Older Squirrel diet???

[Daisey007]

Hello everyone!:grouphug

My name is Pam, and I'm a licensed wildlife rehabber of 35 plus years! :grin2
I've been on TSB many times over the past 5-8 years but my work frequently takes me away for long periods of time... so, it's OK if you don't remember me.

I have a question about feeding an older squirrel (4.5 years) named Chewy (the love of my life!). I've never kept a squirrel this long before and I'm kind of at a loss as to what I should be feeding him. I mean, I get the gist of the basics... maybe. I try to feed him a diet high in potassium and low in phosphorus.

So, his daily diet consists of...

-an 'abundance' of fresh green spinach
-a slice of sweet potato (he rarely eats any of it)
-occasionally 1 to 2 small cubes of apple (he couldn't care less about apple)
-OR a very, very infrequent small ~1/2" crosswise slice of raw corn on the cobb
-small bowl with 1-2 tablespoons of "Fruit and Nut mix", a few nuts (fresh pecans)

SO, very recently he began eating "ZuPreem Primate" chunks. I've always read that ZuPreem chunks should be his primary food but he'd never eat it in the past. The ingredients lists ground corn as it's first ingredient... and we all know that corn is extremely high in phosphorus!
What's with that? Is there something else, perhaps something better? I read that cut fruit and vegetables should only be "added" and NOT a primary part of a healthy diet.

Anyway, I'm here asking what I should be feeding my 4.5 year old squirrel? I don't feel that his diet is as good as it could be, and I'd like your help to get it optimized for him.

Thank you so, so much!
Kindest regards,
Pam

[CritterMom]

My 6 year old squirrel and I - and pretty much every other squirrel on this very large site, strongly recommend the Henry's Healthy Bites, which we shorthand as "HHBs" - http://www.henryspets.com/squirrel-diet/. I would get the adult formula - and look through the site - lots of good stuff there. These are formulated specifically for squirrels, not apes, not rats - squirrels, and are made to also taste good. They are fortified with all the vitamins and minerals they need at the rate of 2 a day - and counteract a fair amount of human weakness with feeding as well.

Also, cut out the majority of the spinach and substitute something like kale. Spinach has lots of calcium but also LOTS of oxalic acid which counteracts caalcium and causes kidney issues. I do not feed it at all. Kale has some but not much.

[Daisey007]

Thank you Crittermom! I'm not sure how to respond to your answer; hopefully I'm it correctly. If not, I'll learn! Thanks again, I will go on the site to get some new food.

[Chelledan]

I don't get on here much let alone post, which I know I need to come on here some day and tell my story. But to make it short for the purpose of this post, my baby which is coming up on 5 years in a couple months. I feed her minimum of 2 HHBs a day, the first one of the HHBs is in the morning, then I get her a bowl of vegges, which consist of Romain lettuce every day, added to the romain I give a mixture of 2 or 3 of the following vegges, Kale, baby arugula, red leaf lettuce, baby bok choy, Napa cabbage, red cabbage, radicchio, and there is other vegges I try from the food pyramid now and then, but that is what she gets in her bowl every morning after her first HHB. I also put 3 to 4 sugar snap pees in with the greens and sometimes add broccoli or yellow squash and zucchini. It really depends on what I get at the market, I try to stick with the greens and add some fun to get her eating. At about 4pm I give her the second HHB which she always loves. When I notice she doesn't totally eat her HHB and only eats some and shreds half of it all over and drops a lot on the floor, I will give her a 3rd HHB. Now in the evening is when she gets her fruit and nuts. The fruits are anything from black Barry's, blue berry, strawberrys! Apples, oranges, and I give a 1 to 2 pieces or chunks if it's big like a apple. The nuts vary from almonds to walnut, Brazil nut, black walnut and hickory nuts for wearing down her teeth. She usually gets only one to 2 nuts a day, unless I see she is not eating her vegges well, the she goes without for a day or 2 and then she starts eating her vegges again and gets more nuts then stops eating vegges again and we go around and around. I wash all her vegges very good before I give them to her and pretty much she gets fed before I even eat, but not before my coffee.

That is my daily routine with my baby which is a beautiful grey almost 5 years old from a pinkie with the cord still there. Even though I have had success this far, if anyone with more expierence see something that can hurt her or I should change, please let me know.