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Thread: Squirrel's tail hair coming out. Need advice

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    Erin675 Guest

    Default Squirrel's tail hair coming out. Need advice

    I have an eastern gray squirrel that is about 4 1/2 months old now. He has done great since I got him at a week old, up until recently when his tail hair started coming out. He has a woven grass hut type house from petsmart that he sleeps in at night with a shirt it. Any advice on what could be causing his tail hair to be coming out? Is it anything serious?

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    Default Re: Squirrel's tail hair coming out. Need advice

    Hi there... Can you tell us a bit more about your squirrel? It is possible that he is molting, but there are other possibilities. Can you tell us what he eats every day?

  3. #3
    Erin675 Guest

    Default Re: Squirrel's tail hair coming out. Need advice

    Quote Originally Posted by SammysMom View Post
    Hi there... Can you tell us a bit more about your squirrel? It is possible that he is molting, but there are other possibilities. Can you tell us what he eats every day?
    He pretty much has been eating monkey biscuits. I have got to make it a point to get a big variety into his diet. He seems to love the biscuits though. What is molting exactly?

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    Default Re: Squirrel's tail hair coming out. Need advice

    You have arrived at the right place where there are extremely knowledgeable squirrel peeps. Diet is almost always the starting place and frequently needs to be adjusted for the squirrel. Since "squirrel chow" is not really available in the pet store, it is extremely important to be specific about the squirrels diet. Folks here can share knowledge about what is good, bad, what might need to added or removed, more of this or less of that etc. So it is important to be specific about his diet.... can you elaborate on the variety and specific about the monkey biscuits (Zupreem? Mazuri? Other?) and how many biscuits each day.

    Pictures always help too, a thousand words and all that. Sometimes the issue can be spotted right away (or an possibility ruled out) with an pic!

    Welcome to TSB!!

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    Default Re: Squirrel's tail hair coming out. Need advice

    Monkey biscuits are OK as part of a diet, but not advisable for the entire diet. The gold standard are these, a bag lasts a month:

    http://www.henryspets.com/squirrel-diet/

    Have you seen the healthy diet thread? Diet is THE most important thing for a sq:

    http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/s...-Pet-Squirrels

    Molt is just a seasonal loss and regrowth of hair, like shedding in a dog, though less uniform.

    Can you provide pics of him, not just his tail, and his house?

  6. #6
    Erin675 Guest

    Default Re: Squirrel's tail hair coming out. Need advice

    Quote Originally Posted by Spanky View Post
    You have arrived at the right place where there are extremely knowledgeable squirrel peeps. Diet is almost always the starting place and frequently needs to be adjusted for the squirrel. Since "squirrel chow" is not really available in the pet store, it is extremely important to be specific about the squirrels diet. Folks here can share knowledge about what is good, bad, what might need to added or removed, more of this or less of that etc. So it is important to be specific about his diet.... can you elaborate on the variety and specific about the monkey biscuits (Zupreem? Mazuri? Other?) and how many biscuits each day.

    Pictures always help too, a thousand words and all that. Sometimes the issue can be spotted right away (or an possibility ruled out) with an pic!

    Welcome to TSB!!
    They are Zupreem monkey biscuits. I usually will drop 4 in or so several times a day. I might be feeding him completely wrong. I will get a picture of his tail later today so you can see what it is doing.

    Quote Originally Posted by farrelli View Post
    Monkey biscuits are OK as part of a diet, but not advisable for the entire diet. The gold standard are these, a bag lasts a month:

    http://www.henryspets.com/squirrel-diet/

    Have you seen the healthy diet thread? Diet is THE most important thing for a sq:

    http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/s...-Pet-Squirrels

    Molt is just a seasonal loss and regrowth of hair, like shedding in a dog, though less uniform.

    Can you provide pics of him, not just his tail, and his house?
    Thank you for the link! I will definitely go by that for his diet from now on. Here is a pic of his cage, it now has a better house for him, this is an older pic. I will take some pics of him today.Name:  image.jpeg
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    Default Re: Squirrel's tail hair coming out. Need advice

    Have the monkey biscuits been the only thing in his diet? It is very important to understand what his entire diet consisted of in case he might need some extra calcium supplements for a while even if his diet is switched to Henry's Healthy blocks. All the information is needed to make sure this is not something more serious than just molting (and pictures will help!).

    His hair loss could be the early signs of calcium issues and he may need some calcium extra supplements for a while.. a few weeks. But that depends on what his diet has been. It is extremely important since a lack of calcium can be deadly and does take a long time to come about especially in youngsters. It can really sneak up on you when everything seems okay. The good news is that the Henry's will take care of his diet needs once the calcium has been righted (if needed).

    Henry's is the really the only "just for squirrels food". Henry's is not the only way to make sure his diet is correct but it is the surest and easiest way to make sure... so we highly recommend that option!

