Chubby or distended stomach?

[<3MeSomeSquirrels]

I don't know if I only just now realized that my squirrel (5 months old) is overweight or if she is having serious GI issues. I can't think of any reason for GI issues. I know I've been out of produce of any kind for the last two days and all she's gotten is rodent block. Maybe she's digesting it more slowly as a result? She is still pooping and it looks healthy and normal. She doesn't appear to be in any pain.

I can't remember if she looked this chubby a few days ago or not. Or even earlier today. I can't remember. All I know is that right now she looks large to me. Does anyone know of any signs of something serious I should watch out for in the next day or so? It's likely she's just overweight -I'm oblivious to bodily changes that occur over time, and I'm also quite a worrier. If not though, what should I watch for?

If it *is* just weight issues, how can I control her diet better? I'm not as good as I ought to be about providing a variety of produce, but most mornings she gets arugula and rodent block. I refill the rodent block in the afternoon most days and add some more arugula. When I have it, I throw in a variety of other squirrel-approved veggies, and on rare occasion, fruits and nuts - just a few little pieces (1 pecan half ever few days, 2-3 small diced cubes of apple/pear or a grape or two even less commonly). She eats the rodent block voraciously though and doesn't seem good at self-moderation. At what point do I "step in" to moderate rather than "free flow" the rodent block?

[SammysMom]

We would really need a picture to be able to comment on her tummy. From what I am readying, she needs more veggies to be a healthy squirrel though.

[<3MeSomeSquirrels]

I love the squirrel diet sheet I found on this site, but I'm very confused about what to feed her still. If 70-80% of her diet should be rodent block, and most of the 20-30% of produce should be a leafy green from category 1 (like arugula, bok choy, or broccoli), what percentage should be other vegetables on a day to day basis? People got onto me for giving her too much radish pieces, so I backed off to make sure she got more category 1 stuff.

I guess I'm just paranoid. If she already has a weight problem, people have seemed to discourage me from giving her stuff from other categories.

[<3MeSomeSquirrels]

And in the end, I still worry about how much rodent block to give her if her issue really comes back to self-moderation. Even when I increase vegetables, she doesn't decrease her rodent block intake any.

[SammysMom]

We really do need to see a picture to give an opinion on her weight. She should have a variety of veggies daily. Yes, most should come from the leafy greens list, but a bit of sweet potato, sugarsnap peas etc is really okay. It is all about moderation.

[<3MeSomeSquirrels]

This is an awful picture, but it's the best I can do at the moment. She went right back to her nest to sleep. Unfortunately, this angle doesn't illustrate the issue as well.

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[SammysMom]

She looks perfectly beautiful!

[lennysmom]

I might add that I overwintered a female one winter that seemed to get very chubby overnight at about 5 months too and nothing had changed in her diet at all. Since she shared a cage with a male squirrel, I was so worried that she might even be pregnant or possibly severely constipated. Neither turned out to be true and she was just fine - all I could assume is that she just hit a certain stage of maturity that caused weight gain. She had always been so sleek and skinny, but after that she remained a bit chubby. :tilt

[<3MeSomeSquirrels]

Thank you both! That is reassuring - especially that yours did the same, LennysMom. Thanks again, y'all.