Need veggie tricks!

[shllyrse]

Hello. Thumbelina is my red squirrel, approximately 13 weeks old (160 grams). Right now she is still on FV, 13 grams - 2x's a day (which she doesn't always finish), 1 HHB in the morning, and I'm giving her lots of fresh veggies throughout the day. The problem is, we're pretty limited on what vegetables she will actually eat.

Will eat:
red/orange pepper
cucumber
mushrooms
corn (I barely give it to her, but she loves it, so I cave once in a while with a few kernels)
cherry tomatoes
sweet potato (again, barely give that to her)
dandelions
pinecones

Won't eat:
Chicken
Deer antlers
Any type of lettuce
broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, radish, green beans, snap peas, etc... pretty much everything but the above list.

I'm getting worried that she's not eating a balanced enough diet. I was wondering if anyone had any tricks. I know some people lightly boil, or freeze certain things, so I'm hoping for some handy information on that.

I just bought her a wheel, and she absolutely loves it. She lives for it! I want to make sure that she's eating enough not only to stay healthy, but so that she doesn't burn too many calories and get too skinny. She was a plump little thing, and now she's a bit thinner. She also got a much bigger cage though and has been doing plenty of running.
:thankyou

*I also give her a walnut or pecan every night, one small piece of fruit, and sometimes some yogurt, all based on how much healthy stuff she consumed throughout the day :thumbsup

Also, she has an extremely scraggly tail. Her coat finally grew in beautifully, but her tail is sparse, and really bare at the base. Can this have to do with her diet?

[Itchiku's dad]

Although I'm no expert the fact that she has a HHB and 2 feeds of formula means that she's getting good nutrition. With the veggies it's really of try this one week and then not the next. Some days she'll like one vegetable and then she won't touch it. Can you post a pic of her so we can see her size and tail, as I'm sure one of the more experienced on here will be able to help more.

[shllyrse]

I just tried taking photos of her, but she's sleeping, and really doesn't want to be disturbed! :rotfl
Anyway, here are 2 stills from a video from last week. Please don't mind the newspaper, that was the day I received her cage in the mail, and didn't have enough fleece to fill the gigantic thing! It's since been lavished in the softest fleece known to squirrel. :D

As soon as she wakes up, I'll take some better photos :thumbsup

[Itchiku's dad]

Now that is strange. Maybe you should put a post in non life threatening so more people see it under a title about the tail.

[astra]

sorry if I miss anything or repeat what was said already or don't address everything - very little time and too much to do and it's bed time ;)

1. one HHB is not enough. The regular portion is 2 HHBs per day (could be 3 for bigger squirrels, like Fox squirrels, but not always necessary). So, add another HHB
2. Try blanching broccoli (drop broccoli in boiling water, wait till it gets to the boiling point, let it boil for less than a min (when broccoli turns bright beautiful green - good to go).
Some people cook them, mash them, then mix in a BooBall kind of mixture.
Just, imho, overly involved recipes (too much cooking) may defeat the purpose as with prolonged cooking most nutrients in greens are lost.
But definitely try - that could be a good start to transition gradually to less and less cooked veggies

3. Have you tried eliminating "will eat" foods completely? and giving her only "won't eat" list?... because if you put broccoli that she does not eat, and mushrooms, that she does eat in the same bowl - obviously she will eat mushrooms, and then will wait till her night treat.

Try giving her ONLY what she does not normally eat.
This may take a month or even longer, but if you insist she will eventually start eating them.
Tough love for both of you :) - for her to start eating veggies and for you not to give in no matter how pitiful she may act and look

Try sprinkling ground flaxseed on it - I remember someone here shared that it worked for them.

Have you tried belgian endive?... even wilds eat belgian endive.
Brussel sprouts?... even a wild juvie ate brussel sprouts.
radiccio?

But most likely, the key is to remove all of her favorite foods out of her daily menu completely until she starts eating other things.
Because as long as you keep giving her the foods she will eat, she will never begin to eat the foods she is not eating right now.

The tail problem may and may not be dietary...
but I will let experts elaborate on that...

[astra]

sorry, forgot to add:

not all wheels are safe.
I don't remember which ones are and which ones aren't, so it would be a good idea to post in Non-Life Threatening forum with a photo of the wheel to make sure it is safe.

[shllyrse]

[QUOTE=astra]sorry if I miss anything or repeat what was said already or don't address everything - very little time and too much to do and it's bed time ;)

1. one HHB is not enough. The regular portion is 2 HHBs per day (could be 3 for bigger squirrels, like Fox squirrels, but not always necessary). So, add another HHB Will start feeding her 2, but Leigh from Henry's suggested only 1 because of her size.

