Mickey's Mom
12-26-2008, 02:26 PM
Hello everyone,
I joined last year and "lurk" here whenever I get the time -- I've been both educated and entertained by reading your postings! :thankyou I am a volunteer at a Northern California wildlife hospital and have been doing home-care for orphaned/injured squirrels (mostly Fox Squirrels) for the past 4 years. So I may have babies from shortly after birth until release at about 16 weeks of age, but I don't keep squirrels as pets (it's illegal here anyway). I realize most of the info here is targeted for those with pet squirrels, but I still find alot of valuable stuff including nutritional advice to guide me in feeding them once they're weaned from formula.
But, to get to my question (finally!): I feed ALOT of wild squirrels in my yard (including a few of my rehabbed and released squirrels) and I wonder -- do we have to worry at all about MBD etc. in wild populations? I put out peanuts, English walnuts, almonds, sunflower seed, etc. for the squirrels every day. I know this diet would be seriously lacking for a captive squirrel, but I've always assumed that with natural sunlight and other natural foods available to them, they would get a balanced diet and be okay. Is this thinking correct or could I be causing nutritional problems for my wild babies? Thanks for your combined expertise and the support you provide squirrel lovers! Debbie
I joined last year and "lurk" here whenever I get the time -- I've been both educated and entertained by reading your postings! :thankyou I am a volunteer at a Northern California wildlife hospital and have been doing home-care for orphaned/injured squirrels (mostly Fox Squirrels) for the past 4 years. So I may have babies from shortly after birth until release at about 16 weeks of age, but I don't keep squirrels as pets (it's illegal here anyway). I realize most of the info here is targeted for those with pet squirrels, but I still find alot of valuable stuff including nutritional advice to guide me in feeding them once they're weaned from formula.
But, to get to my question (finally!): I feed ALOT of wild squirrels in my yard (including a few of my rehabbed and released squirrels) and I wonder -- do we have to worry at all about MBD etc. in wild populations? I put out peanuts, English walnuts, almonds, sunflower seed, etc. for the squirrels every day. I know this diet would be seriously lacking for a captive squirrel, but I've always assumed that with natural sunlight and other natural foods available to them, they would get a balanced diet and be okay. Is this thinking correct or could I be causing nutritional problems for my wild babies? Thanks for your combined expertise and the support you provide squirrel lovers! Debbie