Trumpet Vine?

[Runestonez]

I set up a cage for our squirrels...complete with maple tree...
And the little buggers like to slide down the branches and strip the leaves off.
They don't do anything with them...it's sort of like squirrel snowboarding.
Anyway I am closing down my gardens this week and trying to keep with the theme of "natural" squirrel food I was going to bundle nummies for the Knuck-Nuks pen.
Does anyone know if any of the following are squirrel safe/edible?

Trumpet vine?
Bergamot?
Hosta leaves?
Raspberry Leaves (red)?
Boston Ivy?
Virginia Creeper?
Birch Branches and leaves?
DogWood(red)?
Pumpkin Leaves?
Dried Runner Beans?
Forsythia Branches and Leaves?
White/Sweet Woodruff?
Gout Weed/ Snow-on-the-Mountain?
Hibiscus Leaves/Branches/Flowers?
Chestnut branches/leaves?
Spirea (flame) branches?
Butterfly Bush Branches?
Black Eyed Susans?
Rose of Sharon? (form of Hibiscus)seed pods and branches?


I have scads more to add but these are the main ones...
I know there are differences between rabbit safe lists and squirrels safe lists and I have been pulling my hair out trying to find which ones are or are not safe!
So any input would be appreciated!

I have to have everything closed down by Saturday...so if I can't figure out what is and isn't good it all goes!
I have given up on the whole leaves in the squirrel cage thing and moved on to toys and wooden blocks!
I admit defeat! :shakehead lol

Danielle :)

[gs1]

ok...just an opinion off the top of my head to make you more crazy :D

i don't know for sure... and i need more coffee and time to become more sure which would mean doing lots of internet research ... lol...starting with the online rabbit groups....

but ps: why would you think that anything that is poisonous to rabbits would be safe for squirrels?

in general ... they're both mammals....:D

***********************************************



Trumpet vine? i'm thinking toxic

Bergamot? ? i don't know... is this bee balm?? i don't know....

Hosta leaves? i don't know

Raspberry Leaves (red)? ...well rabbit safe but not too much because it is a herb - it does something to the uterous i think...

Boston Ivy? i'm thinking toxic

Virginia Creeper? ... again i'm thinking toxic

Birch Branches and leaves? i don't know ...

DogWood(red)? i don't know....

Pumpkin Leaves? ... well i think they're safe for rabbits...not that i've ever looked into it...

Dried Runner Beans? don't know...

Forsythia Branches and Leaves? i don't know

White/Sweet Woodruff? toxic ...thinking it's a strong herb....

Gout Weed/ Snow-on-the-Mountain? thinking this is toxic

Hibiscus Leaves/Branches/Flowers? boing!!!boing!!!boing!!! safe!!! mine eat the hardy rose of sharon and the tropical houseplant hibiscus... both!!! to the death!!! my poor tropical hibiscus only recovers in the winter .... :)

Chestnut branches/leaves? don't know....

Spirea (flame) branches? don't know

Butterfly Bush Branches? don't know....

Black Eyed Susans? don't know....

Rose of Sharon? (form of Hibiscus)seed pods and branches? ...well they love these but i've never seen them going for the seed pods but that means nothing....

:)

[Runestonez]

gs1-I know some people on here use aloe vera for their squirrels...but it is considered poisonous on several rabbit lists I've come across.

Rabbits can't be fed branches from pit fruit bearing trees...rabbits aren't supposed to eat beans...no hibiscus for bunns...

Remember...my thing is domestic bunns, not the wild beasties!

Danielle :)

[gs1]

i'd still use some common sense....:D ... aloe vera... gel from inside the plant is safe enough ... some people eat it too for stomach problems ...but the skin of the plant is very, very irritating... so maybe that explains aloe vera....

my wild rabbits eat spirea but i think there's several kinds of it ... and i haven't seen squirrels eat it .... also the wild rabbits eat my thorny roses ...but there's no way i'd give that to my rabbits...

well ... speaking of roses ... my wild squirrel babies are going nuts for the rosehips... but the adults just look at me like i've lost my mind....:D

oh...ok..one more... my baby squirrels eat the cherry tree nubs/branches etc... maybe they're just experimenting etc... anyway ...ofcourse that would be considered toxic to rabbits...

ok..overandout....

um... tropical hibiscus is safe for rabbits ...not in huge amounts... like dandelion would be... but even oxbow has it as part of one of their hay mixes.... ???

oh!!!!!!! and you know that squirrels like dandelion???

ok...overandout....

