Looking at a chipmunk can immediately lead you to ask how much food is stuffed in their cheeks. Very ravenous and a little rascally, they almost store an enormous amount of food in their cheek pouches.
If you come across petting a baby chipmunk or find an orphaned chipmunk and want to take care of it you may get curious to know what should be offered to this little animal.
And it is alright if you take the opportunity to learn what they should eat or drink before you offer them a meal.
But do they only consume these solid foods! Or do they drink water as well? Let’s find out if you can give water to a chipmunk.
Do chipmunks drink water?
Chipmunks drink water. In fact, all living animals need to be hydrated for proper functioning. Chipmunks get hydrated by drinking water like most earthly animals. They mostly consume dry fruits and vegetables and store a lot of foods on their cheeks. But drinking adequate water keeps them healthy.
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Chipmunks are wild animals. Many suggest not to pet a chipmunk as they are doubtful to leave their wild nature. One reason is that chipmunks do not have a food habit like any other pet animal.
But they are not significantly different from other animals when it comes to drinking water. Chipmunks, likely of any other animals, cannot live without water. And consuming water keeps them hydrated and safe from many health conditions.
Chipmunks are of mammal kinds. That means they are breastfed in their childhood. And until a few months old baby chipmunks continue to consume mother’s milk.
Chipmunks store foods in their cheek pouches. These pouches are significant and can store foods equivalent to the meal a chipmunk can eat at a time. But these pouches cannot store liquids such as water or milk.
These mammals live in caves, and ideally, their burrows are located near natural water sources. Chipmunks are mammals who undergo hibernation during winter. Also, these water sources can be a good source of water even during winter.
The hibernation period of chipmunks continues from start to finish of the winter. During their hibernation, chipmunks take more than one break throughout the winter to eat food and drink water. This little amount of water consumption keeps them hydrated and warm during the cold.
Chipmunks collect their water from natural sources. And they prefer drinking only from fresh and clean waters. Offering water to chipmunks should consider all the hygiene precautions these little animals take.
Do baby chipmunks drink water?
Baby chipmunks can have water after a certain period. Like other mammal infants, baby chipmunks are used to drinking milk at a young age. They shouldn’t be given water until they cross their first two weeks. Baby chipmunks aging 1-2 weeks must be fed with pet milk.
However, a baby chipmunk can add other foods to its food routine after growing up more. Besides, they are almost always dehydrated. So, feeding baby chipmunks frequently after a time is required.
It would be best to allow a chipmunk to have only milk every few hours rather than water at its early stage. Because it provides much nutrition to the little babies.
Wild baby chipmunks can drink water on their own after a few weeks. But do not give water to baby chipmunks when they are one or two weeks old.
How often do chipmunks drink water?
In general, Chipmunks are earthy animals, which means they live in small caves and set their burrows near fresh springs and or where rainwater is accessible. This means chipmunks consider water a great resource, and studies say they prefer fresh and clean waters.
Also, these burrows allow them to consume water during winters when they go through hibernation.
Baby chipmunks cannot store a lot of food, so they are fed frequently in small amounts. Typically, they are provided with 1 ml of milk every hour. And chipmunks aging 3-4 weeks can drink liquid foods once every two hours.
During their hibernation in winter, chipmunks do not consume any food or water. But they take breaks from hibernation several times throughout the winter to eat their previously-stored food and drink water. It keeps their body warm and prevents them from getting weaker.
How do you give chipmunk water?
Taking care of a chipmunk is not a very difficult job. As chipmunks are raised in the wild, their instinct for finding food is strong and keeps them alive at any given time. But it is better to consider all kinds of nutrients for a healthy chipmunk.
In addition, water is essential in their food habit, just like any other animal. If you want to give water to a chipmunk, you can follow these ways:
Fresh and clean water:
As chipmunks require water to keep them hydrated, you can provide them with fresh and clean water. And this water should be available to them all the time.
Chipmunks naturally build their habitat in burrows near spring water sources or accessible to rainwater, so fresh and clean water must be supplied.
With milk supplements:
Especially for baby chipmunks, they acquire all of their required nutrients from milk; they must not drink only water.
As their capacity for consumption is low, water must be mixed into powdered milk and given to them in small amounts every two hours. Chipmunks can consume puppy milk.
Water Bottle:
Small water bottles can feed both water and milk. As it is convenient for feeding babies, you can also use its measuring capacities to feed chipmunks appropriately. Overfeeding is harmful to chipmunk health.
Small dish:
Small dishes are handy for adult or relatably older chipmunks. You must wash dishes and water bottles frequently to maintain good hygiene.
Can chipmunks drink milk? Can chipmunks drink almond milk?
Chipmunks are fond of dry fruits and vegetables. And also, they can store an enormous amount of foodstuffs in their cheek pouches. But like any other animal, to keep themselves hydrated, chipmunks consume various kinds of liquids.
Chipmunks are mammals, and like any other mammals, baby chipmunks are fed with their mothers’ milk. So, we can conclude that chipmunks can drink milk; and one can feed chipmunks with milk.
But chipmunks cannot tolerate all kinds of milk. Especially baby chipmunks should not drink any random milk but puppy milk. As they can digest this type of milk, these are good for their health.
Likewise, almond milk can also be a great source of nutrition for the baby chipmunk. And as almond milk can be easily sourced and collected. Almond milk is also an affordable option, so chipmunks can drink them long-term.
What do chipmunks drink?
Chipmunks primarily eat many kinds of fruits and vegetables available to them. Also, they are great at storing foods on their cheek pouches. In addition, Chipmunks are one of those few mammals that keep food for hibernation during winter.
Along with solid foods, Chipmunks consume a variety of liquids. things that chipmunks drink are given below-
Water:
No animal can live without water. To keep them hydrated, chipmunks consume a lot of water. Even their caves are located near freshwater sources to access water easily.
Milk:
Chipmunks are mammals, and like any other mammals, they are fed milk by their mothers. Mothers’ milk contains precisely the nutrients needed for a chipmunk to grow solid and sound.
For younger chipmunks aging less than a few weeks, this is the only source of getting nutrition.
Puppy milk:
In case of the unavailability of mother’s milk, chipmunks can be fed with puppy milk. Among all other milk for animals, puppy milk is most suitable for digestion and growth for chipmunks.
And baby chipmunks cannot consume a lot of meals at a time, so they must be fed frequently every second hour with a very low amount of puppy milk.
Almond milk:
Almond milk is naturally sourced milk and can be consumed by chipmunks without any side effects. Moreover, almond milk contains lots of minerals and nutrients, none considered bad for chipmunk health.
Also, almond milk is an affordable option for chipmunk food and is easily found in local stores.
Final Thoughts
Chipmunks do drink water. As they are wild animals they source their required water from nature. Chipmunks get easily dehydrated, so consuming regular water can be a great step to ensure the solid growth of a chipmunk. However, Water can be mixed with powder milk to feed them as well.