    If you could get the little guy some small stuffed animals to play with in his cage he would love it! Make sure they do not have any beads or buttons kind of things for eye, etc. that could be chewed off and swallowed!

    Does your squirrel have a name? We will look forward to seeing his pics and learning his name!

  8. #8
    Erin675 Guest

    Default Re: Squirrel's tail hair coming out. Need advice

    Quote Originally Posted by Spanky View Post
    Have the monkey biscuits been the only thing in his diet? It is very important to understand what his entire diet consisted of in case he might need some extra calcium supplements for a while even if his diet is switched to Henry's Healthy blocks. All the information is needed to make sure this is not something more serious than just molting (and pictures will help!).

    His hair loss could be the early signs of calcium issues and he may need some calcium extra supplements for a while.. a few weeks. But that depends on what his diet has been. It is extremely important since a lack of calcium can be deadly and does take a long time to come about especially in youngsters. It can really sneak up on you when everything seems okay. The good news is that the Henry's will take care of his diet needs once the calcium has been righted (if needed).

    Henry's is the really the only "just for squirrels food". Henry's is not the only way to make sure his diet is correct but it is the surest and easiest way to make sure... so we highly recommend that option!

    If you could get the little guy some small stuffed animals to play with in his cage he would love it! Make sure they do not have any beads or buttons kind of things for eye, etc. that could be chewed off and swallowed!

    Does your squirrel have a name? We will look forward to seeing his pics and learning his name!
    Yeah his diet has pretty much been monkey biscuits. What would be my best option for increasing calcium until I get some of the Henry's blocks? His name is Gus! Here are some pics
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    Default Re: Squirrel's tail hair coming out. Need advice

    You could use small pieces of a Tums (almost pure calcium) but not the ones with added D because too much vit D is toxic.

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    Default Re: Squirrel's tail hair coming out. Need advice

    Gus sure looks like a very happy boy!

    IMPORTANT: What kind of formula were you providing Gus? And does he still take the formula? If the formula lacked the right mix of calcium, this may be more urgent and require more aggressive calcium supplementation (more frequent).

    Farrelli provided the link for the healthy squirrel diet:
    http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/s...-Pet-Squirrels
    I would start introducing Gus to the healthy veggies right away... it may take some trial and error to find what he prefers and will eat. I would also place branches in his cage from the “safe tree” list. That too is important, the eat them and chew on them... and make a mess, but it is a good healthy thing!

    And Henry’s for the block:
    http://www.henryspets.com/squirrel-diet/

    But they are closed for the holidays… I have some leftover HHB Growth formula which is perfect for Gus. I will PM you and if you send me back your address I will mail some out priority mail tomorrow. But they will mold quickly after defrosting, so I will send only a few. I am not far from you (60 miles, just inside GA from Westminster off 123) but I have family coming into town starting tonight. They leave Sunday so maybe we can figure something out to get you the rest of the bag in frozen state! I should have enough to get you through until Henry’s reopens. I will also send some “Healthy Vita-Mins” for squirrels that includes calcium.

    I have never seen a squirrel Gus’ age molt. We have more than a dozen little ones (wild) running around here and none of them have the same thing going on, and we are in the same area. Hopefully others will chime in here since many have much more experience than I!!! But I can see the hair loss in the pictures.

    Note: No Avocado skins or pits if you decide to try those!

    Edit: TUMS. Tums (but not the ones with Vitamin D... I see farelli posted while I was typing! Thanks farelli, I failed to mention NO Vit D!) are a great source of calcium and squirrels often will eat the berry flavored ones. You can crush and dissolve in his water too. But do provide the info on the formula!

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    Default Re: Squirrel's tail hair coming out. Need advice

    If you are inclined to bake up some "homemade" blocks, I can make sure to send enough Vita-Mins for the recipe... we'll just need to locate the recipe.. it is on the board somewhere (actually many many places)... lemme know?

  12. #12
    Erin675 Guest

    Default Re: Squirrel's tail hair coming out. Need advice

    Quote Originally Posted by farrelli View Post
    You could use small pieces of a Tums (almost pure calcium) but not the ones with added D because too much vit D is toxic.
    Ok i may give that a try then!

    Quote Originally Posted by Spanky View Post
    Gus sure looks like a very happy boy!

    IMPORTANT: What kind of formula were you providing Gus? And does he still take the formula? If the formula lacked the right mix of calcium, this may be more urgent and require more aggressive calcium supplementation (more frequent).

    Farrelli provided the link for the healthy squirrel diet:
    http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/s...-Pet-Squirrels
    I would start introducing Gus to the healthy veggies right away... it may take some trial and error to find what he prefers and will eat. I would also place branches in his cage from the “safe tree” list. That too is important, the eat them and chew on them... and make a mess, but it is a good healthy thing!

