Cataracts

[Pepperthe squirrel]

It appears that my 12 yr old gray squirrel is developing cataracts. He has a white spot in the center of each eye. Is this common?? He can still see but seems to be moving slower and with more caution.

[CritterMom]

OMG you have a 12 year old squirrel?? That is fantastic! Cataracts often appear with advanced age - I have a 25 year old cockatiel that has developed them as well.

Would you share your squirrel's diet? These are probably age induced but you can almost always improve their diet and overall condition, and it is a subject we know quite a bit about here.

I would keep his area/cage the same - he has learned it and it is comforting to not have any nasty surprises that you can't see well.

[Pepperthe squirrel]

My husband found Pepper at the base of an oak tree in the Spring of 2002. He raised him on kitten milk replacer and a kitten nursing bottle. He lives in a large outdoor cage 4' x4' by 8' tall. He has a house, a loafing shed and several limbs to climb plus a dirt floor to bury food.

We have several mature pecan trees in our yard and save fallen nuts each year. We feed him a commercial squirrel food, fruits (he loves strawberries), walnuts, acorns, and his favorite - sunflower seeds. Every year I plant sunflowers in my garden, let them mature and dry out. Then I place a whole sunflower seedhead in his cage so he can pick them off himself. He loves it!!

He has never been sick or had lice or fleas. I asked my husband once "How long will he live?". My husband looked it up online and found out that the gray squirrel can live 20 years in captivity. My husband said that he was glad he built his cage out of treated lumber so it will last as long as he does.

Last year we had a bad storm and a huge limb fell on his cage damaging it. He actually got out of his cage but went back in at dark. A funny thing happened last week. My husband came in and said that a very sad thing had happened. He said that Pepper had died. I ran outside and he was lying on his back in his loafing shed. I tapped on the side of the cage and he looked up at me. He was asleep on his back.

[farrelli]

List the ingredients of hte squirrel food. Mush of it is crap, seeds, and corn.

Cataracts can also be a result of bad diet, and that diet is fairly bad. We've seen them go away with corrected diet. Here's what we recommend:

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?44440-Healthy-Diet-for-Pet-Squirrels

[Pepperthe squirrel]

List the ingredients of hte squirrel food. Mush of it is crap, seeds, and corn.

Cataracts can also be a result of bad diet, and that diet is fairly bad. We've seen them go away with corrected diet. Here's what we recommend:

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?44440-Healthy-Diet-for-Pet-Squirrels

Thanks. Where can I get squirrel or rodent blocks???

[farrelli]

The best ones are from here:

http://www.henryspets.com/squirrel-diet/

They're the only one's specially formulated for sqs. A bag will last a month. Picky eaters are the most tasty and probably the best for your sq. If budget is a factor, some people only give on a day, instead of two (three for a fox) in combination with a cheaper block like Mazuri or Oxbow.

[farrelli]

Btw, because they have flat shipping, most people buy a few bags and keep them in the freezer.