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dda0221
01-18-2012, 10:13 AM
My boys are 20 weeks old (wow!). From the beginning, Lil' Face was the larger of the two. Now it looks like Mr. T has caught up and might even be a bit too big.
Face eats very quickly. He will finish two of something before Mr. T finishes one and then Face will steal what Mr. T has left. In any food battle, Face always wins. To make up for it, Mr. T gets up in the middle of the night and will wander the cage and eat for a couple of hours.

Daily Meal:
Early morning - 2 HHB
Late morning - Veggies and Fruit
Early evening - Veggies and Fruit
Late evening - Formula (about 21 cc)
Bedtime - Nut
Free feed - Rodent block and lots of bark from branches in the cage

I rotate the fruits, veggies and nuts.
Veggies - broccoli, cauliflower, squash(summer, acorn, butternut, pumpkin, zucchini), sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, spring mix salad.
Fruits - blackberries, blueberries, apples, tomatoes, pears, oranges, grapes.
Nuts - almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, chestnuts.

1. Is Mr. T too fat? If so, what should I do?
2. I am little concerned that when released into the 'wilds' of my backyard, Mr. T will have a hard time keeping himself properly fed given that he is very passive and eats so slowly. Any ideas?
3. Should I somehow discourage Mr. T's midnight snacking? Obviously this is not something he will be able to continue doing once released.

Maybe I am just a nervous, over-protective parent????

I have not weighed them in quite a while. They no longer will sit still, nor do they fit on my food scale.

Face on the left, Mr. T on the right. Tried to get a side by side for comparison, but they would not cooperate!

crazysquirrels
01-18-2012, 10:41 AM
I don't think there are fat but I would cut out the potatoes and squash. The potatoes for sure as they will case harm to them via to much sugar. I think and not 100% on this but squash is the same as the potatoes. Also taking pic with them scruched over is no good. Talula as with most squirrels will look fat when balled up.

JLM27
01-18-2012, 03:27 PM
CrazySquirrels, do you still have Tulula? Maybe you could put a pic in for comparison ;)

astra
01-18-2012, 03:30 PM
are they foxers?... they look like foxers to me in the pic.
If they are foxers, they look like normal foxers - fox squirrels tend to be much fluffier overall than greys.

dda0221
01-18-2012, 03:59 PM
They are fox squirrels.

I'll try to snap a picture when they are not eating for a better view. Of course the only time they are still enough to get a good picture is when they are eating or sleeping. :)

Milo's Mom
01-18-2012, 05:18 PM
My Fox Squirrel, Princess Ellie, is much older than Face & T, but when I got her she was just a few weeks older than Face & T are now. From what I can see in the pics and from what I can remember they look about the way she did.

Ellie gets very fluffy in the winter and she is also much less active in the winter. Her coat and tail get very full and it all makes her look a little on the chubby side. I too was concerned when she did this for our first winter together (last winter) but come Spring she was sporting her bikini body and her coat was sleek versus fluffed. Here are some pics of her that were taken in November/December 2010. She was approx 16-20 weeks old at the time, I think.

159933

159934

159935

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I will look to see if I have any pics of when she was really fluffy last year.

EDIT: Here is a pic of her taken Mid March of last year. She looks HUGE!
159937

JakesLittlePrincess
01-18-2012, 05:45 PM
OMG MM what a difference from the two seasons!

Milo's Mom
01-18-2012, 05:58 PM
OMG MM what a difference from the two seasons!


Yeah...she gets "fluffy" in the winter. I thought maybe I was feeding her too much last winter just by looking at her. But after I weighed her I realized it was all fluff and she was perfect...just like a Princess should be. :D

I made a mental note to watch her this year and since I know her eating habits very well this winter I knew EXACTLY what she was eating and how much of it and darned if she did not go and fluff up on me again. I weighed her and she is within a few grams of last year.

niapet
01-18-2012, 07:24 PM
Good to see Imp isn't the only chubby monkey. I should get some pics of his man boobs..

patjones
01-19-2012, 06:21 PM
That last picture is as cute as that baby is fat LOL Biggest one I have ever seen. Great pictures all and all looks like you know your way around a camera

Milo's Mom
01-19-2012, 07:01 PM
That last picture is as cute as that baby is fat LOL Biggest one I have ever seen. Great pictures all and all looks like you know your way around a camera

Princess Ellie is NOT FAT...she's Fluffy. :rotfl
Never never call a Princess Fat. Actually, she really is the perfect weight for being a Fox Squirrel. And like I was saying previously, she does "fluff" up in the winter...you can see how her fur looks like it is all standing on end in the "big" picture, but in the other pics her fur looks all smooth and sleek. Her fur looks like that almost all winter and then come Spring, she gets all sleek and bikini ready.

Pierre
01-19-2012, 07:44 PM
Oh Milo's Mom, :Love_Icon Princess Ellie:Love_Icon is just gorgeous!!

I love her chubby--- I mean FLUFFY-- look! It suits her beautifully. :grouphug

patjones
01-19-2012, 11:25 PM
Curves are back in style !!!

niapet
01-19-2012, 11:37 PM
This is a recent pic of Imp looking a bit chubby. Is this normal for northern Grays, or is he a bit fat?

Pierre
01-20-2012, 10:26 AM
This is a recent pic of Imp looking a bit chubby. Is this normal for northern Grays, or is he a bit fat?


I think Imp looks perfect and absolutely precious! :grouphug