Help:when do u start feeding a baby squirrel solids?

[iluvbabysquirrels]

OK. my baby squirrel is 6 weeks old (eyes open, eats a TON of formula, healthy) and i got trail mix and offer it to her and she will take it and chew on the stuff and she just loses intrest. dose this mean her teeth arent bigg enough? help please!!!

[astra]

OK. my baby squirrel is 6 weeks old (eyes open, eats a TON of formula, healthy) and i got trail mix and offer it to her and she will take it and chew on the stuff and she just loses intrest. dose this mean her teeth arent bigg enough? help please!!!

:wave123
the best thing for squirrels is to eat formula for as long as they take it. So, never wean her, let her wean herself and even then try to give her some formula (e.g., people mix it with yogurt, make BooBalls etc).

Trail mix is not a good solid food for a squirrel, especially, as the first solid food.
The best way to start a squirrel on solid foods is by giving her a squirrel block or rodent block. Squirrels have very specific nutritional requirements that are hard to meet in captivity unless they eat formula and/or squirrel block (rodent block), + a good variety of green veggies, with a nut or two per day as a treat.
If those specific nutritional needs are not met, squirrels become sick, often developing Metabolic Bone Disease that can permanently cripple them and even kill.
In order to ensure that all nutritional needs of your squirrel are met, she needs to eat block(s) + a variety of veggies.
However, sometimes, it is hard to get a squirrel to eat blocks. That's why it is strongly suggested to introduce block(s) as her first solid food - this way she will eat her block as a good squirrel for as long as she lives, so to say.;-)
She might not eat it at first, she might just nibble, play with it, even pee on it, but eventually, she will eat it and will learn to like it.
If you give her nuts and such as her first solid food, you might end up having a very hard time later on trying to get her to eat her blocks.

As for blocks, people feed variety: hardland teklad, mazuri, katee etc.
One of the best blocks, specifically designed and formulated for squirrels (as much as that can be done) are Henry's Healthy Blocks (HHB). They can either be purchased at http://www.henryspets.com/ , or made from scratch - the recipe is Nutrition forum.
There are a lot of threads in the Nutrition forum about squirrel nutrition, with squirrel food "pyramid", recommended foods etc. - please help yourself:) and don't hesitate to ask as many questions as you need:grouphug :)

[Rhapsody]

We start to feed our squirrels a good quality squirrel block (2 per day) around 7 weeks of age --then when they have accepted the blocks as part
of their daily diet we start to introduce healthy vegetables and wild plants into their diet and in time a small amount of fruit and nuts.

I use either HHB or Hardland Teklad as their Squirrel Block...... both are good. :thumbsup

List:
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28009

[iluvbabysquirrels]

thank you soo much!!!:)

[trevorskwerl]

:wave123

As for blocks, people feed variety: hardland teklad, mazuri, katee etc.
One of the best blocks, specifically designed and formulated for squirrels (as much as that can be done) are Henry's Healthy Blocks (HHB). They can either be purchased at http://www.henryspets.com/ , or made from scratch - the recipe is Nutrition forum.
There are a lot of threads in the Nutrition forum about squirrel nutrition, with squirrel food "pyramid", recommended foods etc. - please help yourself:) and don't hesitate to ask as many questions as you need:grouphug :)

Does anyone know where this make from scratch blocks is in the nutrition forum by any chance? :thankyou

[Anne]

Looked but didn't see the recipe. Here is a copy I saved from quite a while back:

Squirrel Block Test Recipe (Revised 12/08)
Makes approximately a 4-week supply for a 1-pound squirrel.

Preheat oven to 225 degrees.

Dry ingredients:
2 scoops* Pure Whey Protein Isolate (7 scoops for growth formula)
2 scoops pecan meal or ground pecans
1 scoop almonds, chopped fine
1 scoop walnuts or pecans, chopped fine
1 scoop wheat bran, unprocessed (this is optional; some squirrels don’t like it)
2 tsp aluminum-free baking powder

*The "scoop" is the one that comes inside the Protein Isolate jar (=28 grams, or 2 1/2 tbsp).

Vitamin mix:
8-16 mg thiamin
6-12 mg riboflavin
60 mg niacin
12-24 mg B-6
100-200 mcg B-12 (note: micrograms, not milligrams)
2,000 mcg folic acid (note: micrograms, not milligrams)
2,000 mg Vit D
12,000 mg calcium**
4 tablets potassium gluconate (595 mg)

**It is fine to use calcium with Vit D, but you will also have to add some plain calcium to get the right amounts. Do not exceed the amount of Vit D by more than 10%.

Wet ingredients:
1 whole egg
1 scoop plain nonfat yogurt
1 scoop natural peanut butter (2 1/2 tbps)
2 gels Cod liver oil (1,000 mg each)
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
1/2 cup water, or a little more, as needed (this is for growth formula only; do not add to the adult formula)

Place dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.

Crush vitamins to a fine powder (a coffee grinder works well) and place in another bowl. Add wet ingredients and mix well.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a fork until dough sticks together. It will be fairly dry, like a pie crust or heavy cookie dough. Wearing gloves or with your bare hands, form the dough into a ball and place it onto a lightly greased surface and knead well. Roll dough out into 4 rolls about an inch thick and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 60 minutes. While still warm, cut into 60 pieces with a sharp knife

Allow the blocks to cool for at least 2 hours. Then place into zip-lock bags and store them in the freezer. They keep very well in the freezer for at least a month. Some squirrels enjoy eating them frozen, but you can also put the frozen block into the microwave for about 10 seconds to warm it up.

