PDA

View Full Version : 10.5 weeks and refuses Rodent Block and Zupreme



FallensMommie
05-04-2008, 06:24 AM
Fallen is 10.5 weeks and has weaned himself last week or the week before....my weeks seem to mingle together and I know I posted as to when he weaned himself in his own posting. So with him weaning himself I do still get about 3-4 cc's of formula in him during the day by offering it in a shallow bowl. I have also been keeping him in a cage outdoor for some natural sunlight as I am not sure if he is getting enough vitamin D....so better safe than sorry!

My main concern is he has been refusing his rodent block for weeks now, so I am trying Zupreme (thought better than nothing) and he is refusing that too...I keep both in his cage in case he does change his mind. If he is not getting rodent block into him, and also refusing the Zupreme......do I have to worry about supplementing him with "another" source of vitamins. He is taking in a variety of foods: spinach, broccoli, roses, hibiscus, petunias, and a few other flowers, plus variety of melons, sweet potatoes, cherry tomatoes, bok choy, celery w/ leaves, strawberry greens, kale, egg w/ shell and a few other things. I have tried a few other foods mentioned and he hates them such as Parsley and Kidney beans, and a couple of other things.

also he tries to chew on Banana Leaves...I have a few trees in my yard. Is banana leaves okay to consume....they are not treated w/ anything.

The Mulberry Tree is no longer producing fruit which he loved. Does anybody know if Mulberry Branches or the leaves are safe for him to chew on and/or consume?

Things get kind of confusing as on some trees the fruit is edible but the seeds or branches aren't :thinking

When are they suppose to be able to crack a nut on their own? We are doing the partial crack so he knows what is inside the nut and has to work on it (Pecan).
We have done this for a couple of weeks. I tried for the past few days to give him a whole nut, but he fools around with it in his paws and mouth and 5 to 10 seconds later he throws it to the ground and will not touch them. All whole pecan in nuts are lying around untouched, refuses to crack it. His teeth look fine to me, but maybe some else wants to check them out:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a320/floridatlc/Family%20pictures/DSC05760.jpg


:thankyou in advance as I continue my quest for what is best for Fallen :Love_Icon

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a320/floridatlc/Family%20pictures/DSC05957.jpg

Abacat
05-04-2008, 06:45 AM
He's beautiful! :Love_Icon His teeth look perfect to me. At 10-12 weeks he should be able to chew through a whole walnut.

Have you tried soaking the Zupreem in the esbilac? I like to give them (when weaning) softened Zupreem (just soak in warm water to soften, squeeze/blot out excess moisture) then add warmed formula to the Zupreem. I break it up into smaller pieces, mine always loved that...that way he gets both, formula and his rodent block...Just a thought. Good Luck! :grouphug

Jackie in Tampa
05-04-2008, 07:06 AM
:wave123
I love Fallen:Love_Icon a soft comfy sq.:Love_Icon
no pro, but teeth look normal...and all parts of mulberry edible....Freds
turtle eats too! my wild ones are fine with banana. Also, hibiscus, all parts!
.....and as far as rodent block....
the only 'thing' that eats it, as best as I can tell, is ACs 'creatures from down below'.[rats]. So with that...I'm giving mine to them also! [not ACs, I have a couple of my own.]:D
It takes awhile for them to crack nuts. Your job for ahwile!:)
:grouphug

fltech
05-04-2008, 07:07 AM
I have had some squirrels that wouldn't eat the rodent blocks. They were getting other stuff, so I didn't worry about it. I have never tried Zupreem with them, my parrots won't even eat that, but I have tried Kaytee Chunky and they have eaten it.

FallensMommie
05-04-2008, 07:38 AM
Thanks so far everyone.

I did soak the rodent block and zupreme in esbilac and no success although I did not break it apart, so maybe I will try breaking into pieces and reintroducing it. He just sticks up his nose and walks away....better than chucking it at me :rotfl

