Squirrels are normally cute, friendly creatures but some squirrels carry diseases that can alter both their appearance and behaviour. Rabies is a well-known example of a disease that can drastically affect a squirrel’s demeanour. Although a disease like rabies is uncommon in squirrels, knowing how to approximate a diagnosis for a squirrel is vital to the safety of your household and your community. 

Squirrels can contract a wide range of diseases including squirrel pox, fungal infections (ringworm), bacterial infections (tularemia, Lyme disease, salmonellosis, and leptospirosis), the bubonic plague, and rabies. The symptoms of these diseases can vary greatly and can intensify dramatically at any moment in both humans, squirrels, and other pets alike. Squirrels contract these various infections and diseases through ingesting contaminated water, insect bites, or other animal bites.