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Frickster
10-14-2008, 12:46 AM
i posted this in another section, but never got replies...so wanted to try here. frick has pretty much decided acorns are her own personal gift from the heavens. she turns her nose up (and what a cute little nose it is) to almost everything else...no fruits, no veggies, JUST acorns and of course whatever treat nuts she might get. she'll still eat avocado and sometimes snap peas...occassionally will humor me with some other fruit but not regularly. she lives outside all the time now so she's getting what the other squirrels get. acorns, berries, beech nuts, etc. is this ok? i am so worried about mbd, but what do the wild squirrels do for calcium?

4skwerlz
10-14-2008, 09:38 AM
Most wild squirrels manage their own nutrition just fine. You mentioned there was an oak tree nearby, and that's one of the best sources of squirrelly nutrition. Acorns have the best calc : phos ratio of any nuts and help squirrels put on fat for the winter. I think one of the best things you can do to help your released/wild friends is to make part of your yard into a grove of wild trees and plants. The back border of your property is a good place to do this. Just remove any lawn grass and then let "whatever" grow there. You'll soon have an assortment of native trees, bushes, flowers, and grasses. You could also add a couple of pine trees, as the cones are a major source of nutrition. A "wild grove" also provides excellent cover and habitat for all living critters.

As far as how wild squirrels get the nutrition they need.... For one thing, wild plants contain far more nutrients than the cultivated varieties we buy in the grocery store. In addition, wild squirrels are much more active than captive squirrels so they eat a lot MORE food, which means they take in more nutrients. Wild squirrels eat bird eggs (and even the nestlings), including the shells, and they also probably eat a lot more insects than we realize. These foods are packed with nutrition. They are constantly nibbling on fresh plant shoots, bits of bark, fungi, and heaven-knows-what. I even see them eating dirt! The nutrient content of a lot of these items is unknown, obviously, but somehow it all works out.

Jackie in Tampa
10-14-2008, 01:04 PM
:goodpost :yeahthat
:wave123 glad all is going well with Frickster licious!

Frickster
10-14-2008, 01:12 PM
ewww...nestlings!!?? she better not eat any baby birds! :nonoyuck! we live on about 5 acres of woods so there's all the trees the baby could want....thanks!! i feel much better, except for the baby bird part lol.