SQUIRRELS HAVING TROUBLE FEEDING

[stevetheartist]

Hi, Everyone. I am the guy who posted about a dwarf (perhaps) squirrel (Claire) and a piebald squirrel (Moonbeam) five or more weeks ago. My wife and I did not know if they needed special help, and many of you were superb in your wisdom. I updated you with more photos, but we have not seen either squirrel at the cemetery where my wife goes daily since those initial posts. She was going to photograph Claire next to a ruler to check her size, as some of you asked us to do. But WE HAVE NEVER SEEN EITHER OF THEM SINCE. It is bizarre...you share your ideas with us, we try to implement them (including calcium carbonate in the almond butter which Claire could eat easier that other foods), and we never see them again.

NOW THERE IS ANOTHER PROBLEM. Since that time, we have had near hurricane-force winds and severe hail, which have knocked down many entire trees and even more branches. The squirrels were in what appeared to be literal shock at the damage to their trees caused by the wind and hail. Then came a new predator to the cemetery: a prowling cat. It was there for over two weeks every day, hours each day. The squirrels simply would not come down out of the trees. The wind, hail and cat have kept most of the squirrels in the trees, apparently, for Pamela has seldom seen more than a couple squirrels each day. Or if she sees them, they won't come down below some safe level. She used to be simply surrounded by a dozen or more at one time. Think Snow White in the Walt Disney movie. Now things have gotten even worse. Apparently a pair of red-tailed hawks have had two babies this spring, and the infants are making their baby version of hawk cries almost non-stop, wherever they are perching. Now the squirrels REALLY are staying hidden. What is worse, the ones that do appear are almost skin and bones, according to my wife. They were all plump and seemingly well-fed throughout the winter, even allowing for their winter fur coats.

It really seems that given all the crazy events this spring, the poor squirrels are afraid to come out to forage for food. We are not there all day, of course, but just the condition of all the squirrels Pamela has seen recently suggests huge problems with the whole population. I don't know if there is anything two humans can do to help, since it is a public cemetery we don't own. But we would like to do anything that might help them. I am not even sure what to suggest. If this were on our own acreage, perhaps I could concoct something. But I don't really even know enough about what help the squirrels might need nutritionally to know how to proceed. Is there anything we can reasonably do to help them? Please give us any advice you can, for we at least want to try.

For those of you who did not read any of my previous posts about Claire and Moonbeam, this cemetery is all treed with deciduous trees (all types) and conifers. It is one square mile in size in Colorado Springs, CO. The normal high temperatures at this time are about 75 degrees, with lows in the 40s or 50s. We have had plenty of rain for now in our semi-arid climate.

[Mel1959]

Thank you for continuing to try to help these guys. It does sound like they are having a hard time with all the disasters that have befallen them. I'm not sure what you can actually do about the Hawks in the area since it's not your property. I can give you some ideas, but whether you can implement them is another story. Hawks don't like shiny, moving objects so it has been recommended to hang shiny items like cd discs in trees the squirrels frequent. Hawks are a squirrel lovers worst nightmare. I fear that Claire and Moonbeam may have been targets for the adult Hawks. :sadness:sadness

As for food. It will be difficult to feed them if they won't come down. Is there any way to provide food up in the tree? Otherwise I would suggest putting it at the base of the trees, so the squirrels don't have to venture far from the tree to eat. If you want food that is packed full off vitamins and good stuff, then I would suggest buying some Henrys Healthy Blocks, from Henrys Healthy pets online. I have successfully gotten my wilds to eat them. There are several different types, wild bites and picky eaters seem to be well liked. You could place several blocks at the base of the trees along with pieces of coconut, avocado and a variety of nuts, both shelled and unshelled.

I hope some of these suggestions will help your wilds. They are lucky to have you two looking out for them.

[stevetheartist]

Thank you for continuing to try to help these guys. It does sound like they are having a hard time with all the disasters that have befallen them. I'm not sure what you can actually do about the Hawks in the area since it's not your property. I can give you some ideas, but whether you can implement them is another story. Hawks don't like shiny, moving objects so it has been recommended to hang shiny items like cd discs in trees the squirrels frequent. Hawks are a squirrel lovers worst nightmare. I fear that Claire and Moonbeam may have been targets for the adult Hawks. :sadness:sadness

As for food. It will be difficult to feed them if they won't come down. Is there any way to provide food up in the tree? Otherwise I would suggest putting it at the base of the trees, so the squirrels don't have to venture far from the tree to eat. If you want food that is packed full off vitamins and good stuff, then I would suggest buying some Henrys Healthy Blocks, from Henrys Healthy pets online. I have successfully gotten my wilds to eat them. There are several different types, wild bites and picky eaters seem to be well liked. You could place several blocks at the base of the trees along with pieces of coconut, avocado and a variety of nuts, both shelled and unshelled.

