Salmon, really?

[squillgurl]

Okay, so Im cooking salmon for dinner tonight and was prepping it....must've not gotten all the smell off because Snickers obviously smelled it on my fingers and was quite interested. So I gave her a very small piece, raw. She absolutely loved it. Probably as much as avacado. Now's a fine time to ask, but is it okay for her to have salmon? I know the protein is good for her, but is there anything harmful? If it's okay, I can add it to her list of favorite treats :D Offered my cat a piece to be fair...she turned her nose up at it. Go figure :dono

[gs1]

lol cats!!! enough said.

the only thing i can think of is parasites in raw fish .. or germs etc... hopefully her body will be able to fight that sort of thing off....

if it was cooked i wouldn't be worried ... but that's just me.... lol...

i hope someone can advise better ... but as you said... too late now...:D

it's only the next time you go out for sushi or get in the mood to play around with raw fish....

ummmmm raw chicken i'd draw the line at .... just to let you know...:thumbsup

[MiriamS]

I am shocked and fascinated to hear that Snickers was interested in raw salmon :yuck I have a few questions for you to ponder and I need to point out that while I'm an expert in salmon issues, 4Skwerlz is the squirrel nutrition expert.

1. Is Snickers getting protein already, in mealworms, waxworms, insects or such?

2. Is the salmon wild or farmed? This is an important health (and healthy environment) issue that a lot of people don't know about. All salmon labeled as Atlantic is farmed and is the cheaper, more commonly available variety. Farmed salmon have incredibly high parasite and corresponding antibiotic loads. The jury isn't in on how harmful this might be to humans but squirrels are so much smaller that their ability to tolerate that kind of stuff may be much lower.

3. Would snickers eat cooked salmon?

I'd personally feel more comfortable knowing that she was eating cooked wild salmon. Any wild salmon is labeled as such FYI. But make sure she's first getting protein via a vehicle that would occur in the wild, like insects and larvae. If she's not, that could be the reason she went for the salmon.

[Ronda]

I can't really comment on the health issues of squirrels eating raw fish... but I wonder if she went after it because of the oils in the flesh...and the fact that squirrels are sort of hard wired to prefer fatty/oily foods.. like nuts seeds and avacadoes ( and in Scrats case buttered toast)

[squillgurl]

Well, here's the deal. First, thanks for your replies. As far as Snickers' diet goes, she eats 2-3 HHBs every day along with lettuces, kale, endive, and a variety of veggies. Gets a grape or a couple of frozen blueberries or if I have it a small piece of watermelon. Gets a couple of nuts/day and as treats, some avacado or a little nutella, but not every day. I bring her some things from the yard that I have seen the other squirrels eating too. So she gets a wide variety of foods. Oh, she also likes almond butter.
As for the salmon, I do buy the wild caught, as I feel thats better for human consumption anyway. So yes, that is what she got. I offered her cooked today but she was NOT interested, thank you very much, hehe. I have tried giving her protein by means of mealworms and insect larvae. She looks at me like Im the one full of nuts. Tried cheese too, but with no luck.
I was thinking of the oils in the fish being what was appealing to her too. A few months ago I had bought some Hartz hairball remedy for my cat. Cat didn't like it but someone else found the tube and got busy chewing a nice hole in it to get at the goodies inside. So I gave her just a little, enough to taste...its got fish oils and stuff like that in it....she went nuts over it so I have to keep it put away where she won't find it. Guess what flavor???? So maybe it is the oils, but then maybe...she just likes salmon? Like mother like daughter :D
As for parasites, yes, I was a little concerned. Hopefully it won't be a problem and salmon around here is a once in a while treat for us two legged types, so I don't guess it will be a regular squirrel menu item.:thumbsup

[MiriamS]

:thumbsup for you on the wild salmon.

The rest is just all around hilarious. Such a squirrel. My kids usually LOVE waxworms and I just offered one to my pregnant flyer and she looked at me like I was "full of nuts" as you put it. They can almost act like cats sometimes.

A salmon-loving squirrel....might be a first here on TSB. Maybe you should take her to a sushi restaurant!