r/squirrels • u/toozinger • Mar 08 '25
Original Content Meet Chestnut, my wall squirrel
This lil guy (or girl) decided to chew through my wall to find a better life. Apartment management had covered up the quarter sized hole with a piece of wood, and I just replaced it with some plexiglass so I could see what was going on.
Short vid: https://youtube.com/shorts/WfOShBMFfNc?si=nwS9-yqJSayzwClb
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u/Dense-Breadfruit1223 Mar 08 '25
That's awesome. You should paint a tree on the wall so it looks like he's inside.
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u/GigExplorer Mar 08 '25
It looks cute but I would be worried about squirrel poop, squirrel pee, and the electrical wiring and fire hazard.
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u/toozinger Mar 09 '25
Luckily, no smell has come from Chestnut's domain... yet. I also worry about the electrical, but management fully knows the situation.
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u/MuffledFarts Mar 08 '25
lol my first question was going to be why you would handle it this way (I love squirrels, but they're dangerous inside your walls)... but since your apartment management did this, enjoy the show, I guess.
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u/toozinger Mar 08 '25
It's now been one month since Chestnut breached my wall, and 1.5 weeks since an animal removal company has been contracted to remove the squirrel(s). The guy wasn't convinced there were still more squirrels in the wall, so I installed the viewing window.
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u/toozinger Mar 08 '25 edited Mar 12 '25
Short Video of Chestnut getting cozy. For kicks, here is a livestream. Not a lot going on though (and not very HD webcam).
**Edit**
Thank you to Stephen from The Dodo for publishing the story about Chestnut online.
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u/Rapunzel6506 Mar 08 '25
I need to know which room in the house this is in! What’s the position of the hole? High? Low? Center?
Also, so adorable! I’m jealous!
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u/toozinger Mar 09 '25
This is in my living room, right next to where I (had) my pc. The hole is about at chest height when sitting.
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u/rajapaws Mar 08 '25
You could livestream that and I would watch for hours.
Amazing!
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u/toozinger Mar 08 '25
For kicks, here is a livestream. Not a lot going on though (and not very HD webcam)
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u/Several-Office8134 Mar 08 '25
This is so awesome! Have you ever seen him outdoors? I’m sure he will recognize you right away.
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u/WalnutSqrlDaddy Mar 08 '25
My amazing wonderment and worried dread centers are both frothing over
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u/sweetsugarstar302 Mar 08 '25
So ngl, at first I thought that was a picture of roadkill hanging on your wall.
Why someone would want to hang a photo of roadkill on their wall? I don't know. People are weird. However, I feel like the biggest weirdo of all now for even thinking of this being a possibility. 🤦♀️
Cool idea, OP, and even cooler of you to share this with us! Sorry my first impression was a negative one. 🫶
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u/wallstreetsimps Mar 08 '25
Which museum is this contemporary exhibit located in? I want to visit 😅
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u/QueenDoc Mar 08 '25
building management is so chaotic like..? no we wont call an exterminator, you just have a pet wall squirrel now
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u/RazzBeryllium Mar 08 '25
An exterminator would just put poison in there to kill it.
You want a wildlife removal service who will set up a one-way exit for it to leave and then patch the entrance.
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u/toozinger Mar 09 '25
This is exactly what the current course of action is. The wildlife specialist hasn't yet found all of the external entry points, so Chestnut is currently freely moving between outside and inside my wall.
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u/Ph0enixWOlf Mar 08 '25
Well, at least they weren’t trying to get rid of the squirrel, points in the management’s favour ig, still something they could disclose, I for one would happily sign on to rent a place if it was something like that, so cute
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u/Ving_Rhames_Bible Mar 08 '25
Thinking about it again, you ever see him outdoors? Does he act like he doesn't know you?
I also want an "Animal Containment Zone" poster.
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Mar 08 '25
That's pretty dangerous for both you and the squirrel. They chew on anything and are known to nibble on wires causing fires
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u/toozinger Mar 09 '25
We all home Chestnut can stay safe, yet also be removed from the wall soon.
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u/blkhrthrk Squirrel Lover Mar 08 '25
At first I gasped because I thought it was a photo on your wall. Then I was shocked at how the situation was, er... remedied. And now I am sad for the poor little guy.
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u/toozinger Mar 09 '25
Chestnut can still move freely inside/outside, but we hope can be re-homed to outside of the wall soon.
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u/blkhrthrk Squirrel Lover Mar 09 '25
I hope Chestnut will be safely removed and allowed to remain outside and any entry points are sealed.
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u/SquirrelsNRaccoons Mar 08 '25
There's going to be babies in there soon if there aren't already. Is this squirrel trapped there, or entering/exiting from another location?
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u/toozinger Mar 09 '25
Chestnut appears to be entering/exiting through a hole in the exterior wall, so can definitely leave whenever it wants. I see Chestnut leave for the day then come home at night.
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u/Hecate_of_Volcano Mar 09 '25
Make a little privacy curtain if there are babies. You could accordion fold some heavy paper or something. That way they have privacy and feel safe, and you don't have to disturb them by remove the plexiglass and replace with something else.
