Article By Dennis Quinter

These are from the Genus Eutamias that includes Western American Chipmunks and Siberian Chipmunks. Eutamias minimus, Least Chipmunks, are found from the Yukon to Ontario and Wisconsin and mountainous western United States. Habitats includes Spruce, fir, redwood, and pine forests. Also sagebrush plains and brush-covered mountains. They usually reside in burrws and live mostly on the ground, but will climb trees and bushes. In winter they become inactive and stay mostly underground but do not hibernate like ground squirrels. The diet consists of fruits and seeds of various trees and herbs. The foliage and flowers of some herbs and tender buds of woody plants are also eaten. Mushrooms, insects, bulbs, and bird eggs are sometimes consumed. Breeding occurs from late February through May, and as late as July. The gestation period is 31 days. Lactation lasts 39-45 days. There are 4 to 8 young per litter.

The following information comes from Wayne Rose, a very successful breeder of Least Chipmunks.

"The chipmunks during breeding season must not be overweight. I feed them whole grains as chicken scratch and apple with some dry cat food. If you have access to whole wheat, barley and oats, they do good on this feed and it is inexpensive. It is important not to over due it on the cat food during and before breeding season. The chipmunks in the wild eat mostly plant seeds. I use a high protein dry cat food mostly when the females are lactating. I put 4 or 5 females in a large cage, 3 by 4 by 2 ft tall for breeding season. I will use 3 or 4 males in the cage. I watch the males in the spring for the testicles to swell. I leave the females anßd males together until I see that the female is heavy with babies. I do not try to tame or handle the breeders. It seems that the real tame ones do not breed very well. I will take the female to her own pen. I use a 18 inch round pen about 18 inches tall and use a plastic 6 inch flower pot wired to the side. I use paper towel for bedding. They make a nest similar to a mouse nest. It is important to check the bedding often to make sure that it is not wet as the babies get cold easy. The mothers do not seem to mind if I check the babies. I have never had a chipmunk eat their babies. I have moved the mother and litter to another pen with a new nest and they still take care of their babies. I had one female that didn't have much milk for the babies and I gave her babies to another female that I had just weaned her babies and she accepted them and fed them as her own. I wean the babies about 5 weeks old and start them on the bottle for about 3 days. This makes them tame."

I would suggest using Esbilac for the formula for feeding babies. From what I've seen, they will eat almost anything including broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, lettuce, bread, hamster mix, field corn, raw peanuts, wheat, oats, and barley to name a few. They are extremely active and an exercise wheel is highly recommended. A wooden nest box such as ones used for parakeets should work well for a nest box.

I have been raising chipmunks for just a year now, but they are fanatastic little critters. They are very fast and energetic little critters. The chipmunk resembles a common tree squirrel,but is only about 5" to 6" in length, not including its bushy tail. It is rusty brown animal with a varying number of darker and lighter stripes on its back,with a off white underbelly. The positives of the chipmunks are they are diurnal--active during the daytime,which makes them fun to watch. They don't have an odor. They are easy to take care of. Chipmunks are not recommended for young children because the animal can become easily frightened by children's quick movements and high excitement levels. The negatives of these chipmunks would be don't keep them in the same room where you are trying to sleep if you are a day sleeper. The chipmunks do not like being held. They are very energetic and don't like to sit still. Chipmunks do not like to be grabbed. Lay the palm of your hand down with a treat and they will come sit on your hand this way. NEVER grab them by their tail

Chipmunks are one of the cleanest pets that you can get. Again as far as the smell they do not have one. They leave their droppings in one corner, which can easily be removed, making it unneccessary to do a complete bedding change each week. The chipmunk has many endearing qualities. Active during the daytime. They do like to explore everything and are very fast so you might want to limit their out of cage time to one room. Chipmunks are less trusting with people they don't know. You need to try and get your chipmunk when it is around 6 weeks old. At this age they are fully weaned and eating on their own. Chipmunks will lose their fear of humans if handled frequently before they are weaned, but it is unwise to separate them from their mom at this time. The trick to having a tame chipmunk is to have a treat in your hand when you approach their cage. Start to feed your chip through the cage bars and then open the cage and let them come to your hand and finally they will meet you at the door waiting for their treat. With patience, your chipmunk will become a trusting and responsive pet.

Chipmunks are not animals that like to be held. They are very curious energetic animals and will visit with you for a couple of minutes then they are wanting to explore. If they are riding on your shoulder and you walk by something that is taller, they will jump on this new tree to check it out. The chipmunk is a rodent and they love to chew. So if you let them roam free in a room make sure that it has been chipmunk proofed. Electrical wires, your good furniture, anything that you want in one piece needs to be removed. Of course always stay with your pet while it is loose.

Your chipmunk needs a tall cage, because they love climbing around on their cage. Mimimum cage should be 36"x24"x24", and mesh size no larger than 1/2x1". You should also provide your chipmunk with a nesting box for a secure place to sleep. A parakeet nesting box is ideal for this. Each chipmunk should have their own box. Also provide your chipmunk with some tree braches that they can climb on also included the all important wheel. With mine I also give them parrot wood toys to chew also a pumice block.You also need a water bottle and food dish. Chipmunks use one corner of their cage for a bathroom so I consider this as being litter box trained. You clean this area once a week and then usually you can do a whole cage cleaning once amonth. This usually works for me with my breeding pairs. Of course this is with a cage that has the pan under the wire floor. Chipmunks generally don't like other animals-dogs,cats-because by mother nature they wore chosen to be prey animals so they are quick to be frighten and flee. It is wise to proceed with caution when introducing your chipmunk to the family dog or cat. They could be lunch.