How am I doing?

[Pearl The Squirrel]

Ok so Pearl is 8 weeks now YAY! She is 264 gm. she is eating 12cc FV every 5 hours, she has a water dish in her house and I have been putting some acorns, pecans, shelled raw peanuts, cheerios, lettuce, brocc, pear, apple, HHB. She does not like brocc. very much or lettuce. She will pick the pecans out of the HHB then not eat any more of lol! I give her a little bit of everything. So how am I doing? :thankyou PTS

[crazysquirrels]

So far so good. For the HHB's. Just give her them in the morning until she gets used to eating all of them. Or little by little through the day for a snack.

[Kristal]

Ok, but worry about calcium. If she will not eat greens or the entire blocks, she is missing out on it. You need to devise a way to be sure she gets her minimum calcium and protein requirements as she grows.

[Pearl The Squirrel]

She eats green beans a little lol! I will try and get her to eat some more. Thanks!

[Rhapsody]

Could she sprinkle calcium supplement over his vegetables, would that help?

[Kristal]

I am not sure about sprinkling calcium but I am not sure it would help much. She could try making boo balls or some squirrel cookie variation (I am trying to work out a healthy and toothsome recipe) Those can be found in the diet and nutrition section. Lack of calcium is such a big deal, though. There is someone whose kit got MBD in a matter of weeks because she did not get much calcium while growing up. Now she is very sick and was paralysed... scary stuff. This is one of her MBD threads, btw:

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25340

[Kristal]

But oh, silly me, your squirrel is still on formula. Sorry... nothing to worry about, then. It's just after she weans herself that you need to do all that stuff. SCARY MBD thread, though ;p

[Pearl The Squirrel]

So if shes on FV still she is doing ok in calcium?

[Pearl The Squirrel]

What are BooBalls?

[Kristal]

It's two parts dried formula, two parts ground rodent block, one part ground nuts and enough mashed apple to make a dough. You roll it into little balls and feed it to them. This is not something you have to worry about until she weans, though ;)

[Pearl The Squirrel]

Oh ok. I don't have any ground rodent block but I do have some HHB's is that ok to use insted?

[Kristal]

Yes, that is the stuff that you grind up. Hopefully she will wean late, though. It's easier like that as you don't need to worry about calcium.

[Pearl The Squirrel]

I hope that she stays on FV for a long time, or until I run out lol! I don't have a lot left but I kinda hope she is done with it so I don't have to order more :)

[Kristal]

Hmm... If I were you, I would get some more... especially since your kit is a finicky eater. Mine are, too, and since they have decided that it is time to be weaned I have been putting a fair amount of time and expense into getting calcium into them... and I am still worried that they are not getting enough :(

Trust me, formula feeding is so much more simple, and cheaper, too. Plus now I kind of miss the cuddly bonding time. At first it was a burden to do it so often, but now I hardly ever get snuggles. I am their tree, their launching pad, their tour bus, and very occasionally a pocket to take a nap in. Formula feeding rocks and it keeps your kit healthy for as long as you can do it. Nothing to worry about for MBD, either, and that is worth many times the money that formula costs! (if... I were not spending so much more on green veggies and other such stuff for them. Ha, not to mention the time spent researching the calcium content of things) Also, you will have formula on hand for making boo balls and squirrel cookies. HHBs have all that you need in the way of calcium, btw. But they cost a lot more than formula....

[Pearl The Squirrel]

Hmm... If I were you, I would get some more... especially since your kit is a finicky eater. Mine are, too, and since they have decided that it is time to be weaned I have been putting a fair amount of time and expense into getting calcium into them... and I am still worried that they are not getting enough :(

Trust me, formula feeding is so much more simple, and cheaper, too. Plus now I kind of miss the cuddly bonding time. At first it was a burden to do it so often, but now I hardly ever get snuggles. I am their tree, their launching pad, their tour bus, and very occasionally a pocket to take a nap in. Formula feeding rocks and it keeps your kit healthy for as long as you can do it. Nothing to worry about for MBD, either, and that is worth many times the money that formula costs! (if... I were not spending so much more on green veggies and other such stuff for them. Ha, not to mention the time spent researching the calcium content of things) Also, you will have formula on hand for making boo balls and squirrel cookies. HHBs have all that you need in the way of calcium, btw. But they cost a lot more than formula....

I will order some more FV when I get back from Vay-K lol! I ordered a 3lb tub of FV when she was 2 weeks old and she is 8 now. There is just under half I think letf. I am goin to be gone for 2 and a half weeks. You think there is enuff FV left? She is only eating 12 cc thin she is done!

[Kristal]

Who is taking care of the baby when you are gone? There might be some sitters available here if you are looking... I really would not trust it to just anyone...

And I guess half a tub is going to last a while, yet :) I thought you were almost done from what you were saying.

[Pearl The Squirrel]

My aunt is goin to baby sit for me. I have been showing her how to do everything. Is there anyone herr that might be interested in being a ER contact? I have one but just in case I can't get her I might be able to get someone else. I hate to miss so much of her life :( makes me sad that I am goin to be gone so long, she is goin to be a diff. little baby when I get back:hissyfit :Cry :squirrel1

[Kristal]

Yea... it will be hard for her, too :( You should start a new thread asking for an emergency contact or even a sitter in your area, and specify where in the topic. I know there are some active, experienced members in tx around here that will probably respond if they see it.