Chipmunks are little striped rodents belonging to the Sciuridae family. There are more than 25 different species of chipmunks. Except for the Siberian chipmunk, which may be found across northern Asia from central Russia to China, all of the other kinds can be found throughout North America. Let’s explore what do chipmunks eat, how to feed them and their shelter?

What do chipmunks eat?

Chipmunks eat a wide variety of foods, they are omnivorous. One can easily find a wild chipmunk eating nuts, seeds, buds, fruit, grains, and fungi. They also eat new plant shoots and fresh grass. Chipmunks will cheerfully eat little frogs, insects, earthworms, bird eggs, baby birds, and even arthropods like millipedes and centipedes in addition to vegetables.
Chipmunks keep food in their cheek pouches to consume later. Perhaps you might have seen cartoon chipmunks with bulging cheek pouches! These pouches are used as carry bags by chipmunks to carry their surplus food. They can also stretch to three times the size of a chipmunk's head – incredible! Chipmunks take food back to their home or burrow using their pouches. They also enjoy burying food.

Shelter and hibernation
Wild chipmunks prefer to live in subterranean burrows, hollow tree logs, or nests built-in thick bushes, although they are primarily forest or woodland inhabitants and good climbers.
Chipmunks are crepuscular beings i.e. most active at dawn and dusk when there are less predators around. These busy little creatures spend much of their day foraging on the ground, however, they will also climb trees to munch on acorns and nuts, in between resting and relaxing.  
Chipmunks in the wild do not exactly hibernate, but they do spend much of the winter dormant and torpid. Chipmunks, unlike bears and other hibernating animals, do not store enormous amounts of fat to get them through the winter. Instead, these hardworking tiny critters harvest and store non-perishable foods in their burrows to keep them well-fed during the winter months when food is scarce. They'll sleep for a few days, then emerge momentarily to nibble on some of their pantry items before sleeping for another few days, and so on until spring arrives.

Feeding pet chipmunks
Your chipmunks require a well-balanced, low-fat diet. Fresh and dried fruit, nuts, veggies, and protein should all be included. Pet chipmunks' favourite foods include Pears, Apples, Peaches, Oranges, Walnuts, Chestnuts, pistachios, Carrots and Tomatoes. Cooked chicken and mealworms are all good sources of protein for them. Live mealworms can be purchased from a reputable pet store. If you don't want to introduce live wrigglers to your chipmunks' cage, you may still give them a wonderful protein boost by giving them dry mealworms. Many garden shops and pet stores sell dried mealworms as bird food.
If you keep your pet chipmunks outside, you may notice that they are less active during the winter months, sleeping for days at a time before emerging to seek food. These actions are akin to their normal seasonal patterns.
You should slightly cut their food ration during this period. This hibernation habit may not be seen in captive-bred chipmunks raised indoors. You won't need to add vitamin or mineral supplements to your chipmunks' food because their diet will provide them with all they require.

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What do chipmunks eat?