IS THERE MORE ON NUTRITION THAN GROUP 1 VEGGIES?

[Trooper]

Trooper lives on the west coast and as luck would have it, we can find almost every kind of vegetable or fruit almost all year round for him. With that said, I look at the Healthy Diet for Pet Squirrels' pyramid on the sticky of this forum, and noticed that a few items in the list are sometimes hard to find: bok choy, chayote, chinese cabbage and purslane are the few that come first on that list, especially on central states where there isn't as much demand for ethnic food. That leaves arugola, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, mushrooms and watercress.

I have tried all of them on Trooper and from time to time he throws most of them after a good sniff to the ground with extreme disgust. My question is; are these the only Group 1 veggies that are O.K. for pet squirrels? Are there more that were not listed?

If the Group 1 could be made exhaustive and with more selections, perhaps non releasable squirrels might have a wider choice to rotate week by week.

Also about the Group 3 list, shows kale and dandelions as not being as good as Group 1 and 2, yet kale and dandelions have the highest ratio of calcium to phosporous of all veggies in all lists, and as far as I know they do not have high oxalates, fat or any other adverse compounds.

I wonder if the healthy diet pyramid could be reviewed from a different angle and analyze each entry and/or perhaps add new ones?

Thanks,

Trooper's dad

[Anne]

You can always pop over and check out the flying squirrel diet, a whole lot of food listed. Just leave out the protein,except for a few nibbles of cheese now and then-grey squirrels don't need meat (chicken, etc) in their diet :grin2.

[Trooper]

Thanks Anne, never crossed my mind to chek the flyers site. Will do that. Trooper loves his occasional freeze dried crickets!

Trooper's dad

[island rehabber]

I am no nutritionist but I use the healthy diet as a guideline only. I feed dandelion greens, kale and sweet potato to my squirrels -- NR's too -- every day, and have never had a problem with MBD, ever.

[astra]

I find that belgian endive usually goes well, even wilds-in-rehab eat belgian endive.
I get the "white/yellowish" type, not the red one (for some reason, in my experience, the yellowish endive goes better than the red one).

Also, try peeled cucumbers. They tend to eat the seeds only,

Do try raw sweet potato.
You can give a piece of sweet potato about 3-4 time per week ( to follow the Healthy Diet guidelines).
Have you tried sugar snap peas?

Also radicchio.
With radicchio (as with many other leafy greens) they prefer their leaves crisp.
So, remove the outer wilted leaves and give the ones underneath - nicer and crisper.

YOu could disguise broccoli and cauliflower.
E.g., grate a broccoli floret, add a dab of natural almond butter - mix very well with a spoon, making sure that the grated broccoli is mixed thoroughly with the butter.
Shape into a ball (it will be moist, but still shape-able). If it does not shape well - just put it in a dish.
You can also use food processor, but it will mean larger portions for a few days.
But whether a grater or a food processor - grating veggies and then mixing them with something like almond butter or some soft avocado - is a way to make them eat veggies.

Sometimes, feeding the same stuff day in and day out, every day makes them bored. So, sometimes the key is to create some variety by alternating whatever few things they do eat.
Even if you can alternate 2-3 veggies per one day and 2-3 veggies another day - that could be quite sufficient and good.
(sample menu: Day 1 - 3-4 leaves of belgian endive, 3-4 pieces of cucumbers, a few sugar snap peas; Day 2 - 3-4 leaves of radicchio, 1 piece of sweet potato, a few sugar snap peas. Add a broccoli/cauliflower "ball" somewhere in there, or whatever else he eats.
With the mandatory 2 HHBs per day, some fruit and a nut or two for treats - that will be fairly well).

Also, keep giving other things, especially, arugula and watercress - these seem to be chosen once in a while. Even if he just takes a bite or two - it's all good.

Kale is fine, too.

Just try not to feed them same thing every day.
He will most likely get bored and won't touch it for a while.
Alternate, and when you alternate, Group 2 and 3 will be just fine.

If he eats all and is still hungry, try some dry old fashioned oatmeal. Some squirrels seem to like it, so some oatmeal (AFTER HHBs and other things are eaten) could fill him up.

Just create a menu/combine them so as to alternate food at least every other day and it should work - you just need to find what will work for him.

Different things work for different sqs. Some are fine eating the same fav veggies every day, others get bored every other day, yet others are so picky that you have to really be creative sneaking greens into their diets.
Very individual.;-)

[tree-queen]

Your Squirrels won't eat broccoli? Don't let them anywhere near my boy, they'll give him bad ideas- he loves broccoli!

I feed whatever is on hand basically. He's never turned anything down. Green veggies are always good, like kale and such. He likes fruits too, like strawberries, plums, and apples. My staple diet is a block and we don't do nuts. Would not advise anything spicy or any citrus fruits. Try to stick to what is around where they were found if you can. We have an orchard that the squirrels love so I do offer things from there. :Love_Icon

Those picky little squirrels you guys have. Goodness.

[Trooper]

Thank you all for the great ideas. Trooper is quite a gourmand and he does too get bored with the same food stuff. That is why I was trying to broaden the good veggies list so I can offer a wider variety. I will folloow all your advices.

Trooper's dad

[joyceb11]

YOu could disguise broccoli and cauliflower.
E.g., grate a broccoli floret, add a dab of natural almond butter - mix very well with a spoon, making sure that the grated broccoli is mixed thoroughly with the butter.
Shape into a ball (it will be moist, but still shape-able). If it does not shape well - just put it in a dish.
You can also use food processor, but it will mean larger portions for a few days.
But wh ether a grater or a food processor - grating veggies and then mixing them with something like almond butter or some soft avocado - is a way to make them eat veggies.

Astra I just tried grating the broccoli with the almond butter and it was a hit!!!
thank you for the great tip!

[Rhapsody]

My squirrels eat from all three groups (mainly 1 & 3) and they are HEALTHY!!