    And Henry’s for the block:
    http://www.henryspets.com/squirrel-diet/

    But they are closed for the holidays… I have some leftover HHB Growth formula which is perfect for Gus. I will PM you and if you send me back your address I will mail some out priority mail tomorrow. But they will mold quickly after defrosting, so I will send only a few. I am not far from you (60 miles, just inside GA from Westminster off 123) but I have family coming into town starting tonight. They leave Sunday so maybe we can figure something out to get you the rest of the bag in frozen state! I should have enough to get you through until Henry’s reopens. I will also send some “Healthy Vita-Mins” for squirrels that includes calcium.



    I have never seen a squirrel Gus’ age molt. We have more than a dozen little ones (wild) running around here and none of them have the same thing going on, and we are in the same area. Hopefully others will chime in here since many have much more experience than I!!! But I can see the hair loss in the pictures.

    Note: No Avocado skins or pits if you decide to try those!

    Edit: TUMS. Tums (but not the ones with Vitamin D... I see farelli posted while I was typing! Thanks farelli, I failed to mention NO Vit D!) are a great source of calcium and squirrels often will eat the berry flavored ones. You can crush and dissolve in his water too. But do provide the info on the formula!
    Spanky, I have sent you a pm with my address. I gave Gus goats milk up until about 12 weeks I believe. I used that after reading the squirrelstore.com. He then went to monkey biscuits. I'm working on changing up his diet so that I can get him more balanced nutrients. I appreciate all of the new info guys!

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    Default Re: Squirrel's tail hair coming out. Need advice

    Quote Originally Posted by Erin675 View Post
    Spanky, I have sent you a pm with my address. I gave Gus goats milk up until about 12 weeks I believe. I used that after reading the squirrelstore.com. He then went to monkey biscuits. I'm working on changing up his diet so that I can get him more balanced nutrients. I appreciate all of the new info guys!
    Darn, I was hoping to get this out yesterday! I can them to the post office until later this afternoon (family in town). But my daughter is here today and she lives in Anderson, not far from you she says. I can send the entire bag (well, mostly full bag) frozen with her tonight. This might be a better alternative regardless since I would not want to mail the entire bag since they would mold rather quickly after thawing out in the mail. I PM'd with our numbers... hopefully you can reply in the next few hours or call otherwise I will drop a couple at least at the post office to be safe in getting you at least some block for Gus.

    Has Gus eaten any Tums or other calcium supplement?

    Is Gus an otherwise healthy squirrel or is there a reason why he cannot be released in the Spring? I am asking because if you plan on keeping him as a pet, folks here at TSB might share some additional info with you so have all the information you might need about a pet squirrel's requirements and what to look forward to as they become more mature.

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    Default Re: Squirrel's tail hair coming out. Need advice

    I spoke with E and my daughter will hand off the HHB's (growth formula) tomorrow for Gus. I also have a couple more pictures of Gus' tail I am posting for E. Can folks share their opinions on what the believe would be likely causes of the hair loss... Diet / MBD, Bolting, others? Gus is 12 years old:

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    Default Re: Squirrel's tail hair coming out. Need advice

    Since we are not generating many comments from members with more experience with MBD, I am going to recommend you follow the MBD treatment protocol since it can not hurt Gus but it may well save his life. We know his diet was off a little, so this will be good while his diet is transitioned to the healthy diet. Please start this treatment right away. Here is the link explaining what to do:

    http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/s...dated-3-31-09)

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    Default Re: Squirrel's tail hair coming out. Need advice

    Can you give us an update on Gus?

    Are the HHBs you have going to last you until you can get some from Henry's? I have some wild bites (not the growth, but better than store bought for sure) if you are going to need more. Just let me know!

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    Default Re: Squirrel's tail hair coming out. Need advice

    Quote Originally Posted by Erin675 View Post
    They are Zupreem monkey biscuits. I usually will drop 4 in or so several times a day. I might be feeding him completely wrong. I will get a picture of his tail later today so you can see what it is doing.



    Thank you for the link! I will definitely go by that for his diet from now on. Here is a pic of his cage, it now has a better house for him, this is an older pic. I will take some pics of him today.Name:  image.jpeg
Views: 210
Size:  145.1 KB
    May I ask where you got the cage from thank you

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    Default Re: Squirrel's tail hair coming out. Need advice

    Take a look at what one of our members did for her little squirrel.
    Post #5

    http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/s...now-what-model

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    Default Re: Squirrel's tail hair coming out. Need advice

    Here's another one that a member is making. IF you make one remember to get wood that is Untreated.
    http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/s...VE-my-new-cage!

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    Default Re: Squirrel's tail hair coming out. Need advice

    I have two of these, and I LOVE them.
    I have three of the next size down, and they are also
    great cages. I will find a picture.
    My husband built a platform with wheels to set these on, and
    I can easily roll them around for cleaning purposes.
    I also like the fact that the squirrel is not walking through his
    litter as there is a floor above the litter pans.






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