3. Have you tried eliminating "will eat" foods completely? and giving her only "won't eat" list?... because if you put broccoli that she does not eat, and mushrooms, that she does eat in the same bowl - obviously she will eat mushrooms, and then will wait till her night treat. Yes, I have but I think I gave up too early because I felt bad for her not eating. I will be more persistent.



Have you tried belgian endive?... even wilds eat belgian endive.
Brussel sprouts?... even a wild juvie ate brussel sprouts.
radiccio? I have tried belgian endive, and that was a no-go as well. Is radiccio the same as red cabbage? It looks similar, and if so, I've tried that, but she didn't eat it. I will try again, because that was about 2 weeks ago. Haven't tried brussel sprouts yet, but I'll pick some up tomorrow.

:thankyou

[astra]

[QUOTE=astra]sorry if I miss anything or repeat what was said already or don't address everything - very little time and too much to do and it's bed time ;)

1. one HHB is not enough. The regular portion is 2 HHBs per day (could be 3 for bigger squirrels, like Fox squirrels, but not always necessary). So, add another HHB Will start feeding her 2, but Leigh from Henry's suggested only 1 because of her size.

3. Have you tried eliminating "will eat" foods completely? and giving her only "won't eat" list?... because if you put broccoli that she does not eat, and mushrooms, that she does eat in the same bowl - obviously she will eat mushrooms, and then will wait till her night treat. Yes, I have but I think I gave up too early because I felt bad for her not eating. I will be more persistent.



Have you tried belgian endive?... even wilds eat belgian endive.
Brussel sprouts?... even a wild juvie ate brussel sprouts.
radiccio? I have tried belgian endive, and that was a no-go as well. Is radiccio the same as red cabbage? It looks similar, and if so, I've tried that, but she didn't eat it. I will try again, because that was about 2 weeks ago. Haven't tried brussel sprouts yet, but I'll pick some up tomorrow.

:thankyou
If Leigh said that then, I would rather go with what Leigh said. But then, maybe, she has grown some since you spoke to Leigh?

Because as far as I remember, grown reds here on the board eat about 2 HHBs (or the equivalent of that in other types of block).

Maybe, you could ask Leigh again - since she has grown and is a juvie now, maybe, she could start getting 2?... But whatever Leigh says - she is much more knowledgeable about nutrition specifics and details than I

_________

No radiccio is not like red cabbage in texture and taste, but it does looks very similar in color. :) They might be related, but I don't know.
It's more of a lettuce type thing in texture - much softer than cabbage.

You could also try parsley, summer squash (both yellow and zucc.), kale, celery - those are, usually, squirrels' favorites

I am surprised she didn't like the endive. Even a 100% wild juvie liked the endive... hmm. she is really picky, isn't she :)

_______

I know - I think, oftentimes, tough love is tougher on us than on them ;) - because it is so hard to resist those little faces, when they start pouting and looking all pitiful :).
But it is worth trying.
Don't worry - she won't starve, but it might help her start eating at least some of the veggies.
Say, if you keep tough-loving her for several months and - nothing, she still refuses etc, then, maybe, we would have to think of something else.
But it's worth trying at least for a couple of months.
What a picky little red thing she is! ;) But she is a red, after all.

[Fireweed]

Hey, Hi! I'm originally from Spruce Grove and lived in Edmonton for most of my life. Neat to see someone from Alberta on here. :wave123

I have raised and released a red squirrel, too. :highfive
Do as astra suggested with the foods to try and get her to eat more of a variety--especially greens. I sometimes would spread a thin layer of almond butter or yogurt or thickened FV on any dark leafy green and fold it up into a little 'package' to get him to eat greens when he was being picky.
I only fed my red squirrel one HHB, too, while he was inside. He won't really eat more than that--he'll just stash it. Sometimes I'd leave another in there--but it always got stashed. That's another thing--make sure she is actually eating the HHB and not just stashing it when you aren't looking!

You say she is eating pine cones--what about spruce cones? Since their diet consists of mostly cones, you could give her pine and spruce cones (from the tree only, not from the ground). Spruce cones are maturing right now and if they aren't green and they are tightly closed, they are good to eat. Load up and freeze them and give them to her through the winter, too. (Edit: are you releasing her this summer?) Be prepared for a mess, though! :thumbsup

Good luck!

[shllyrse]

sorry, forgot to add:

not all wheels are safe.
I don't remember which ones are and which ones aren't, so it would be a good idea to post in Non-Life Threatening forum with a photo of the wheel to make sure it is safe.

I made sure to get one without a bar in the middle (so she wouldn't have to arch her back), and without holes in the bottom (so her toes and nails won't get stuck). There's a video on here that I just posted of her running in it. Would you tell me if you think it looks unsafe?

[shllyrse]

[QUOTE=shllyrse]
If Leigh said that then, I would rather go with what Leigh said. But then, maybe, she has grown some since you spoke to Leigh?

