General's Diet Can You Help Me Balance it?

[CrazySquirrelLady]

OK we start here in the morning with a Henry's Block.

Sometimes they don't eat it ......

10 AM 2 slices of avocado each
12 AM 2 slices of apple each
2 PM Broccoli, cauliflower, carrot slices, squash, mushroom divided into thirds., Dandelion greens from the yard, radish slices,
6 PM Fox Valley formula time... drinks maybe 9 cc each except JEB won't drink none at all.

9 PM Henry's Block
10 PM 2 Hazelnuts each may give one of the nuts earlier in day....or one pecan or one other nut in shell.... 2 total a day.... sometimes 3 heehee

They just don't like veggies much at all... haven't found any veggie they are wild about beside sugar snap peas which I am out of right now.


Are they getting enough to eat? Is this a bad diet? Do I need to add something else?

oh yes I put in some yogurt with FV in it, sometimes JEB eats a little bit of that... no one likes it much? tried strawberry banana and vanilla and blueberry so far....


I think that is it.... sorry it is so long to read, but I want them to eat a balanced diet...

They are mostly getting by on HBs and avocados and fruit one time a day....

[jbtartell]

sooo at 2pm do they eat any of the veggies? I would cut the apple out and give it aas a treat and cut back to 1 slice of avocodo see if that helps with the veggies.. I am not positive but I think if they are eating all their HHBs they will be fine but I would push the veggies and you may have to cut out all snacks except veggies and HHB..do hhb morning then veggies during day and hhb at night.. no nuts or anything else till veggies get ate.. I know it is and does sound harsh but it works and gives a healthy diet.. then you can add treats and stuff back in a little....

[SammysMom]

Sammy is a fussy pain in the tail. I have to give him his HHBs first in the morning. Then at noon I give him his salad. In the late afternoon he gets a snack of fruit or a nut or two. He gets nothing until he eats his HHBs though.

[sadie7684]

My little Ophelia is extremely picky. I found another veggie that she goes crazy for...chayote! It looks a little like a pear/squash and is in Group 1 of the diet chart so they can have as much as they want. Try it and you might have them going crazy for it as well! Good luck! :)

[island rehabber]

My little Ophelia is extremely picky. I found another veggie that she goes crazy for...chayote! It looks a little like a pear/squash and is in Group 1 of the diet chart so they can have as much as they want. Try it and you might have them going crazy for it as well! Good luck! :)

Now that's good news to me, sadie, because we JUST started having chayote available around here this past summer. (I'd never seen it before unless you went into the Mexican neighborhoods.) I think I'll get one and see if Krista likes it... :thankyou

[astra]

if they start their day of with avocado and apple, how can you expect them to eat boring veggies and block later?

Start the day with the block, then veggies, and apple - only a treat and it does not have to be every day, same goes for avocado.

Sometimes, when I see the block untouched, I stop even veggies until the block gets eaten. Block+veggies+only then treats such as fruit and avocado and nuts.

[CrazySquirrelLady]

if they start their day of with avocado and apple, how can you expect them to eat boring veggies and block later?

Start the day with the block, then veggies, and apple - only a treat and it does not have to be every day, same goes for avocado.

Sometimes, when I see the block untouched, I stop even veggies until the block gets eaten. Block+veggies+only then treats such as fruit and avocado and nuts.

thanks for the help :D

I thought one fruit a day ok? but makes sense to give after they eat their veggies.. lol

I worried they aren't getting ENOUGH TO EAT??// what about it ya'll? the amounts are what worry me..... they aint eating veggies too good.

Bought Chayote today hope they love it...

[astra]

someone experienced shared awhile ago that a rough rule of thumb for food would be two chunks (about 1") of 5-7 different things of veggies and greens + block, of course.

I try to follow that, but... I am dealing with squirrels, so....
they seem to go through phases: they would eat everything, or at least sample everything and will get treats in the pm; then, all of a sudden, they don't eat anything: no veggies, no block nothing and apparently, holding out for the evening treats. That's when I cut out all treats and leave out veggies and block only.
Then, they would go through this phase of eating veggies only and ignoring the block. So, I end up cutting down on veggies and pushing the block.
And gradually, eventually, they go back to normal to eating block+veggies+and only then treats.

I am not an expert by any means, and I have not rehabbed dozens and dozens of squirrels for decades, so my experience is very limited.
But it seems to me that they will never starve - not to worry, and if I am being a food Nazi, that only pushes them to finally finish that 'stinking' block they have been trying to ignore.
I just make sure that they always have water and there is always block.
If they are hungry enough, they will eat the block.
If not - too bad, no treats until that block is gone.

So far it worked for me.
But again - I have minimal experience, so I would be very interested to hear what people do