My boys tail

[My boys]

Hi all
I just noticed that my Baby Boy's tail is not fluffy anymore. I have had him for 7 1/2 years & only now his tail (for 2 days) hasn't fluffed. Can someone tell me why please. He only eats veggies & fruit & once a day he gets a taste of peanut butter when my dogs get meds!
Thank you in advance
Eve :dance:dance

[stepnstone]

Hi all
I just noticed that my Baby Boy's tail is not fluffy anymore. I have had him for 7 1/2 years & only now his tail (for 2 days) hasn't fluffed. Can someone tell me why please.
He only eats veggies & fruit & once a day he gets a taste of peanut butter when my dogs get meds! Thank you in advance
Eve :dance:dance

A squirrel's tail is an indicator of it's health...
Honestly, it's hard to believe you've had him for 7 1/2 years on a diet like this. :shakehead
It is seriously inadequate to a squirrel's nutritional requirements.
Squirrels require a pretty high calcium intake and there is no way he can obtain
the needed calcium with what he has been eating. Vegetables alone can not
supply it, fruit won't and peanuts (peanut butter) can rob the body of calcium.
Personally I would start him on the mbd protocol....
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?168-MBD-(Metabolic-Bone-Disease)

The other thing that can cause this I can think of could be an unseen injury such as cat scratch
which would require antibiotics. I had this tail incident happen to one of mine after an encounter
with my cat. Are their any other animals that this boy has come in contact with?

Here is the link to the healthy diet, please notice the requirement for a good quality rodent block
which should be the primary staple to their diet.
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?44440-Healthy-Diet-for-Pet-Squirrels

[My boys]

A squirrel's tail is an indicator of it's health...
Honestly, it's hard to believe you've had him for 7 1/2 years on a diet like this. :shakehead
It is seriously inadequate to a squirrel's nutritional requirements.
Squirrels require a pretty high calcium intake and there is no way he can obtain
the needed calcium with what he has been eating. Vegetables alone can not
supply it, fruit won't and peanuts (peanut butter) can rob the body of calcium.
Personally I would start him on the mbd protocol....
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?168-MBD-(Metabolic-Bone-Disease)

The other thing that can cause this I can think of could be an unseen injury such as cat scratch
which would require antibiotics. I had this tail incident happen to one of mine after an encounter
with my cat. Are their any other animals that this boy has come in contact with?

Here is the link to the healthy diet, please notice the requirement for a good quality rodent block
which should be the primary staple to their diet.
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?44440-Healthy-Diet-for-Pet-Squirrels








Thank you for the reply, I have him on a diet from the list of things from the forum & he is on a rodent block I should have said that too. There is a lot of times he doesn't want to eat it! I'm going to have to come up with an idea to get him to eat it.
I was thinking it was his health. He has a history of MBD that is why I didn't release him. He is around dogs & cats but they don't go by his cage at all.

[stepnstone]

Thank you for the reply, I have him on a diet from the list of things from the forum & he is on a rodent block I should have said that too. There is a lot of times he doesn't want to eat it! I'm going to have to come up with an idea to get him to eat it.
I was thinking it was his health. He has a history of MBD that is why I didn't release him. He is around dogs & cats but they don't go by his cage at all.

Yeah, we are kind of anal around here on rodent block... :gigg
What type do you feed? Have you tried another type to see if he will eat it better?

I was on my way out the door and trying to answer you quickly but there are other reasons
for the lack of "fluff." Sometimes they may fall, miss a jump, get a little to rambunctious and
hurt their own tails. It could be just sore and that is why he's not blowing it out, had this happen
to a friend without knowing why and it resolved itself within a few days.
Feel down the bone of tail and see if it's sensitive or if you can feel any swelling or bump on it

[My boys]

Yeah, we are kind of anal around here on rodent block... :gigg
What type do you feed? Have you tried another type to see if he will eat it better?

I was on my way out the door and trying to answer you quickly but there are other reasons
for the lack of "fluff." Sometimes they may fall, miss a jump, get a little to rambunctious and
hurt their own tails. It could be just sore and that is why he's not blowing it out, had this happen
to a friend without knowing why and it resolved itself within a few days.
Feel down the bone of tail and see if it's sensitive or if you can feel any swelling or bump on it


Hi thank you for the quick answer though, I felt like a jerk not saying rodent block. It isn't a very high quality like Henry's Block it's Wild Harvest from Walmart, but I am going to go get some block today from the pet store. I know that is a better. I did trick him today & put some almonds on the block & he wasn't happy (he yelled @ me!) but he ate it!
A few years ago he injured his tail & the hair grew back maybe that is giving him problems too.
Thank you so much for your help

[stepnstone]

Here are some better recommendations for commercial block that can be purchased at most pet supplies.
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=303340&stc=1https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=303341&stc=1https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=303342&stc=1
It would be the blue bag of Kaytee's products.

[My boys]

I am going to get him some Kaytee today!
I appreciate your help more than I can say in words!
:Love_Icon:Love_Icon:Love_Icon