[Jackie in Tampa]

my domestic bun bun eats hibiscus alot!

[CritterMom]

This is my safe/not safe bible: http://www.exoticbird.com/gillian/

It is compilds for parrots, not mammals, but parrots are very sensitive - there are probably things on here that are a problem for them but a squirrel could eat, but I doubt there are things on here that would harm a squirrel.

You will need to know the Latin names but it is a really good site...

[mugzeezma]

Try maple seedlings My kids will eat the whole dang thing roots and all:crazy
ivy...remember reading somewhere its toxic
dogwood ... I have fed the green seedpods and they are alright BUT red is toxic branches and leaves mildly so.
raspberry is good as are rose hips (related)

be careful and do your research. different parts of a plant can be toxic while other parts are safe,,,a real insane maker

[Runestonez]

Insane maker is exactly it! lol :D
I am a gardener so lots of gardens, lots of plants availlable.
Since we have 10 bunns and 5 cats our basic fire plan is to drop them out our back window into the backyard for later retrieval if there is ever a fire or something else in the house. (Backyard is wired all the way 'round) so I have tried to eliminate anything toxic from the backyard gardens...however I never bothered to check on the trees and shrubs since rabbits don't climb!
<knocking on wood> <knocking> <knocking>

I wanted the squirrels to have a nice over-wintering hutch/pen...but the only thing they haven't stripped is the evergreen boughs I put in!

Now I have cut down my neighbours maple, snuck into the other neighbours backyard and used my pruning pole to steal the evergreen boughs(I cut them from higher up so she wouldn't notice)...I am going to go to jail for stealing tree bits! :shakehead

I will sit down tonight and compile a list of yea's and nay's...I must have well over two hundred varieties of plants available so this should be fun! ack! :tilt

[Runestonez]

Oh yes...and since they stripped all the leaves off of everything...I was reduced to hanging up ropes and toys for them to play on to provide some form of enrichment and learning...now hubby says it looks more like the monkey house at the zoo than a squirrel pen! <sigh>

Funny enough...their favorite toy thus far?
A rectangular wooden basket I hung 4 feet up in the air and tied ropes on so it is a swing type thingy. Now I know for a FACT they aren't going to find THAT in the wild...of course I am just ditzy enough to turn our birch tree into a squirrel play center when these guys get set loose upon the world in the spring! :D LOL

[squirrelfriend]

Maple keys are good. Mine love them. Dandilion greens, butyou got to make sur they have never been sprayed with weed killers. I don't know about the pumpkin leaves but I know mine love to shread the stems so I am guessing they might be ok. As a general rule though, better safe than sorry. If in dout don't give it to them.

[Kristal]

If by trumpet vine you mean morning glory, it is not a good idea. The seeds are psychotropic and very toxic in large doses.

[Runestonez]

Nope not morning glory...it is a type of vine called Trumpet Vine(campsis radicans).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campsis_radicans
We have both red and orange...the hummingbirds love them for their nectar.

I was hoping to build out outdoor cage in the area beside the orange trumpet vine next year as it will provide shelter and shade...it is approximately 20 years old...but if it is toxic...it has to go. :(

[Runestonez]

OK...so now I am frustrated!
I have looked up over TEN lists! TEN!!!
Most don't list trumpet vine...found one finally that lists trumpet vine as a hazard for humans...may cause contact dermatitis.
Found another that says all parts are toxic...but that is for livestock in general and it also says almonds are toxic too.

I am going to say def no to trumpet vine...

plant lists are a pain in the caboose. :frustratedx
Everyone has a different name...depending on where you look and what list something can be good and bad!
Oh yeah...oak and acorns are listed as toxic too. :shakehead
I give up.

[CritterMom]

Oaks and acorns are a problem for livestock.

The only way you can really use the plant lists is if you know the Latin name of the plant. The same species may have a half dozen common names.

[Runestonez]

<snort>
Been there, done that! lol
The funny thing is I am a gardener...I know most of the latin and common names...and I still have problems finding what I want.

I was mad as heck last night and frustrated...hubby asked me if I thought the computer had voice recognition software...I was cussing it out! LOL :D