Hazelnuts

[flzippy]

Hi guys!! I havent been on here for a while! Hope everyine is doing well!

I feed zippy mostly walnuts and almonds but have noticed when I give him a hazelnut he goes crazy (thank god he was in his cage) he makes a wierd sound and literally attacks the side of the cage if anyone or thing walks by. Seriously he goes completly WACKO!! Anyone else experience this or know why??

[island rehabber]

He loves them, and they are inciting his "nut agression" instincts. While hazelnuts are 'good' nuts, no caged squirrel should be given more than 1-2 nuts every other day. Hope Zippy's getting lots of green veggies and a good rodent block too? :)

[djarenspace9]

Mine usually do that with pecans. It's kind of funny but scary.
I have learned never to let them have acccess to one while they are OUTSIDE of the cage.
They become maniacs ready to do ANYTHING to protect their precious pecan.
:D

[flzippy]

I just read online that a lady feds squirrels outside her house and they do the same thing to anything that moves if she feeds hazelnuts.

Yes Zippy gets alot of veggies, fruits, nuts.

I actually make balls from the Fox Valley. I crush up almonds (with my bullet) and put in the correct amount of powder and water and make little balls for him. He loves them!! I keep them in the fridge and shake the container and he comes running!!

[island rehabber]

:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup

[UDoWhat]

I just read online that a lady feds squirrels outside her house and they do the same thing to anything that moves if she feeds hazelnuts.

Yes Zippy gets alot of veggies, fruits, nuts.

I actually make balls from the Fox Valley. I crush up almonds (with my bullet) and put in the correct amount of powder and water and make little balls for him. He loves them!! I keep them in the fridge and shake the container and he comes running!!

:thumbsup Another good suggestion to get our littlie squirrels moving in the direction of a more healthy diet. You might want to even add just a little rodent block to your mix to ensure your little one might eat rodent block in the future. Just a suggestion. :thankyou for sharing your suggestions.

Marty, Licensed Maryland Master Wildlife Rehabilitator

[UDoWhat]

As long as you keep the proportions the same--1 part FV to 2 parts other ingredients--the nutrition should be okay.:thumbsup (I would use FV 32/40 because it's lower in fat, to offset the extra fat from the almonds.)
:thankyou , A great reminder to keep the proportions and ingredients in check to provide the best care and nutrition to our squirrels.

Marty, Licensed Maryland Master Wildlife Rehabilitator