Block issues...

[stepnstone]

Over the winter I had been concerned Annie was getting fat but read where squirrels appear to put on winter weight so I stopped being concerned about it, now over the past month she has lost weight going from 737 grams down to 692 and now back to 696 in 3 days. I weigh her same time first thing in the morning, all her other activities/habits/disposition appear normal. She is also getting more "outside" time with the warmer days and is very active in her enclosure. The problem is she has gotten real hard headed about eating her HHB blocks. In the past couple months it's really been a forced issue as in: Your hungry, eat your blocks first issue! When they first arrive she acts like she can't get enough of them for the first week then she tapers off and practically throws them back at me. I used to keep them in the refrigerator, now I keep them in the freezer. Hasn't made a difference with her palate.
I have been switching her back and forth every other month between the adult formula HHB's and the picky blocks. It's time to order block again and this time around I would normally order the adult HHB's but I'm curious about the "wild bites" for a change or maybe the growth formula blocks?

Any opinions? :dono

[lilidukes]

I have to make the homemade HHB's I have too many squirrels to be able to afford the store bought. I have over time found the right mix of nuts that all my kids agree on liking most of the time. But when they stop eating them which they do from time to time. What I do is I don't give them any for two days and at the same time they get no nuts as treats either. After two days they are very happy to eat their blocks again.

[wheezer]

I just have one little disabled squirrel and I do a variety of things.
One, i cut each block up in to two to four pieces then spread a little bit
of almond butter on them! Or I will put several in a coffee grinder and add a walnut (no shell:) ) Then form them back into little balls.

Just like us, I think they get bored too:tilt

I would also ask Leigh at HHB's. She is very helpful:)

[stepnstone]

I have to make the homemade HHB's I have too many squirrels to be able to afford the store bought. I have over time found the right mix of nuts that all my kids agree on liking most of the time. But when they stop eating them which they do from time to time. What I do is I don't give them any for two days and at the same time they get no nuts as treats either. After two days they are very happy to eat their blocks again.

Thanks lilidukes, Since Annie got through MBD I'm really paranoid for her to even go a day without some kind of block in her system but I suppose it's worth a try. She rarely gets a nut even as a treat, the way I figure it is if she wants the taste of nuts eat your block. She's not a great vegetable eater although she loves sugar snap peas and radicchio. Past few days she has been eating some dandelion greens but block has always been her main staple... until recently. I do offer her other types of block, squirrel cookies, boo balls, in addition to her HHB's but she also has turned off on them.

[stepnstone]

I just have one little disabled squirrel and I do a variety of things.
One, i cut each block up in to two to four pieces then spread a little bit
of almond butter on them! Or I will put several in a coffee grinder and add a walnut (no shell:) ) Then form them back into little balls.
Just like us, I think they get bored too:tilt
I would also ask Leigh at HHB's. She is very helpful:)

Have not tried it with the almond butter but have with ground walnut or almonds, don't work! :shakehead I have also tried using a little peanut butter... she just licks them to suck up the peanut butter.:dono
I've cut them up, shaped them, froze them, done everything I can think of besides eating them myself which won't do her any good. She has to eat block!
...I have messaged Leigh, thanks!

[Milo's Mom]

Russell - I mix it up between the Adult, Growth, Picky Eaters, & Wild Bites. My guys, including Ellie, seem to enjoy the Growth Block the most. By "most" I mean I can feed them for the longest period of time without changing them up and they continue to be eaten first and without hesitation.

I always keep mine in the freezer...from the moment they arrive until I need to open the bag and then they are in the fridge.

When my guys decide that they are not eating their block I allow them to think that for a day, but they get NO nuts no matter how cute they are. Then the next day the ONLY thing they get is BLOCK...NOTHING else...if they are hungry they will eat it or they will eat nothing, period. If they do not eat it, the next morning they get fresh block and nothing else (this is when they normally eat the block and growl at me the entire time), then that afternoon is when they get their veggies back (whether they eat their block or not).
I simply remind them that I am the MOMMY and the MOMMY is the BOSS and they WILL eat what they are given or the MOMMY gets mad.

[stepnstone]

Russell - I mix it up between the Adult, Growth, Picky Eaters, & Wild Bites. My guys, including Ellie, seem to enjoy the Growth Block the most. By "most" I mean I can feed them for the longest period of time without changing them up and they continue to be eaten first and without hesitation.
I have only given Annie the growth blocks for one bags use when I thought she was staying too small, she did seem to really like them so maybe I will go with them again.
I always keep mine in the freezer...from the moment they arrive until I need to open the bag and then they are in the fridge.

When my guys decide that they are not eating their block I allow them to think that for a day, but they get NO nuts no matter how cute they are. Then the next day the ONLY thing they get is BLOCK...NOTHING else...if they are hungry they will eat it or they will eat nothing, period. If they do not eat it, the next morning they get fresh block and nothing else (this is when they normally eat the block and growl at me the entire time), then that afternoon is when they get their veggies back (whether they eat their block or not).
I simply remind them that I am the MOMMY and the MOMMY is the BOSS and they WILL eat what they are given or the MOMMY gets mad.

Annie rarely gets nuts of any kind and I have no problem doing this, she can be stubborn and so can I! :thumbsup
Have talked with Leigh, who has also given me some information and pointers as to what I need to stop catering too.
Thanks for all the advice... :grouphug

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

I have had the same problem, I mix up the different blocks, I usually have two bags in the freezer
One of the adult and one of picky eater.
I have noticed if I dunk it in water then microwave for 8 seconds, just to thaw and warm up a bit, he eats it with no problem.
I also ( upon vets suggestion ) give him reptocal, it has the D3
Simon will never go outside and enjoy a tree, he is happy in his cage, not out of it. I give corn and foods not suggested ,only because he loves them , it is his only pleasure other than mommy petting him. But in order for him to have these foods he gets them dusted with this powder. This way I know he has plenty of calcium on the days we skip block or eat corn instead of green leafy things.
I know the board will not agree over this but this is what works for me. I want Simon to be happy how ever long he has, and if that means catering to his taste in a few more nuts than suggested, or some corn on the cob ,well sorry, it works fine for me, and he is healthy.

[stepnstone]

I can only hope it (his diet) continues to work for you both and he stays healthy. I know there are other "foods" my Annie would prefer and eat with no problems except for my knowing they are not nutritionally good for her. After what she went through being so severely crippled with MBD, not only surviving it but overcoming it to the point no one would know she ever had a problem. I don't chance anything when it comes to her getting and keeping her on the most nutritional diet I can for her. She is my baby and she definitely owns me! :Love_Icon

[Orphan Mom]

Just my 2 cents. I had the Kaytee rodent block, which my last squirrel ate with no problem, and both Mork and Mindy turned their noses up at them. I got the "Wild Bites" and they eat the heck out of them. I keep them in the freezer & microwave for about 15 seconds.

I have only barely introduced them to nuts so far. They're still on the bottle.

One way I got them to eat their first block was to put it in the bowl with yogurt. It softened up & mixed in while they ate it. Boy, I have some yogurt loving squirrels. Mine love yogurt so much I had to cut them off for a while to force Mindy learn to eat the block and wear down her teeth.