Yearly blood test?

[Seymour's mom]

My NR Seymour will be 3 this August, he's had mbd at 1 year old and 2. Since then I've given him a more strict diet. He gets 2 Henry's blocks in the morning, then romaine,dandelion greens, arugula, spinach, oranges, pineapple, papaya,blackberries. The occasional nut. I'm still worried about him getting mbd again, should I be getting regular blood tests just to check on his levels?

[Diggie's Friend]

Spinach is one of a number of high Ca:P ratio and far higher Ca:Ox leafy greens and vegetables sources, which due to the higher ratio of Oxalic acid to the Calcium these leafy green sources contain in the plant, were found to not provide any calcium in rat in the body of rats, and additionally cause the calcium of loss in other foods they are digested with upon their digestion.


Oxalates, expressed as anhydrous oxalic acid, have been shown to occur to the extent of about 10% on a dry basis in spinach, New Zealand spinach, Swiss chard, beet tops, lamb's quarter, poke, purslane and rhubarb. Traces were found in nearly all vegetables and fruits.

If to a diet of meat, peas, carrots and sweet potatoes, relatively low in calcium but permitting good though not maximum growth and bone formation, spinach is added to the extent of about 8% to supply 60% of the calcium, a high percentage of deaths occurs among rats fed between the age of 21 and 90 days. Reproduction is impossible. The bones are extremely low in calcium, tooth structure is disorganized and dentine poorly calcified. Spinach not only supplies no available calcium but renders unavailable considerable of that of the other foods. Considerable of the oxalate appears in the urine, much more in the feces.

Turnip greens, mustard greens, kale and collards, greens with negligible oxalates, under similar conditions produce excellent animals that deposit four times as much calcium per
unit body weight as those receiving spinach.

For this reason (spinach, New Zealand spinach, Swiss chard, beet tops, lamb's quarter, poke, purslane and rhubarb) should be replaced with (Turnip greens, kale and collards, mustard greens with negliable oxalates). In rodents the other nutrients that these sources contain raw do not outweight the loss of calcium that that cause overtime in their bones which is a far more serious issue when it comes to maintaining long term metabolic and bone health. Some sources that include collard greens, and mustard greens require boiling to reduce the high oxalates in support of any calcium being made available from them in the diet. That this wasn't the case with these two, and many other leafy greens and vegetables is a scientifically undeniable fact, for though 80 years ago when this study was done these and other sources noted did then provide calcium raw. Subsequent studies have well confirmed these findings in rats, and related studies in tree squirrels merit applying thes findings to their diets as well.

[Diggie's Friend]

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?59782-Mustards-collards-kale&p=1255071#post1255071

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?57879-GMO-sources-in-Oxbow-and-likely-other-commercial-rodent-block&p=1258916#post1258916

[Diggie's Friend]

With a Vet that is familiar with MBD in rats, an x-ray of the bones can show whether there is low bone density. Putting squirrels lightly under anesthesia for a few minutes usually isn't an issue. We have had that done with two of our adult squirrels to do a blood test, after which they were back to normal within a few minutes.

Just be sure to support their blood sugar level by feeding them before traveling to the Vet, and then following recovery and for the next few days by place a drop of organic maple syrup, or honey, or dark (not blackstrap) molasses on the gums to support keeping the bloodsugar up. Taking a source with you is what I would advise. If you have a diabetic squirrel inform your vet before having them under to do the bloodtest or x-ray.

[Seymour's mom]

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?59782-Mustards-collards-kale&p=1255071#post1255071

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?57879-GMO-sources-in-Oxbow-and-likely-other-commercial-rodent-block&p=1258916#post1258916


I wish this was in English lol

[Diggie's Friend]

I realize it is allot to take in. Just follow the recommendations of what to feed and not to feed.

[Diggie's Friend]

Both the collards and mustard greens would need to be boiled before feeding, as otherwise these greens raw these would not provide calcium to the body of rodents once they are digested. For even so they both contain a high Calcium to Phosphorus ratio 'in the plant itself', once digested the far greater amount of (soluble) oxalates that these sources contain act like "Pac man" gobbling up calcium carbonate, forming into the larger molecule of Calcium Oxalate, that the body of mammals are not able to utilize, or further breakdown when this form is absorbed into the bloodstream. In tree squirrels allot of the Calcium oxalate is lost out the urine, yet much is also lost out the bowel. That which is lost out the urine can be a problem if it is a higher amount on a regular basis, as this is what kidney stones are formed from. Feeding foods that include low to moderate levels of oxalates that the bodies of thes animals can handle is the safer choice.

[Seymour's mom]

Thank you😊😊

[Diggie's Friend]

Note here.


Turnip greens, mustard greens, kale and collards, greens with negligible oxalates, under similar conditions produce excellent animals that deposit four times as much calcium per unit body weight as those receiving spinach.

This quote is from a study back in 1939. This was before the establishment of modern farming practices, the use of synthetic Nitrogen fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides, and GMOs and Glycosates, when "Turnip greens, mustard greens, kale and collards, greens with negligible oxalates", were the norm. Due to the longterm negative impact of these farming practices on our soils, Mustard Greens and Collards and most other vegetables have a higher value of oxalates, which requires boiling to reduce in order to provide calcium in the body of single gut mammals like tree squirrels from these sources.

The times noted for boiling various leafy greens are estimates, as they vary with altitude. To keep the greens from turning into green glop it is best to do a test run with a small piece of the leaf you want to feed to determine optimum boiling time. The odor of sulfur is also an indication of over boiling with 'Brassica-cruciferous' leafy greens and vegetables.

All leafy greens should be vigorously rinsed/washed and then blanched for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes minimun just to remove possible nematode and insect contamination. This is a small thing to do to prevent a possible serious life threatening infection caused from endoparasites on the leafy greens, and stalks green vegetables.