Rodent Block: Conflicting Info

[<3MeSomeSquirrels]

My squirrel (Icarus - named before we realized she was a "she" - now simply called Squirrel") is about 4 months, rescued at 4 weeks. I love her so much, but am wondering about some conflicting info I've read about feeding. I found that amazing graphic provided by this board before she was even on solids. We are lucky because she loves Oxbow. Unfortunately, she loves the mouse and young rat kind, but not the adult kind.

I have read somewhere that the rodent block is okay to give free flow. The awesome diet I found here indicates only 5 rat blocks. These are little round pellets. Is 5 really all she's supposed to be eating?

She's not fat, but my boyfriend thinks she's chubby. I've not been great at giving a lot of veggies lately, but am about to get serious about this. So far, about 95% of her diet has been Oxbow. And she eats a lot.

She doesn't look unhealthy to me and she has a lot of energy. I am going to add to her diet to make it heavier on the veggies. But is it true that I should free flow the rodent block or should she really only have 5 lil blocks per day?

She doesn't eat Henry's. If I can provide her nutritional needs without it, I'd like to continue with Oxbow and other fruits/veggies. Help me clear this up once and for all?

[SammysMom]

Oxbow is a decent block. The small heart shaped ones are the adult one though, right? I think the young rat and mouse one is the large pieces if I am not mistaken. I wouldn't worry about her eating too much of it though. You do want her to eat veggies too so as long as she is doing that, she should be fine.

[SammysMom]

At 4 months old the ones for young rats and mice are fine!:clap

[<3MeSomeSquirrels]

Yep - adult are the triangular ones. I've been trying to introduce them, but she won't have it. At what point should she switch to adult?

She eats about two large handfuls a day. Is that not too much?

[SammysMom]

I don't think it's an issue. The ones she likes are what she should have until probably 8+ months old.

[<3MeSomeSquirrels]

I don't think it's an issue. The ones she likes are what she should have until probably 8+ months old.


That's good to hear. I can't find a standard weight chart for eastern greys that are past baby-age. Any idea how I can determine whether she is overweight or not?

Thank you for your input/reassurance.

[SammysMom]

Post a picture and I am sure we can help you to figure it out. This time of year, many of them pack on a little extra for the winter too.

[<3MeSomeSquirrels]

I wondered about that. She only looks chubby to me when she's hunched up. She's nearly impossible to get a good picture of because she's always running around, so I apologize for my presence in the pic (and the brew in my hand). But this demonstrates it best: http://imgur.com/d0PKovO

She looks skinnier when she's stretched out or moving around. Maybe I'm just paranoid. My boyfriend's been thinking the same thing though.

[SammysMom]

OMG! That is a great picture! She looks a bit plump, but not terribly so. Just be sure she gets enough exercise and also eats her veggies. Maybe cut back on how many blocks you give so she is more apt to eat the veggies.

[<3MeSomeSquirrels]

Haha, I told people that I love listening to squirrel gossip.

Good deal. I will work on that. Thanks again!

[LaurelLynn]

I use Oxbow Regal Rat for my squirrels and I keep it available 24/7.I feed fresh veggies daily too. You should be fine letting her eat as much pellets as she wants. ... I have a girl who has been with me almost 2 years and she's been on Oxbow since she started solids. ... She's really healthy and not overweight, although she's kinda plump now that it's winter :-)

[<3MeSomeSquirrels]

I use Oxbow Regal Rat for my squirrels and I keep it available 24/7.I feed fresh veggies daily too. You should be fine letting her eat as much pellets as she wants. ... I have a girl who has been with me almost 2 years and she's been on Oxbow since she started solids. ... She's really healthy and not overweight, although she's kinda plump now that it's winter :-)

Approximately how much does yours eat in a day? She often opts for it over the healthier vegetables. So as suggested I probably do need to cut back on the block enough to encourage her to increase her veggie intake.

[SugarBugFerret]

I had been free feeding Harlan Teklad blocks to my grey squirrel. She gets her 2 Henry's blocks every day which she devours (good girl!). But I was starting to notice that she was eating more and more of the HTs and less of the healthy veggies I was giving her. The little stinker knew what time she would be getting her veggies, and she would literally start munching on her stashed HTs right before I would give her the veggies! :tap Just like a little kid to spoil her dinner! So since she was eating her Henry's anyway, I pulled out the HTs to see what would happen. She has increased her veggie intake, and now I am just giving her a few HTs every few days. So, maybe decreasing Squirrel's access to the Oxbow will increase her interest in the veggies? It is kind of a trick balancing everything just right. She won't eat the Henry's blocks at all?

