Nutrition Check

[treeman]

I just wanted to see what y'all thought about what I was feeding Spice. I want to make sure she is getting all the nutrients she needs. I try to rotate things on the Henry's list based on her preferences. Should I add something, get rid of something, or trade for something else?

Morning: ~5 KayTee Rodent Blocks. She LOVES these and they are her 2nd favorite food behind nuts.

Day: various wild twigs, flowers (camellias at the moment)

Evening: (Pinch of)
1) Baby Lettuces, Bok Choy, Parsley. I think she throws most on the floor.
2) Pomegranate "seeds" and a couple raspberries. Likes the pomegranate but can take or leave the berries.
3) 3-4 KayTee Banana Chips. Likes them.
4) 5-6 Pumpkin seeds. Her favorite and she will fight you over them.
5) 1 slice Sweet potato. Likes them.
6) 1-2 whole pecans. Loves them but stashes.

A lot of the evening meal is stashed or wasted, but I like giving her many choices. What do you think? Am I missing something or is anything in this list not so good?

[Rhapsody]

Evening: (Pinch of)
1) Baby Lettuces, Bok Choy, Parsley. I think she throws most on the floor.
2) Pomegranate "seeds" and a couple raspberries. Likes the pomegranate but can take or leave the berries.
3) 3-4 KayTee Banana Chips. Likes them.
4) 5-6 Pumpkin seeds. Her favorite and she will fight you over them.
5) 1 slice Sweet potato. Likes them.
6) 1-2 whole pecans. Loves them but stashes.It looks like your evening meal is full of seeds, nuts and starches (sw pot & ban). I would add more vegetables, especially greens and only give the nuts and a few seeds after the meal is eaten..... this way you know the squirrel is getting the nutrients that is needed --before filling up on extras/treats.

[treeman]

I'm JUST now checking back! suddenly 5 raccoons! Yes, my goal is to give the greens then give the extra after it's gone. She eats a lot of block. Is there such a thing as too much block?

[Rhapsody]

She eats a lot of block. Is there such a thing as too much block?I feed HHB, which are supplement blocks and are only feed at 2 blocks per day........ if your Kay-Tee blocks are meal blocks then you are fine with giving them at each feeding time.... breakfast, lunch and dinner.

[island rehabber]

treeman it's excellent that she loves her blocks -- good work, because most people say they will feed them to their squirrels but they don't, or they start too late after the squirrel has tasted corn and pecans....:shakehead

Since she does eat her blocks she's in good shape BUT I would definitely add the dark green hi-calcium veggies: kale, escarole, mustard greens, arugula, or dandelions. The pumpkin seeds can be like squirrel crack -- some squees really love them and get hooked on them, and they have high phosphorous :nono. A few per day is ok, IMHO. :peace

[treeman]

Spice is out of the pumpkin seeds. They had been dried from Halloween and she wont get more until I have another pumpkin. Come summer, I'll have squash and watermelons. Do squirrels eat watermelon seeds? I guess they would eat watermelon? Camellias have turned to honeysuckle and mulberry. She has taken to the Bok-Choy. Yes very thankful she likes her block. It is the Kay-Dee Fortified. Her treat is the banana from Kay-Dee. She still gets 1-2 pecans from the fall harvest. I keep them in a bowl and when she is done with playtime she will grab one and go back to her cage. She isn't obsessed with them and will wait till she's ready to retire before picking one. It is a nice reward for going back to the cage.

[island rehabber]

Sounds good! Try to add those dark greens and you'll have a perfect diet for her. :)

[Rhapsody]

I personally never feed my squirrels any seeds from a watermelon (always picked them out) - fruits pits and seeds are on the list of things to "avoid" so I kept them away from my babies.

Nutrition:
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32218

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

Spice is out of the pumpkin seeds. They had been dried from Halloween and she wont get more until I have another pumpkin. Come summer, I'll have squash and watermelons. Do squirrels eat watermelon seeds? I guess they would eat watermelon? Camellias have turned to honeysuckle and mulberry. She has taken to the Bok-Choy. Yes very thankful she likes her block. It is the Kay-Dee Fortified. Her treat is the banana from Kay-Dee. She still gets 1-2 pecans from the fall harvest. I keep them in a bowl and when she is done with playtime she will grab one and go back to her cage. She isn't obsessed with them and will wait till she's ready to retire before picking one. It is a nice reward for going back to the cage.
sounds way too civilized to me.... I put a plate down in front of Simon, he pushes and noses through it gives me a dirty look and walks away:rotfl