I hope some of these suggestions will help your wilds. They are lucky to have you two looking out for them.

HI, Mel, thanks so much for a quick reply. I will check out the food you recommended. Since it is a city-owned cemetery, we probably cannot do much about the hawks. My hope was just to find some kinds of really powerhouse food to place in some of the trees we know they either live in or frequent. Sadly, many of the squirrels my wife has spent so much time with now are nowhere to be seen, and given the predators of late, that is always disconcerting. BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP! I love the people on this site.

[island rehabber]

HI, Mel, thanks so much for a quick reply. I will check out the food you recommended. Since it is a city-owned cemetery, we probably cannot do much about the hawks. My hope was just to find some kinds of really powerhouse food to place in some of the trees we know they either live in or frequent. Sadly, many of the squirrels my wife has spent so much time with now are nowhere to be seen, and given the predators of late, that is always disconcerting. BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP! I love the people on this site.

Super-excellent advice from Mel1959, so I'll just add that if there is any way to place a nestbox/feeder in one of the trees where squirrels could peacefully eat without being vulnerable to the raptors that would be great. I'm thinking of the type I won at our raffle at this year's Gathering of Nuts....it has a barrier around both entrances so squirrels are protected once they get in....you could fill it with yummies. I'll look for a pic!

[stevetheartist]

Thank you, Island Rehabber. I may ask the cemetery office people if this is something they would allow us to place in any of the many trees in the cemetery. They seem to be pretty cool people, but the best guy retired a couple of years ago. But now I have another perplexing question regarding what to feed them.

After Mel recommended Henry's food for the squirrels, I looked at it on line and was surprised that several kinds they make specifically for squirrels contained peanuts as the main ingredient. Of course, they also make foods for squirrels with no peanuts at all. When my wife started going daily to the cemetery because of her need to escape electricity completely for at least a few hours each day, we read on this site in a post by Island Rehabber (February 2012) that the TSB "cautions squirrel lovers to avoid feeding peanuts, sunflower seeds, and corn." Is that still considered the best approach? I myself forgot to avoid the sunflower seeds, which my wife started using in small amounts. It sounds like we need to quit doing that. I am not trying to stir up any controversy, just to learn from all of you what is really best for these marvelous creatures who quickly worm their ways into our hearts.

[Mel1959]

You are right that we always caution about feeding nuts, but that is primarily for captive squirrels that can't balance their own diets because they are captive. Wild squirrels have access to many different foods and therefore rarely develop Metabolic Bone Disease, which is the concern if captive squirrels get too many nuts. The preferred 2:1 calcium to phosphorus ratio is way off balance in nuts and too many depletes the calcium in the squirrels bones.

The Henrys blocks are nut based, but they also have added calcium and many other ingredients that make them healthy for squirrels. Two blocks a day (along with veggies) is a healthy diet for a captive squirrel. Wild squirrels will benefit from the added vitamins and calcium, too, and because they are nut based they will usually eat them. Therefore they are better for them than straight nuts, but more expensive. This is why I recommended a mixture of Henry's blocks and a variety of nuts.

I also give my wild squirrels a bowl full of veggies occasionally. They don't eat all of what I put out but consistently eat the avocado and coconut, which is why I suggested those foods. They also like banana.

I hope you can put some type of nest box or feeding station up in the trees. That would be very helpful for your friends. :grin2

[stevetheartist]

You are right that we always caution about feeding nuts, but that is primarily for captive squirrels that can't balance their own diets because they are captive. Wild squirrels have access to many different foods and therefore rarely develop Metabolic Bone Disease, which is the concern if captive squirrels get too many nuts. The preferred 2:1 calcium to phosphorus ratio is way off balance in nuts and too many depletes the calcium in the squirrels bones.

The Henrys blocks are nut based, but they also have added calcium and many other ingredients that make them healthy for squirrels. Two blocks a day (along with veggies) is a healthy diet for a captive squirrel. Wild squirrels will benefit from the added vitamins and calcium, too, and because they are nut based they will usually eat them. Therefore they are better for them than straight nuts, but more expensive. This is why I recommended a mixture of Henry's blocks and a variety of nuts.

I also give my wild squirrels a bowl full of veggies occasionally. They don't eat all of what I put out but consistently eat the avocado and coconut, which is why I suggested those foods. They also like banana.

I hope you can put some type of nest box or feeding station up in the trees. That would be very helpful for your friends. :grin2

Hi, Mel, thanks once again for the useful information! We will seek to follow all of your good advice. I will have to get permission from the cemetery staff to place any permanent devices in the trees, but I hope they won't mind. It would certainly bless the squirrels. How encouraging it is to have people like you who can answer our questions and fill in our missing knowledge.