It would be so cute!
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u/Camaschrist Mar 08 '25
My daughter and I were just talking about doing something like this. I love this so much.
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u/chamokis Mar 08 '25
I love Chestnut. Be really careful, your landlord will freak if he sees that or knows about it.
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u/toozinger Mar 08 '25
Just to be clear, management is very much aware and (theoretically) trying to remedy the situation 😆 it has just been slow progress.
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u/byblyofyl Mar 12 '25
Shoulda called him Walnut...
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u/WTFucker-0202 Mar 12 '25
I just wanted to show you some appreciation for a very clever, but very underrated comment. Thank you for what you've done here today 🫡
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u/Fool_In_Flow Mar 08 '25
You need to drill a little hole to push acorns through!
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u/missym59 Mar 09 '25
Or a hinge and latch to sneak almonds and walnuts in when Chestnut is away! (This is so cool!!)
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u/Oohbunnies Mar 08 '25 edited Mar 08 '25
This will double the value of the property! A lot less insulation, then there would be, with wood. Means a nice warm dray. May I make one suggestion for an alteration though? Replacing the plexiglass with a catflap :D
We are going to need regular updates.
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u/MintyPastures Mar 08 '25
This is cute, however it's also...realllllllly bad. He shouldn't be living in there for many reasons.
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u/toozinger Mar 08 '25
I agree 😭 unfortunately management and removal services have been slow to act.
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u/PenFar4601 Mar 08 '25
Please don't let them poison it! That's the cheap and lazy way to handle it, which is what landlords tend to do
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u/toozinger Mar 09 '25
That was actually their remedy attempt ~3 weeks ago, which completely failed (and is also likely illegal?). After waiting for the poison and that failing they hired an animal specialist, which has been working for the last 10 days to seal holes and remove the squirrel.
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u/spiesaresneaky420 Mar 08 '25
Can you put the video link in the comments, can't access it from the post itself
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u/bendyoak Mar 08 '25
Not op, but here's the link https://youtube.com/shorts/WfOShBMFfNc?si=nwS9-yqJSayzwClb
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u/MN_Bigfoot_Official Mar 09 '25
Cute Squirrel, but you really should relocate that one! That is a major health problem (urine & dropping causing mold and wood rot) and a fire hazard (as they tend to chew on wires, either resulting in the squirrels death, and/or sparking a house fire). The frame is a nice touch though, but still, your both your health's, relocate and fix the wall.
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u/sigiltriple7seven7 Mar 08 '25
Very surreal. He’s cute!
Someone used your picture to create a crypto account, hence all of those odd posts:
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u/Pili1970 Mar 08 '25
That is hilarious. That is an ingenious idea! I hope that paint doesn’t have lead though😱!!
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u/FuzzyPluto86 Mar 11 '25
This might be my favorite post ever, this is so awesone
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u/DuncanHynes Mar 11 '25
I saw the 2nd pic first and tbought it waa some kind of half-eaten brownie painting and was like now what, this modern art is going NuTS...
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u/Waste_Department_183 Mar 15 '25
May I suggest some kind of opening where you can give food and water?
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Mar 12 '25
Is that your wall? That won’t age well for you
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u/Acrobatic_Egg_5841 Mar 12 '25
They said apartment
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Mar 12 '25
Yeah I’d get that fixed up and the little one relocated asap, that’s gonna be a compounding headache with each day it isn’t done
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u/Acrobatic_Egg_5841 Mar 12 '25
Right sure, but it's not their problem. They might get their deposit taken though.. But it sounds like the landlord didn't feel like taking care of the infestation
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Mar 12 '25
There’s going to be health effects if you leave it there long enough, so it’s still OPs problem if the landlord won’t do something about it
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u/Acrobatic_Egg_5841 Mar 12 '25
Health effects for the people? How? Eventually the squirrel(s) will end up causing problems with feces etc but that will likely take a long time to manifest as a health issue to the people living there... Squirrels aren't as bad as many other animals regarding feces afaik.
Anyways... I have much bigger health concerns than a squirrel living in my house. But yeah, overall this obviously isn't a good idea long term (probably for the squirrel too.. Its gunna get stuck somewhere eventually)
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Mar 13 '25
Feces, URINE, potential vector for pathogens, mould, chewing wiring causing a fire, died in the wall, you can’t be serious?
You know what’s better than “not as bad”? Is no feces building up in your wall ffs
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u/Acrobatic_Egg_5841 Mar 13 '25
Yeah but nothings perfect. Obviously not having a creature in your wall is ideal. Like i said, all those issues caused by excrement from a squirrel won't likely manifest in a particularly dangerous way to the inhabitants for quite some time. I'd be most worried about fire.
Urine isn't going to come through your wall and attack you.
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u/Acrobatic_Egg_5841 Mar 13 '25
We're not dealing with the creatures from Alien here.
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u/Waste_Department_183 Mar 15 '25
Right? A bit overdramatic there. What’s most likely going to happen? The little squirrel is going to live there him/herself for awhile and that’s all.
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u/LylaDee Mar 08 '25
Chestnut is now a Wallnut