Help past a roadblock.

[Nosetotail]

Hello. This is my first post to the board and I am brand new to rehabbing. My family took on rehabbing a pinky that was just turning grey. We call him Hammy and he is about 12 weeks old now. A few weeks later, we were contacted by one of my coworkers who found four eyes closed with fur squirrels at the base of a cable guard on an electric pole. He was working on a high voltage electrical cable fault, and I'm afraid that the momma was the cause. They opened their eyes a couple of weeks after Hammy and were a bit wilder.

Well, when it was time to start introducing food, Hammy would not eat rodent block, but the wilds took right to it. Hammy was just content to drink Fox Valley 20/50. Several days had passed with no success getting Hammy to eat the block, so we broke down and introduced nuts, fruits, acorns, and my wife insisted on plain cheerios which I have banned. We have since added fresh greens, carrots, brocoli, and green beans along with some green oak and hickory branches with leaves. We put a variety in their cage, and have lost track of whether or not they are eating rodent block, and I'm certain Hammy won't touch it. Part of my problem is that I had to work Hurricane restoration(Irma) for a weak and a half and lost control of their diet right when it mattered. The other part is that my wife doesn't want to accept that they need to be primarily on rodent block, and she believes that nuts and acorns are their primary nutrition. Incidentally, we are using Mazuri Rodent Block which I'm certain is not as tasty as Henry's(but is a bit cheaper).

My idea is to strip the cage down of all food but rodent block, and cut back to no more than two feedings of formula. I know they should be close to being weened, but we are still feeding them 10 to 12 cc's two to three times a day. Any suggestions would be appreciated.




And always remember, squirrels are a lineman's best friend. :grin2

[lennysmom]

Hi Nosetail, welcome to TSB.:Welcome I'm glad you found us.:)
The nuts and fruit need to be cut from their diet for now. While weaning, the only thing they need to be eating besides formula is a good quality rodent block and some healthy veggies. Once they are eating healthy blocks and veggies well and are weaned, you can add in occasional fruits in small quantities. Nuts are only to be given as treats and limited to two a day. Not eating a proper diet can lead to a very painful and deadly bone disease called MBD. Here is a link to the chart for a healthy diet for squirrels :
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?44440-Healthy-Diet-for-Pet-Squirrels
What kind of rodent blocks are you feeding? Have you tried the Henry's blocks? Almost all of my weaning babies have taken well to them. They can be purchased at www.henryspets.com

[Nosetotail]

Hi. I am using Mazuri mouse and rodent block. I picked that because Henry's blocks are about five times more expensive. If I do order Henry's, should I go ahead and get the adult formula. They around 10 and 12 weeks old.

[lennysmom]

Hi. I am using Mazuri mouse and rodent block. I picked that because Henry's blocks are about five times more expensive. If I do order Henry's, should I go ahead and get the adult formula. They around 10 and 12 weeks old.

If you order the Henry's blocks for a squirrel that age, the growth blocks are usually recommended for squirrels 6 months and under, but if I have a picky eater, I will sometimes also use the picky blocks.

[kcassidy]

Hey guys:

I'm not trying to upset the apple cart so this isn't advice it's more of a question.

I am not that strict with the diet since all my squirrels are being released. They all get the blocks as their very first food, but I let them have nuts as well. I've never had an MDB squirrel and I've been doing this for 8+ years.

Does anyone else do it this way?

Good job on saving all these babies Nosetotail :D

[Nosetotail]

Well. We linemen need to keep population strong.



Just joking. Im pretty attached to Hammy.

[stepnstone]

Hey guys:

I'm not trying to upset the apple cart so this isn't advice it's more of a question.

I am not that strict with the diet since all my squirrels are being released. They all get the blocks as their very first food, but I let them have nuts as well. I've never had an MDB squirrel and I've been doing this for 8+ years.
Does anyone else do it this way?
Good job on saving all these babies Nosetotail :D
Really?? http://www.sherv.net/cm/emo/word/agree-to-disagree-smiley-emoticon.gif
I sit on this board putting on new registers all the time and have to read where this practice has been done and now we either have to be posting their babies at the Rainbow bridge or be nursing them through mbd and hope the squirrel survives. I'm glad you've never had a mbd squirrel, it's certinally no picnic to have to go through. Regardless of 8 years or 30 I personally believe this is sending out the wrong message when diet is key to raising and releasing healthy babies.

[Nosetotail]

So. Can anyone tell me how long a 12 oz bag of Henry's would typically last for 5 squirrels approaching 200 grams?

If they don't take to the mazuri, I think I will try the adult picky blocks. They are still taking formula so that should make up the difference, or am I wrong?

[Jen413]

HHB's are supplements. They only need two of them a day (in addition to healthy veggies from the list) unlike the other rodent blocks. One bag is about a months supply for one squirrel.

[Nosetotail]

Thank you.

[SammysMom]

I want to assure you that feeding Mazuri is totally fine. Feeding 6 squirrels can get very expensive and Mazuri is a good quality block. I do feed HHBs to some of my squirrels, but if you need to choose a less expensive block, Mazuri is a good choice.

[Jen413]

I feed HHB to my nonreleasable. I've also bought kaytee, mazuri, and Harlan teklad 2018 blocks.

[Nosetotail]

Well nearing the end of day 2 of the mazuri rodent block crash diet. My squirrels seem to be uninterested and the blocks. They would rather eat the bark off the ranch I put in their cage.

Should I wait the hunger strike out or try something different. They are getting three formula feedings a day at about 7% of their body weight. I'm wondering if I should cut back to 2 feedings a day.

Or I thought I could crush the Missouri blocks and mold them back with a little honey, or would that have too much sugar in it?

[cava]

I think that would be a lot of sugar and then they might never touch the without the honey on them. Honey strike and I imagine they'd lick it off and throw it on the floor.

You are still feeding three times a day at max percentage of body weight so they aren't starving and can be picky about the block. It's going to take a little time for them to eat it. You still have Kaytee and Harlan if you wanted to experiment with another brand.

Last year I went the HHB and veggie route. This year I have four overwintering and I will try traditional block because it's more economical. I look forward to seeing how things play out with your babies.

[Nosetotail]

I estimate its probably 7%, and 2 to 3 times a day depending on how busy we are. However I quit weighing when they were eating lots of solids. I'll try to weigh them again to be a little more accurate.

I might give the homemade recipe a try.