[island rehabber]

I don't mean to confuse anyone here, but truthfully if a squirrel is eating 70% of her diet in quality blocks like HT or Oxbow, that is the wildlife-veterinarian RECOMMENDED diet for captive squirrels. Dr. Alicia Emerson, I'm told, actually feels that our TSB diet is very good but may be "too heavy on veggies, not enough emphasis on good rodent block". Dr E is probably one of the best squirrel experts in this country, so I wouldn't worry about ANY squirrel eating "too many blocks". The problem is usually that they won't eat enough, like my little brats. :shakehead

BTW, where do you guys buy the Oxbow Regal Rat blocks? I cannot find them anywhere around here.

[LaurelLynn]

I don't mean to confuse anyone here, but truthfully if a squirrel is eating 70% of her diet in quality blocks like HT or Oxbow, that is the wildlife-veterinarian RECOMMENDED diet for captive squirrels. Dr. Alicia Emerson, I'm told, actually feels that our TSB diet is very good but may be "too heavy on veggies, not enough emphasis on good rodent block". Dr E is probably one of the best squirrel experts in this country, so I wouldn't worry about ANY squirrel eating "too many blocks". The problem is usually that they won't eat enough, like my little brats. :shakehead

BTW, where do you guys buy the Oxbow Regal Rat blocks? I cannot find them anywhere around here.


I order mine from either the pet360 website or from Amazon :-)

I just got a new 20lb bag. My squirrels all really like it better over other store brands

[LaurelLynn]

Approximately how much does yours eat in a day? She often opts for it over the healthier vegetables. So as suggested I probably do need to cut back on the block enough to encourage her to increase her veggie intake.

It's hard for me to say for sure because I just keep everyone's bowls full constantly , but she doesn't eat as much now as when she was younger and still growing. She used to empty her dish every day.

Mine have always eaten veggies the same with constant access to pellets as if they don't but they seem to like to have food always available

[SugarBugFerret]

I don't mean to confuse anyone here, but truthfully if a squirrel is eating 70% of her diet in quality blocks like HT or Oxbow, that is the wildlife-veterinarian RECOMMENDED diet for captive squirrels. Dr. Alicia Emerson, I'm told, actually feels that our TSB diet is very good but may be "too heavy on veggies, not enough emphasis on good rodent block". Dr E is probably one of the best squirrel experts in this country, so I wouldn't worry about ANY squirrel eating "too many blocks". The problem is usually that they won't eat enough, like my little brats. :shakehead

BTW, where do you guys buy the Oxbow Regal Rat blocks? I cannot find them anywhere around here.


70%? Wow. Well then I guess I won't worry quite so much about the HT blocks. Thank you IR!

[Skayda]

I wondered about that. She only looks chubby to me when she's hunched up. She's nearly impossible to get a good picture of because she's always running around, so I apologize for my presence in the pic (and the brew in my hand). But this demonstrates it best: http://imgur.com/d0PKovO

She looks skinnier when she's stretched out or moving around. Maybe I'm just bparanoid. My boyfriend's been thinking the same thing though.

My girls are the same way, weight-wise. They look plump when sitting but skinny when stretching, running around. She's adorable by the way.

[pappy1264]

With this batch of babies, I have been doing the mainly block diet (70-80% of daily food intake) and my babies are all very healthy, they love their block and they eat them all, plus all their greens/veggies. I used to do more of the veggies/greens, but I had found so much waste (and wintering over 34 that gets expensive!) So I decided to try this way and I am very happy with the results. Almost no waste, and everyone is healthy, great fur, and not stashing either, they are actually eating them!:serene I use Mazuri blocks.

[<3MeSomeSquirrels]

This is a huge relief. The Oxbow is definitely near 70-80% of her diet. She eats arugula almost daily. Little pieces of carrots and radish. She likes cucumber too. But she loves carrots. She subsists on blocks though. Good. That's a huge relief.

I get the Oxbow at Petsmart locally.