed to animals that do carry such as raccoons.
usually not
It depends on what your definition of "better" is. Chickens are a food source. They provide meat and eggs. Squirrels are not a sustainable food source. Chickens carry diseases such as aviation flu. Squirrels carry diseases such as hemorrhagic fever. Chickens are not cute (to most). Squirrels are cute (to many). Chickens can be domesticated and farmed. Squirrels cannot be domesticated because they are classed as a pest.
I really want a pet hedgehog, but my mom won't let me because they carry diseases. I want to know if there is a kind of hedgehog that does not carry any diseases at all. Is there one?
Guinea pigs do not PASS diseases. Although, you can give your pet a cold or even a stomach bug.
i bought my pet squirrels for 200 us dollars each.
Not all of them but some can carry it...just make sure to wash your hands after touching him/her
Know it's not illegal to own a pet squirrel in Canada, but some wild squirrels can have rabies or other diseases.
actually, most wild squirrels can be quite friendly once they've become familiar with you. it is rare for squirrels to carry any diseases transmittable to humans. it's fun to have wild squirrels reside in your yard and some squirrels can even be trained to eat from your hands! (just don't feed them salted foods!)
I have squirrels as my pet.
Yes.
It is okay to feed squirrels with pet shop food. Squirrels also will eat most vegetables. (be careful what you give it though) There are flavored wooden sticks that they like to chew on. They should also sell them in most pet stores and feed stores.
Yes, squirrels can develop gastrointestinal illnesses from bacteria in human food.