Eating and losing weight concern

[BabiGurl]

Ok so I have 2 17week old squirrels o found them in my back yard when they was just 3weeks old now they are 17 weeks and just last week or so they havent had much of an appetite, well they act hungry but iv tried every veggie there is 2 try they just won't hardly eat anything, they use to love avaccotos between the both of them they would almost eat a full 1 in 1 setting but now they won't even eat that, I dnt have a credit card 2 order henreys Rodent block so I don't have none of those I can't find them in any pet store around!!! Anyways they have lost a bunch of weight and it worries me so much!!! Please help me, o & is to cold to release them or are they old enough for release yet bc they want outside so bad!!! It breaks my heart 2 see how much weight they have lost!!! Please help me!!! The middle 2 pics are before & the top & bottom pics are now

[GoldenEyes]

BabiGurl, what kind of formula were you giving the two squirrels when they were babies? When were they weaned and switched to solid food? Besides avocados, what other veggies did they eat well before they started losing their appetites? I'm going to PM you names of two Wildlife Rehabilitators in your area who share one phone number. Give them a call tomorrow and ask if they could take two squirrels to care for that might have Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD), which might take a few months to recover from. Make sure they will not euthanize. Please keep us posted.

Contact names and number has been sent to PM.

[Mel1959]

Have you ever fed any type of rodent block? Local pet store chains sell Oxbow Regal Rat which is a pellet type block or Mazuri rat block. At this stage of their lives you might have difficulty getting them to eat it without grinding it and making it into boo balls. Something is definitely not right for them to not want to eat anything. Goldeneyes is spot on with MBD concerns. MBD is metabolic bone disease and it is the result of not enough calcium in their diet. The calcium is pulled from the bones resulting in very weak bones and will eventually kill the squirrel if left untreated.

Are the squirrels still active?

[GoldenEyes]

Hi BabiGurl,

Have you tried giving your little ones either the Oxbow Regal Rat or Mazuri rat blocks that Mel1959 mentioned? Let us know how they're doing.:)

[redwuff]

How are your babies doing:grouphug. We would love to hear back

[BabiGurl]

BabiGurl, what kind of formula were you giving the two squirrels when they were babies? When were they weaned and switched to solid food? Besides avocados, what other veggies did they eat well before they started losing their appetites? I'm going to PM you names of two Wildlife Rehabilitators in your area who share one phone number. Give them a call tomorrow and ask if they could take two squirrels to care for that might have Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD), which might take a few months to recover from. Make sure they will not euthanize. Please keep us posted.

Contact names and number has been sent to PM.



They was drinking esbilac puppy replacer formula, & they liked carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, brussel sprouts, zucchini, & zucchini squash, they have not so much lost their appetite, their just not liking what I give them, they take a couple of bites of each thing I give them & throw it down & act like they want something different

[BabiGurl]

Have you ever fed any type of rodent block? Local pet store chains sell Oxbow Regal Rat which is a pellet type block or Mazuri rat block. At this stage of their lives you might have difficulty getting them to eat it without grinding it and making it into boo balls. Something is definitely not right for them to not want to eat anything. Goldeneyes is spot on with MBD concerns. MBD is metabolic bone disease and it is the result of not enough calcium in their diet. The calcium is pulled from the bones resulting in very weak bones and will eventually kill the squirrel if left untreated.

Are the squirrels still active?



Yes my squirrels are still alive, I don't think it is MBD because they don't act like their hurting, the only thing is they're just not liking what I feed them!!! No I haven't tried the Oxbow Regal Rat or Mazuri rat block because I can't find it in the pet stores in my area. They still have an appetite they're hungry they just don't want what I give them, I have also tried a rat and mouse food from the pet stores, they seem to really like it the most, except this hamster and gerbil food that I got they don't like it too much, but they do have an appetite they're just not wanting what I give them, so that's why I don't think its MBD

[GoldenEyes]

They was drinking esbilac puppy replacer formula, & they liked carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, brussel sprouts, zucchini, & zucchini squash, they have not so much lost their appetite, their just not liking what I give them, they take a couple of bites of each thing I give them & throw it down & act like they want something different