I am getting ready to go to the store, figured I will buy some better nuts to try other than pecans, etc. I saw in another posting nuts listed by what is best to worse in that order so off to try a healthier nut. He does like nuts, but difinitely doesn't go WAHOOOOO CRAZY over them like I have seen some post. I give him a whole pecan a day which he only eats half and he gets half a walnut a day....he prefers walnuts over the pecans. I don't have walnuts in a shell but plan on getting some so he can start trying to crack. I don't go crazy with the nuts though as I want him to eat his veggies/fruits and so far so good :)

wheezer
05-04-2008, 09:15 AM
Looks like you are feeding a lot of calcium rich foods so little Fallen should be fine. For me it was a rare squirrel that ate them:D I did have disabled that was born without a bottom jaw so she had to "lap" her food which was powdered rodent chow mixed with baby food fruit....she loved that!
I figure rodent chow was developed for lab rats to make them the healthiest they could be so they would make good experiment subjects. So the chow is REALLY healthy. But then the rats in research are given almost exclusively the chow...no choice so of course they eat it:D Squirrels in the wild eat a huge variety of foods so if we do the same making sure they are full of vitamins and minerals they should be fine. (of course the light helps too)

rippie-n-lilgirlsmom
05-04-2008, 09:19 AM
You can grind the rodent block up in a small grinder, add some liquid esbilac and a few chopped nuts (his favorite), roll into balls (like cookie dough)
I bet he will eat it........:thumbsup best to try and keep him eating this, its a staple..esp for pet squirrels
If all else fails add a smear of peanut butter to it.
You can get grinders/choppers at Wallmart for 5-10$

rippie-n-lilgirlsmom
05-04-2008, 09:31 AM
His toothies are excellent!:wahoo :wahoo

island rehabber
05-04-2008, 09:31 AM
Yep, I'll echo what was said above, that if he is really eating great stuff like broccoli and bok choy then he's got his calcium from other sources than the rodent block. BUT...long term...if Fallen stays with you forever, you may have to make rippie's cookies and add other sources of calcium in order to get it into him. It seems to be around the 6month-to-one year mark that calcium deficient diets start to take their toll on indoor squirrels.

Oh yeah.....and he is SO cuuuuute. :Love_Icon

island rehabber
05-04-2008, 09:35 AM
For me it was a rare squirrel that ate them:D

Ain't it the truth (sigh). This year I swore I would give the babies nothing but rodent block and Esbilac. I have Lab Diet and another high-quality block.....after 4 days, no one touched it. They were eating the paper towels and chewing the blankets that had formula on them, but would not touch the rodent block. It's my biggest disappointment in my own rehabbing skills -- that I can never get my kids to eat it. :shakehead

FallensMommie
05-04-2008, 09:46 AM
Baby will not touch any monkey biscuits or rodent block either. I have to admit though, I do not offer her monkey biscuits, as they are for primates and not rodents. That's just my personal choice. That is why I concocted my own recipe for Critter Scones. Baby will eat several of them a day. She gets her Esbilac (even though she's almost 2), calcium, protein, Vit D, and rodent block. She LOVES them. The diet you have Fallen on sounds GREAT! :thumbsup My concern now would be if he is getting enough natural light that he needs to have his body absorb the calcium into his body. Does he go outside EVERY day for SEVERAL hours? If that isn't possible, I would definitely keep him under a Full Spectrum Light from morning until dark. :)


GB....Is there a recipe that you shared on TSB or can I beg for it through PM :jump :thankyou


Rippie......IR says you have a cookie and other sources of calcium to get into Fallen.....is it on the TSB board or do you only PM it to those that ask?
:thankyou

I would like any info from GB or Rippie through PM if your willing to share :thankyou :thankyou

Thanks everybody, it helps to reassure us first timers :bowdown


As far as Fallen staying or going, I will continue to let him lead the way. So far, he is the baby of the house and loves everybodies attention including strangers. Has no problem jumping to them for a quick greeting and then back to me. He plays chase on the couch when he doesn't know if I am coming or going...runs back and forth trying to catch up to me to jump to me for a ride around the house :rolf He's my shadow!

squirrel princess
05-04-2008, 09:54 AM
Good idea about posting the teeth pic... I was going to take Chipper to my vet or out to the nature center for Rick to check out the teeth. He seems to be able to chew the side of the house off but not a nut:rotfl
Does eat the rodent chow:peace you had several questions that I will be keeping an eye on for info:goodpost

FallensMommie
05-04-2008, 10:04 AM
I have not bought the light so far as I wanted him to get natural light. I would rather increase his time during the day to natural light. He is not outside for 2 hours, but am trying to increase it. Right now if he is not on me, he HATES it out there. If I'm out there and he is on me he is fine, if he gets scared he just buries himself in my arm etc. If he is in his cage with me present or not he hates it, but worse if I am present. Because of this I started him off at 20 minutes, then 30 mintues, 40 minutes, etc and just increasing his time so he gets use to the noises on his own.

