Perhaps the most unique feature of Flying Squirrels is their ability to strongly bond to humans. The Southern Flying Squirrel has absolutely no problem bonding with its owners if the proper steps are taken at a young age. If this creature is obtained before ten weeks, and carried around in the shirt pocket of its owner or kept in a bonding pouch or shirt for a few hours a day for several weeks, an indestructible bond will assuredly form. With time and patience, even an older flyer can develop a bond to its owner, once a mutual trust has been established.

They absolutely love to travel in one's pocket, bra or bonding pouch for hours ... all day if you'd let them. During this crucial time of the bonding period, the squirrel will learn the voice, heartbeat, body odor, and warmth of its owner and will look for these things in later years as a sense of security. It is also important to pet them during this time. Many people prefer skin-to-skin contact by placing the pup inside the shirt rather than using a pouch.

Once these creatures have sufficiently bonded, they become quite sociable and will often want to play on or very near their owner, even going as far as racing through the clothes of their owners, dodging through shirts, shirt pockets, leaping from shoulder to shoulder, and sometimes scrambling onto their heads to play with and inevitably mess up the hair.

The Southern Flying Squirrel is a nocturnal animal, which means it is mostly awake during the night hours, though it will happily join its owner in day activities, so long as a shirt is provided for leisurely naps.

A bonded flyer:

Gets excited when it sees you.

It wants to be with you and on you.

It trusts you completely.

It likes to get rubbed under the chin and behind the ears.

It will try to groom you.

It will climb on the bars of the cage and reach through the bars towards you.

It does things to try and get your attention.

When you open the door of its cage, it will hop onto your hand or onto your shirt and rush down into the shirt.

You can pick it up and cradle it in your hands - however, some squirrels will never get over the natural fear of being grasped or held captive in your hands.

A flying squirrel requires an exceptionally dedicated owner to provide a sufficient amount of attention and bonding time to these very social creatures.

If his eyes are open you can keep him out more than an hour at a time. If he is nibbling any solid foods, you could give him a little treat when you have him out so he will know recognize you as a source of goodies. You do need to hold him in your hands some so he will get accustomed to being held. Just pick him up now and then and hold him still a short time. The goal is for him to learn that it is not such a bad thing and there may be a time when it is a life or death situation and you HAVE to hold him still. It also helps in the event he ever needs to see a vet. Vets don't care to chase flyers around to check them out. If you have a mother and babies, and you would like to begin the socialization process with the pups - and if the mother is being cooperative - you can get them out several times a day and/or keep them out longer.

Take your new pup out of your shirt now and again, just holding him in a fairly loose palm, caress him, coo over him, then drop him back inside your shirt for more rest. Keep in mind that night time is their "active" time, and be sure you give a new pup a few nights confined to his cage, so he will recognize it as his home base, before you give him room freedom.

When he's in the cage, expect him to be nervous when you first reach in, and expect him to jump away from your hand. Bring your open palm to him, and allow him to decide to climb aboard. If he's in a corner, you can gently "cover" him with your hand, and scoop him up -- but do not do this in a rapid way -- gently, and slowly, so that he does not interpret the movement as a predator's grasp. His momma would "cover" him with her body, and then "roll" him into a sort of ball, grasp him with her mouth by his belly, and then pick him up -- you need to do sort of the same thing ... roll him into a ball, and scoop him up -- not a tight hold, but a secure hold.

The best way to work with a new flyer is in a small room (like the bathroom), where there is not much but you, for company and amusement. Allow the flyer to set the pace, and never make him feel "hunted down." Try to get him to trust you with treats. Find something he really likes such as pecan pieces. Use small pieces that can be eaten quickly so he doesn't want to run off to eat them. Make him take them from your hand to get them. Too much chasing may be defeating your purpose. You might try being very still and see if he will investigate you and climb on you. Also make sure you are interacting with him. Every flyer is an individual and you'll be amazed at how much your own intuition will come in to play, in developing into your flyer's best friend!

It is possible for flyers to bond with more than one person. Frequently a flyer will take a liking to a specific family member, to the exclusion of the one who actually wanted the little bugger in the first place! Often, a flyer will adapt to whomever is showing the most attention. It can be helpful to "share" responsibility for the flyer's care with other family members and for various members to take turns carrying the pup around while it is still young and impressionable. This way, the flyer will bond to more than one person ... although they usually have their "favorite" HOF.