Welcome back, BabiGurl. It's good to hear from you and I'm glad your babies are doing well. You've been taking good care of them and giving them a good amount of veggies. It sounds like you have picky eaters on your hands. Here's a site that gives you tips on what to do with picky eaters:

https://www.henryspets.com/nutrition-info/

[redwuff]

Yes my squirrels are still alive, I don't think it is MBD because they don't act like their hurting, the only thing is they're just not liking what I feed them!!! No I haven't tried the Oxbow Regal Rat or Mazuri rat block because I can't find it in the pet stores in my area. They still have an appetite they're hungry they just don't want what I give them, I have also tried a rat and mouse food from the pet stores, they seem to really like it the most, except this hamster and gerbil food that I got they don't like it too much, but they do have an appetite they're just not wanting what I give them, so that's why I don't think its MBD

MBD is a condition that often seems like they are fine one minute and the next time you look at them they are dragging their back legs or having a seizure or dead on the bottom of the cage. It seems to come on very quickly. Please don’t think we are picking on you. Most of us here have had to learn the hard way about squirrel diet and MBD. It happened to our squirrels cos we did not know enough. Some of us had our own squirrels die from it, and others caught it in time and through a lot of hard work, we were able to turn our squirrels around.

Please do this...give each of your boys a tums antacids pill. Basically MBD is not having enough calcium in a diet, so calcium is leached from bones, teeth, and the brain. That is why you see the symptoms I mentioned above. Tums are fill of calcium. Often squirrels will just eat a tums cos they know they need the calcium. Not always, so if they don’t eat the tums please don’t think that they don’t need calcium.

You MUST get your beloveds on a healthy squirrel block. As soon as Henry’s Healthy Pet opens today, I will call and have 3 bags ready for you! Foxers are my absolute favorite squirrel in the world!

[redwuff]

ordered. Check your pms

[BabiGurl]

MBD is a condition that often seems like they are fine one minute and the next time you look at them they are dragging their back legs or having a seizure or dead on the bottom of the cage. It seems to come on very quickly. Please don’t think we are picking on you. Most of us here have had to learn the hard way about squirrel diet and MBD. It happened to our squirrels cos we did not know enough. Some of us had our own squirrels die from it, and others caught it in time and through a lot of hard work, we were able to turn our squirrels around.

Please do this...give each of your boys a tums antacids pill. Basically MBD is not having enough calcium in a diet, so calcium is leached from bones, teeth, and the brain. That is why you see the symptoms I mentioned above. Tums are fill of calcium. Often squirrels will just eat a tums cos they know they need the calcium. Not always, so if they don’t eat the tums please don’t think that they don’t need calcium.

You MUST get your beloveds on a healthy squirrel block. As soon as Henry’s Healthy Pet opens today, I will call and have 3 bags ready for you! Foxers are my absolute favorite squirrel in the world!


What do I do if my girls wont eat the tums I gave them??? I gave them 2 of every flavor that was in the bottle & they wont eat them, they tried them, took a bite or 2 & threw it down!!! So how do I get my girls 2 eat them??? Or what else can I do???

[redwuff]

Leave them in the cage and let the girls pick them up as they will. You said they quit taking formula early. Can you tell me how early? We have not determined MBD so my recommendation is to keep things around that contain levels of calcium. Like tums, deer antlers,a short section of beef bone that has been boiled to clean everything off. And of course starting on a good diet when the HHB s get there. Let us know if the girls won’t ear them. Remember, to put the bags in the freezer.

[BabiGurl]

Leave them in the cage and let the girls pick them up as they will. You said they quit taking formula early. Can you tell me how early? We have not determined MBD so my recommendation is to keep things around that contain levels of calcium. Like tums, deer antlers,a short section of beef bone that has been boiled to clean everything off. And of course starting on a good diet when the HHB s get there. Let us know if the girls won’t ear them. Remember, to put the bags in the freezer.


Well I figured it up, i guess it wasnt 2 early, they was about 12weeks old when they weaned

[redwuff]

Well I figured it up, i guess it wasnt 2 early, they was about 12weeks old when they weaned

Perfect!

[redwuff]

Hi BG,

Here is the recipe for another block that your girls can eat. Sorry for the condition of the paper. You can see that it is well used. I use Mazuri rodent block in this.

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