Because as far as I remember, grown reds here on the board eat about 2 HHBs (or the equivalent of that in other types of block).

Maybe, you could ask Leigh again - since she has grown and is a juvie now, maybe, she could start getting 2?... But whatever Leigh says - she is much more knowledgeable about nutrition specifics and details than I

_________

No radiccio is not like red cabbage in texture and taste, but it does looks very similar in color. :) They might be related, but I don't know.
It's more of a lettuce type thing in texture - much softer than cabbage.

You could also try parsley, summer squash (both yellow and zucc.), kale, celery - those are, usually, squirrels' favorites

I am surprised she didn't like the endive. Even a 100% wild juvie liked the endive... hmm. she is really picky, isn't she :)

_______

I know - I think, oftentimes, tough love is tougher on us than on them ;) - because it is so hard to resist those little faces, when they start pouting and looking all pitiful :).
But it is worth trying.
Don't worry - she won't starve, but it might help her start eating at least some of the veggies.
Say, if you keep tough-loving her for several months and - nothing, she still refuses etc, then, maybe, we would have to think of something else.
But it's worth trying at least for a couple of months.
What a picky little red thing she is! ;) But she is a red, after all.


What I normally do is give her a HHB in the morning with some FV. She's surprisingly a late sleeper though. It's 9:10am right now, and she still hasn't come out of her nesting box :thinking But then I give her fresh veggies in the afternoon, and keep an eye on her HHB. Sometimes it's almost gone by then, and I'll give her another. But sometimes it's the same block around 9pm, so I don't. Basically I go off of the idea that she should always have block available, but never more than 2 because Jo_schmoe told me they were really high in vitamins and that it would be too much for her. Does that sound about right?

Yeah she didn't like the endive, and I also got cilantro at the same time which she ate at first, but never again. She's ridiculously picky. I jsut cleaned her cage and noticed that yesterday, the second block I gave her seems to be crumbled all over the floor, and I think she just ate the nuts out! :nono
I've given her zucchini (green), and she doesn't really do much with it. Basically she digs through the bowl and throws everything out that she doesn't like, and eats what she does. But I am going to start the tough love approach today. Wish me luck!
Also, I'll pick up some radiccio, celery, parsley, & try and find okra. Thanks again for the help! :thankyou

[shllyrse]

Hey, Hi! I'm originally from Spruce Grove and lived in Edmonton for most of my life. Neat to see someone from Alberta on here. :wave123

I have raised and released a red squirrel, too. :highfive
Do as astra suggested with the foods to try and get her to eat more of a variety--especially greens. I sometimes would spread a thin layer of almond butter or yogurt or thickened FV on any dark leafy green and fold it up into a little 'package' to get him to eat greens when he was being picky.
I only fed my red squirrel one HHB, too, while he was inside. He won't really eat more than that--he'll just stash it. Sometimes I'd leave another in there--but it always got stashed. That's another thing--make sure she is actually eating the HHB and not just stashing it when you aren't looking!

You say she is eating pine cones--what about spruce cones? Since their diet consists of mostly cones, you could give her pine and spruce cones (from the tree only, not from the ground). Spruce cones are maturing right now and if they aren't green and they are tightly closed, they are good to eat. Load up and freeze them and give them to her through the winter, too. (Edit: are you releasing her this summer?) Be prepared for a mess, though! :thumbsup

Good luck!

:wave123 Hi!
Yeah, she's the same with the HHB. I find all of her stash spots though, I think even better than she can :D
I give her one in the morning, and if it's almost gone by late afternoon, early evening I give her another. That one usually goes to waste though.
I will definitely try the "package" idea. Jo_Schmoe warned me in the beginning that she couldn't get her reds to touch anything green with a 10ft. pole, and I'm finding the same issue here, so I'm going to have to be crafty. Do you remember any lettuces in particular that were a hit?

I'm not sure about the releasing thing. I would love to if I could, but this poor little girl has had issues since I found her. About 2 weeks ago I was really worried about her vision because she's running into things all of the time. I posted some pictures on here of her eyes, and it came to the conclusion that she definitely had vision loss. Her pupil area is a gray/blue color. I was told it may get better, but more than likely not, which it hasn't seem to. I was also told, and common sense implies that that would make her NR. We'll see. I'm definitely prepared to keep her, I love her so much, but I just want to do what's best for her. I wish for her sake she could be out climbing trees, living the life. But as for now, since she can't I'm trying to give her the best, happiest life possible :)

I'm afraid I don't know the difference between pine and spruce cones :(
I'll have to research! I live right by the mill creek ravine though, so I have access to all I'm sure. Right now I just get any variety I can find and give them to her. Some she devours, some she doesn't other with. What's wrong with the green ones? Too high in sugar/sap, right?