We have the windows opened in the house, but he associates the outside noises while in the house just part of the day. Put him outside in his cage and it frightens him. I figured he is better off outside in natural light, fresh air and getting use to the sounds if he ever does want to wild up now would be the chance to figure it out, atleast I think or maybe my thinking is :skwredup :D

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a320/floridatlc/Family%20pictures/DSC05997.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a320/floridatlc/Family%20pictures/DSC05995.jpg

rippie-n-lilgirlsmom
05-04-2008, 10:05 AM
You can grind the rodent block up in a small grinder, add some liquid esbilac and a few chopped nuts (his favorite), roll into balls (like cookie dough)
I bet he will eat it........ best to try and keep him eating this, its a staple..esp for pet squirrels
If all else fails add a smear of peanut butter to it.

about 2 handfulls of either or rodent block, monkey biscuit.

FallensMommie
05-04-2008, 10:10 AM
You can grind the rodent block up in a small grinder, add some liquid esbilac and a few chopped nuts (his favorite), roll into balls (like cookie dough)
I bet he will eat it........ best to try and keep him eating this, its a staple..esp for pet squirrels
If all else fails add a smear of peanut butter to it.

about 2 handfulls of either or rodent block, monkey biscuit.


Guess I'm :skwredup he he :rotfl as you already gave it to me.
I guess IR mentioned cookie and I thought she meant something else....oh well guess being mid 30's is catching up to me :dono

:thankyou so much I am going to try that, whether he stays a pet or not this will be a good thing to introduce him to, even if he wilds up I'm sure I'll continue to make it so he can come visit me for some :wahoo

rippie-n-lilgirlsmom
05-04-2008, 10:22 AM
Star, Spirit, Storm, Buster & Berry all eat the balls they think its a treat after the regular rodent block.:jump

squirrel princess
05-04-2008, 11:04 AM
Guess I'm :skwredup he he :rotfl as you already gave it to me.
I guess IR mentioned cookie and I thought she meant something else....oh well guess being mid 30's is catching up to me :dono

:thankyou so much I am going to try that, whether he stays a pet or not this will be a good thing to introduce him to, even if he wilds up I'm sure I'll continue to make it so he can come visit me for some :wahoo

Yeah:poke wait until you hit the mid 40's. I think Fallen will be going no where:poke by the way. The only thing is you are going to be stuck with a toddler. That is what having chipper seems like somedays it is like Gosh if he would just take a long nap...Gosh wish I could find something to entertain him for a while...Got to keep continous tabs on them........constantly hanging on you and it's not like you can sit them down in front of the tv and say "here watch you some Clifford and the Big Red Dog":rotfl I see where these guys live in house for 5-20 years:rotfl
If Chipper wasn't so aggresive with other people I probably would not even begin to release him unless of course he showed signs of wanting out. I did see him being fearful of BF's dog yesterday so that was a good sign. My Cocker is so passive sometimes he sits and stares her down and then goes toward her and I FEAR for her:shakehead

FallensMommie
05-04-2008, 12:07 PM
Baby's Critter Scones...:D

1 cup flour
4 Tbs. veg oil
1 cup Quaker Oats/Oatmeal
1/2 cup of either cheerios, total, corn flakes, or Special K
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup powder Esbilac
1 cup of sesame seeds
12 crushed Rodent Blocks
3 crushed Calcium 600 mg pills
1 egg

I mix all this together, and then keep adding Strawberry (you can use any flavor but chocolate) flavored Pediasure/Ensure, until it sticks together. I tear it into small pieces, and place on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes, or golden brown.

Sometimes instead of veg. oil, I will either add all natural peanut butter, or applesauce, just to give her a little variety, and use Vanilla Pediasure/Ensure. so as not to have too many different flavors going at once.


:thankyou :thankyou :jump :jump :jump :thankyou :thankyou

Really appreciate it and going to try it out!

Okay......we have branches, we have bark, we have twigs, we have oh dang my mind is failing me hum, got it, cuttlebone.....we have everything to chew chew chew......chew for a little while and then he's goes 100 miles an hour to chew on everything that he is not suppose to have.....NO SURPRISES, right?

I just went and bought a whole coconut with the brown fiber hairs on it...thought that would be fun and keep him entertained for a little while....safe right?

