Meal WOrms

[Brooklyn]

Willow is on a meal worm kick. I've been giving him three per day. Is there any reason why h shouldn't have them daily or anything I need to know about meal worms?

Thy're called large meal worms though thy don't seem very large to me.

Thank you in advance and HAPPY HOLIDAYS Everyone!

:thinking

[farrelli]

Definitely. Meal worms are VERY high in phosphorous which can lead to MBD (metabolic bone disease - which is a lack of calcium that causes paralysis, seizures, and death). Many people give them as treats only but their squirrels are on a proper diet and they usually take the precaution of coating them in calcium powder. Is your squirrel on a proper diet with rodent blocks (ideally Henry's) forming the bulk of it? If not, please review the nutrition thread as squirrels with MBD are probably the most common emergency here. Many squirrel parents unintentionally cause serious problems for their kids.

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

Btw, I'm assuming that your squirrel isn't a flyer.

[Brooklyn]

Thank you and yes...he is a 22 week old fox squirrel. He is on a very well balanced diet including a Berry Tums twice per week just to be sure, natural fauna and sticks, clover,store bought greens and veg. I also bake special cookies for him that include crushed/powdered Henry's and baby food veg and fruit, applesauce, almond flour and all sorts of good stuff. He nibbles rodent block straight as well and enjoys limited nuts and seeds.

I will cut him back to one meal worm twice per week, if you think that is fine.

Thank you! I'm glad I asked.

:sanp3

[farrelli]

I think you can safely do more than that if you like. The Tums, however, I'd cut back on. As long as he's getting a couple HHBs a day and not eating a lot of corn or other phosphorous heavy foods, he should be getting the calcium he needs. Too much calcium can cause other problems like painful crystals in urine. From what I've read, one Tums a week would be the most you should do if he's getting the HHBs and you want to be hyper vigilant.

If you'd like to see the phosphorous/calcium sheet, here it is:

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15397

Sounds like you're a great parent! You obviously love your little one and it's great to see someone who's so involved in his life! Thanks for being so conscientious. :)

[Brooklyn]

Aww...thank you so much. No, no...Willow is my pride and joy. He lives free in the house and has giant cat trees in each room and sleeps in my bed...the love of my life, and I would be heartsick if I inadvertently hurt him. He has more Christmas gifts under the tree than my 19-year-old daughter...LOL

Thank you so much for all the info and rapid replies. Don't know what we would do if this board didn't exist.

[farrelli]

He looks adorable! You two are lucky to have each other!

[farrelli]

Oh, btw, seeing that he's a foxer, I think that they're supposed to get three HHBs a day to get all that they need. Foxers are awesome. I hope to see one someday.

[CritterMom]

Aw, what a cutie. And what a lucky little squee!

Both my gray squirrel and my little deer mouse Nate are big waxworm fans. I was noodling around Google one day and on a lark I looked up the calcium to phosphorus ratio and :eek:!!

But they LOVE them! My suggestion to you is to do what I do - next time you order from Henrys, get a bag of her vitamin powder. Good bone health isn't just calcium - it is D and magnesium and K and all kinds of other stuff - all of which are in the vitamin powder. I keep a little plastic storage cup on the counter with about a qusrter teaspoon of the powder in it (rest is in fridge) and I drop the wax worms in there, give it a shake, tap them off, and feed them that way (OK, I throw them at them and run into the other room because they look like maggots and make me want to puke). Nobody has any problem with the powder and I have a very healthy squirrel and mouse.:thumbsup

[pappy1264]

Yup, as C M said, get some vitamin powder to roll them in! (I would alternate if you feed every day with the Henry's vitamins and just straight calcium carbonate, as too much vitamin D isn't good either. I use Now Calcium Carbonate. Google it, I ordered it online.) Animal protein is important (which they get from the worms). Beautiful baby, btw!