Feed 2-3 per day for a 1-pound (450 g) squirrel. Different squirrels will have different energy requirements.

[Anne]

A lot of the blocks will just be shredded as baby learns to eat solids, but that's OK, he will learn.
There was a newer recipe but I must not have copied it, as that was what I found.

[trevorskwerl]

Looked but didn't see the recipe. Here is a copy I saved from quite a while back:

Squirrel Block Test Recipe (Revised 12/08)
Makes approximately a 4-week supply for a 1-pound squirrel.

Preheat oven to 225 degrees.

Dry ingredients:
2 scoops* Pure Whey Protein Isolate (7 scoops for growth formula)
2 scoops pecan meal or ground pecans
1 scoop almonds, chopped fine
1 scoop walnuts or pecans, chopped fine
1 scoop wheat bran, unprocessed (this is optional; some squirrels don’t like it)
2 tsp aluminum-free baking powder

*The "scoop" is the one that comes inside the Protein Isolate jar (=28 grams, or 2 1/2 tbsp).

Vitamin mix:
8-16 mg thiamin
6-12 mg riboflavin
60 mg niacin
12-24 mg B-6
100-200 mcg B-12 (note: micrograms, not milligrams)
2,000 mcg folic acid (note: micrograms, not milligrams)
2,000 mg Vit D
12,000 mg calcium**
4 tablets potassium gluconate (595 mg)

**It is fine to use calcium with Vit D, but you will also have to add some plain calcium to get the right amounts. Do not exceed the amount of Vit D by more than 10%.

Wet ingredients:
1 whole egg
1 scoop plain nonfat yogurt
1 scoop natural peanut butter (2 1/2 tbps)
2 gels Cod liver oil (1,000 mg each)
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
1/2 cup water, or a little more, as needed (this is for growth formula only; do not add to the adult formula)




oh wow! thank you very much! Few questions...the vitamins..these are all pill form not liquid you get at a drug store (cvs, walgreens) and when it sais for example 8-16 mg thiamin does that mean the bottle sais 8-16mg and use one tab?100-200 mcg B-12 use one 100mcg tab?The calcium is 1200mg so use 2 600mg tabs etc...? everything else you can get at a grocery store including the cod gel and aluminum free baking powder and pure whey protein? in your opinion am i better off buying them made since i am not experienced? Thanks for the help:thankyou

[Shewhosweptforest]

:wave123 you can actually buy the vitamin packet from Henry's also....and then just mix it in...it's called Henry's Healthy Vita-Mins:thumbsup

[trevorskwerl]

:wave123 you can actually buy the vitamin packet from Henry's also....and then just mix it in...it's called Henry's Healthy Vita-Mins:thumbsup

is this the vit/min packet you are talking about? http://www.henryspets.com/vita-mins/ and if so this takes care of the vitamin section in the recipe? or no? :confused::confused::

[trevorskwerl]

is this the vit/min packet you are talking about? http://www.henryspets.com/vita-mins/ and if so this takes care of the vitamin section in the recipe? or no? :confused::confused::

oh and also so the one month supply option is one packet then follow the dry and wet ingredients?

[Shewhosweptforest]

:thumbsup Yes that's what I was led to believe ....I got a packet to try and make my own for my wilds ...but I haven't gotten around to doing it yet:dono:grin3

[trevorskwerl]

:thumbsup Yes that's what I was led to believe ....I got a packet to try and make my own for my wilds ...but I haven't gotten around to doing it yet:dono:grin3
:thankyou I finally found the thread about the recipe with a bunch of info for my millions of questions:grin3 thank you for helping! Im gonna try this soon:hugh:)

[Aubedete]

:thankyou I finally found the thread about the recipe with a bunch of info for my millions of questions:grin3 thank you for helping! Im gonna try this soon:hugh:)

:multi Please please, can you copy the link to this thread you've found about the recipe? Can't find it.

I live in Canada and think of making the rodent blocks myself :crazy for Skip baby squirrel who's about 7 weeks old.

[trevorskwerl]

:multi Please please, can you copy the link to this thread you've found about the recipe? Can't find it.

I live in Canada and think of making the rodent blocks myself :crazy for Skip baby squirrel who's about 7 weeks old.


http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?38288-Squirrel-Block-Recipes this should be it..under nutrition 2nd or 3rd page called squirrel block recipe...this one sais to use the packet of henrys vitamins. :)

[CrazySquirrelLady]

i made a batch one time and they curled up out of the glass pan inside the oven and tried to escape! it was not my best moment in the kitchen. they are hard to get the recipe right for me. I like buying them pre made from henry's cuz they are made up fresh to order.

i stockpile vitamins in the freezer along with ingredients in case of emergency tho. lol... i'm a hoarder....

[Aubedete]

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?38288-Squirrel-Block-Recipes this should be it..under nutrition 2nd or 3rd page called squirrel block recipe...this one sais to use the packet of henrys vitamins. :)

:thankyou ! !!