It is safe to give him things like rawhide to chew, I know he's not a dog but he chews more than one :D Just thought it would be something different to perk his interest........anything but my furniture!! He even chewed the paint off the corner of the wall :shakehead
....he didn't eat it as he left behind the evidence of shredded paint. That is NOT A :wahoo


:thankyou everyone as I try to figure Do's and Don'ts :D

rippie-n-lilgirlsmom
05-04-2008, 12:15 PM
Coconut.......hmm ask Lynn I remember Sammy getting the poops from it..:thinking

FallensMommie
05-04-2008, 04:00 PM
Coconut.......hmm ask Lynn I remember Sammy getting the poops from it..:thinking

Oh no more :poop's we have plenty of that going on :sanp3 I was thinking of him just being able to chew on the shell, but not the coconut meet. Just something different to gnaw. Thanks


Can a squirrel be in shade and still receive the benefits of natural light or do they have to be in direct sunlight? By that I mean in the morning or evening time....not in the dead of mid-day sun. Thanks again....just so full of questions today :)

FallensMommie
05-05-2008, 10:11 AM
Yeah:poke wait until you hit the mid 40's. I think Fallen will be going no where:poke by the way. The only thing is you are going to be stuck with a toddler. That is what having chipper seems like somedays it is like Gosh if he would just take a long nap...Gosh wish I could find something to entertain him for a while...Got to keep continous tabs on them........constantly hanging on you and it's not like you can sit them down in front of the tv and say "here watch you some Clifford and the Big Red Dog":rotfl I see where these guys live in house for 5-20 years:rotfl
If Chipper wasn't so aggresive with other people I probably would not even begin to release him unless of course he showed signs of wanting out. I did see him being fearful of BF's dog yesterday so that was a good sign. My Cocker is so passive sometimes he sits and stares her down and then goes toward her and I FEAR for her:shakehead


Donna!......Don't tell me that :nono I already feel older at times than I am :poke

They are like toddlers aren't they? More like 7 toddlers jumping all over the place :jump
Think if we sit them down to a show of Bullwinkle and Rocky they would sit and watch for awhile? :thinking Nah...I DON'T THINK SO! :shakehead

Chipper aggresive....you told me already "who needs a BF, right? :D
Yea luckily for me Fallen likes everybody and will go check them out when they come over or even plays with them. I took him to hubbies Fire Station and he was all over the fire fighters and walking around their work area, of course, being a pez dispenser :rotfl :rotfl :rotfl :rotfl

I actually am considering a release, as the chewing is non stop and even though I :Love_Icon him, can't have my house torn apart. Hubby will kick me and Fallen to the curb if that happens :( He just chewed another corner of my arch kitchen through way, so have to now go paint that. I don't know why he would like to chew paint off rather than shred a mulberry or oak tree branch. Won't touch his deer antler but will chew paint :thinking

I figure he has a few more weeks and a soft release is in order, and after all he is meant to be free, right! :( I have enjoyed watching him grow, snuggle time, all the lovin' he gives and receives :love But I am considering the overall picture of what to do with him while on vacation, etc. and even though I know somebody that wants another pet squirrel as her's died.....he truly belongs in the wild and he shows me that more and more each day. He loves my front garden which is protected nicely by bushes and I even planted flowers out there that he can eat and it's right at the front door. I supervise him while he is out there and he won't go past the first row of bushes and it gives him a chance to climb the bigger bushes and push and dig dirt around and eat the flowers when he wants to. He's gotten spooked a couple of times and each time he runs up the bushes that has lots of branches and leaves for camoflauge....so that is a good sign. The garden is surrounding by the house on two sides and a walkway on the other he is afraid outside of that garden so he sticks only to it. I am planning on planting some roses and hibiscus out back, where I do plan on releasing him. As I have a small advocado tree out there and my neighbor behind me has a large mulberry tree that hangs in my yard plus a empty lot next door with 7 oak trees which makes a oak tree hammock and banana trees. We do have squirrels all around us, my biggest fear is the family of coons that roam our backyard and climbs the oak trees. But I don't know what else to do. The woods across the street from me has a lake etc. which is fence off but coon families surround that area too. Plus we have a eagle couple right down the street that love my pine tree in the yard and raises it's babies to hunt in the lake etc. by me. Plus the hawks which got two of my son's rabbits because Grandma left them outside and forgot about them :( So I feel I'm going to release to a vicious world of predators :( It's really all so confusing.

