Chestnuts?

[xHiCCUPx]

I took notice on the healthy diet for pet squirrels thread that it says to avoid chestnuts. Why are they bad for squirrels? I have a chestnut tree in my yard and ive seen squirrels eating them all the time? Do they make them aggressive? I'm just wondering because my mom asked if she could give Hiccup one and I said no because on here it says to avoid them but then she brought up the fact that wild squirrels eat them all the time. I'm just curious as to the reason why we should avoid them.

Also, on the food chart in one section it says collard greens are good but then it says to avoid them? Typo?

[Jackie in Tampa]

I will clarify that..
I bought imported Italian Chestnuts at the grocery store in the produce department...they are sold during the holidays and they are raw.
I had four sqs split one chestnut and all became violently ill, two survived and turned around after a week or so...the other two became worse...
this ended up being a vicious case of we still are not sure, but probable mycotoxins..
mold from the chestnuts..
Frisco passed away after a couple weeks and although Sammy did survive the intial illness, he but was never right and did pass away months later..
very scarey..
also another rehabber in the north had a similar story.
so to be safe, it was posted as an advisory...
your backyard tree is safe!:thumbsup

rip sweet sqs

[xHiCCUPx]

So he can have chestnuts from the tree in my yard, but I should avoid store bought ones?

[Foamy the squirrel]

So he can have chestnuts from the tree in my yard, but I should avoid store bought ones?
I wouldnt just to be safe

[Jackie in Tampa]

:thumbsup
So he can have chestnuts from the tree in my yard, but I should avoid store bought ones?

[Trooper]

This post was left unresolved. I too have a chestnut tree and my Trooper has ben eating them without ill effect. Was it advised then, not to give any chestnuts at all (home grown or over he counter) or only the bought ones.

Many nuts that are spoiled carry microtoxins (pecans and peanuts can harbor the mold aspergillus flavus which produces a known toxin that causes liver cancer), so to just ostracise chestnuts due to a bad imported batch seem a bit excessive..

In fact of all the nuts humans and fauna can eat, chestnuts are the only ones that have zero cholesterol as well as the only ones that have vitamin C, so along with its other nutrients, it can be a good source of nutrition .

I wonder: are the reccomendations in the food pyramid originated by anecdotal events or from validated agencies or sources?

Thanks,

Trooper's dad :thankyou

[island rehabber]

I'm with Trooper's Dad -- the imported European chestnuts that grocery stores sell around holiday time are lying around for God knows how long, in God knows what damp, moldy, back-of-the-grocery-store condition. THOSE I would avoid, but not those growing on your own tree. My rule of thumb is, if you see the wilds eating them, they are fine for your inside squirrels.

Chestnuts are full of vitamins including calcium. :thumbsup Domestically grown chestnuts can be bought online (in season); they are smaller than the Euro ones but I've gone through about 10lbs here and had no problems whatsoever.

[CritterMom]

The easiest way to know what you are dealing with is to cut them in half before feeding them. They are weird nuts - wet - almost like raw potato (which is why you cook them the same way) and you can have a single bad one in a bin of good ones and there is no way to tell from the outside.

Way back in Rama's thread you will see that Stosh brought some back from the US - when I heard he had I sent him a PM and tol him to cut them open. He put up pics of what he found - a number of them were moldy and nasty inside.

So unless you know they just dropped off the tree, just chop them in half before feeding!