FallensMommie
05-05-2008, 10:12 AM
:wahoo I have tricked him into eating rodent block....hehe :D

Thanks everybody for the recipes :thumbsup

squirrel princess
05-05-2008, 10:19 AM
Donna!......Don't tell me that :nono I already feel older at times than I am :poke

They are like toddlers aren't they? More like 7 toddlers jumping all over the place :jump
Think if we sit them down to a show of Bullwinkle and Rocky they would sit and watch for awhile? :thinking Nah...I DON'T THINK SO! :shakehead

Chipper aggresive....you told me already "who needs a BF, right? :D
Yea luckily for me Fallen likes everybody and will go check them out when they come over or even plays with them. I took him to hubbies Fire Station and he was all over the fire fighters and walking around their work area, of course, being a pez dispenser :rotfl :rotfl :rotfl :rotfl

I actually am considering a release, as the chewing is non stop and even though I :Love_Icon him, can't have my house torn apart. Hubby will kick me and Fallen to the curb if that happens :( He just chewed another corner of my arch kitchen through way, so have to now go paint that. I don't know why he would like to chew paint off rather than shred a mulberry or oak tree branch. Won't touch his deer antler but will chew paint :thinking

I figure he has a few more weeks and a soft release is in order, and after all he is meant to be free, right! :( I have enjoyed watching him grow, snuggle time, all the lovin' he gives and receives :love But I am considering the overall picture of what to do with him while on vacation, etc. and even though I know somebody that wants another pet squirrel as her's died.....he truly belongs in the wild and he shows me that more and more each day. He loves my front garden which is protected nicely by bushes and I even planted flowers out there that he can eat and it's right at the front door. I supervise him while he is out there and he won't go past the first row of bushes and it gives him a chance to climb the bigger bushes and push and dig dirt around and eat the flowers when he wants to. He's gotten spooked a couple of times and each time he runs up the bushes that has lots of branches and leaves for camoflauge....so that is a good sign. The garden is surrounding by the house on two sides and a walkway on the other he is afraid outside of that garden so he sticks only to it. I am planning on planting some roses and hibiscus out back, where I do plan on releasing him. As I have a small advocado tree out there and my neighbor behind me has a large mulberry tree that hangs in my yard plus a empty lot next door with 7 oak trees which makes a oak tree hammock and banana trees. We do have squirrels all around us, my biggest fear is the family of coons that roam our backyard and climbs the oak trees. But I don't know what else to do. The woods across the street from me has a lake etc. which is fence off but coon families surround that area too. Plus we have a eagle couple right down the street that love my pine tree in the yard and raises it's babies to hunt in the lake etc. by me. Plus the hawks which got two of my son's rabbits because Grandma left them outside and forgot about them :( So I feel I'm going to release to a vicious world of predators :( It's really all so confusing.

Yeah :poke just wait until you start laying in bed and thinking about it and you tear up. It is a very hard decision:shakehead Make sure there is a ledge just inside his nest box so a predator can not reach it's grubby little paws down and get him. :Love_Icon you sound a lot like me I can not stand the thoughts of him being caged so iIlet him run amok................

FallensMommie
05-05-2008, 10:29 AM
I've already teared up just thinking about it :(

It's a very sad thing and it's crazy how emotional I have been over it. I just see that sweet little face with them long whiskers and my heart just skips a beat, but the chewing :nono :poke I MEAN I have chew stuff everywhere, but does he want it? NO!!! He rather chew plastic and paint :shakehead He eats well, his veggies/fruit and laps up the esbilac so he is not lacking anything. I surely understand the chewing too, but give a squirrel in the wild a choice of chewing bark or paint and I'm sure bark wins everytime :thumbsup I keep him entertained too, he rides me, has floor time play, puppet attack play, runs up and down and all around me and jumps from furniture to furniture, but give him one second and he is chewing plastic or paint :dono Even gets outside in the garden time, and he has dirt in his cage to hide his nuts......but no wants to chew on paint :nono

He built his first nest last night on my side of the counter in the bathroom. He went hog wild with that :)

squirrel princess
05-05-2008, 10:57 AM
So in other words Gamma is saying he will grow out of it maybe:thumbsup but unfortunately that will be after you have no walls standing and your husband has left you:jump

FallensMommie
05-05-2008, 11:09 AM
So in other words Gamma is saying he will grow out of it maybe:thumbsup but unfortunately that will be after you have no walls standing and your husband has left you:jump


Hummmmm.....can live without hubby, but my walls :sanp3
hee hee....only teasing! Well...........

Yea! So Gamma is saying he is just teething then :thumbsup