Storing Acorns, general nutritional advice for my fat NR squirrel

[MotherOfBadgers]

What's the best way to store acorns to keep them fresh? I bought 10lbs of them and there's 100 acorns per pound (I counted). Acorns aren't the only nut in her diet. Not really sure how many I should be giving her per day at this point. I used to give her a fistful of mixed nuts but I've been giving her less and less because she's just getting too fat and I'm finding too much food wasted in the mess tray of the cage and pecans, almonds and acorns especially arent cheap. She also steals bites of just about everything I eat unless I put her in her cage when I eat. I've read all the guides and everything google has to offer but I think asking the experts their opinion for my girl's specific needs is the best course of action.

So three questions I guess..

1- what should I be feeding her and how much/often at this point? She's 1 year and 3 months old. She's over 1lb. I don't have an exact weight. She has maligned teeth if that matters. Doesn't seem to interfere with eating, but I do need to trim the bottom every 9 days on the dot. If I forget, she reminds me.

2- frequency and quantity of:
-acorns
-pecans
-walnuts
-almonds
-henrys wild bites
-pine cones (are these even necessary? she doesn't seem very interested in them and I'd really like to eliminate these)

3- The acorns. I read some stuff about needing moisture to keep them alive and refrigerating them to keep them viable for germination but is any of that important for keeping them as food? What's the best longer-term storage method for acorns as food? Ziplock bag? Re-use one of the plastic twist cap jars one of the other nuts came in? Refrigerate? Freeze? Moisturize? Dry em out?

All advice appreciated. Thank you.

[CrazyCatLady]

I'm sure others will chime in, but here is a food chart to help you out. After everything I've read, I completely avoid acorns due to their toxicity. I'm not sure about fresh.
https://www.henryspets.com/healthy-diet-for-pet-squirrels/

[Rock Monkey]

Without knowing the exact specifics it is hard to be certain, but it seems that you are giving too many nuts and are running the risk of problems with MBD, due to mineral imbalance.

Does your squirrel get any direct sunlight in a cage on a regular basis? This creates vitamin D which is needed to process calcium. This reduces MBD risk, but doesn't eliminate it.

Squirrel appropriate block should contain a specialized assortment of vitamins for captive squirrels which will help keep a healthy mineral balance.

I wouldn't give more than one, or maybe two, small nuts a day.

If taking food from your plate she shouldn't be having anything with added salt or sweet food either. Grains and legumes causes problems as well. A lot depends on what sort of food you eat.

[Mel1959]

Your girls diet should primarily be 2-3 Henrys blocks along with an assortment of healthy greens and veggies (kale, radicchio, arugula, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, bok choy, hard or soft squash) daily. Then add a piece of fruit (blueberry, strawberry, melon, apple, papaya) and an occasional nut. I also offer avocado (no skin or pit) and fresh coconut, daily. I wouldn’t give more than 1 or 2 nuts a day and only if the block and some veggies are eaten. If you are feeding a large quantity of nuts you are setting your girl up for MBD and to be a picky eater....if she’s not already.

As for the storage of the nuts. When you purchased the nuts did they bag/box say how to store them for long term use? I purchase pecans in bulk from a pecan farm. They state on the box to store them in the refrigerator for use in 3 months or store in the freezer for up to a year.

I have never purchased acorns, but if the packaging doesn’t offer any suggestion about storage I’d reach out to the company you purchased them from, or a grower, and get their recommendation. From what I’ve read acorns are more susceptible to aflatoxins than other nuts so the correct storage is critical.

[MotherOfBadgers]

Without knowing the exact specifics it is hard to be certain, but it seems that you are giving too many nuts and are running the risk of problems with MBD, due to mineral imbalance.

Does your squirrel get any direct sunlight in a cage on a regular basis? This creates vitamin D which is needed to process calcium. This reduces MBD risk, but doesn't eliminate it.

Squirrel appropriate block should contain a specialized assortment of vitamins for captive squirrels which will help keep a healthy mineral balance.

I wouldn't give more than one, or maybe two, small nuts a day.

If taking food from your plate she shouldn't be having anything with added salt or sweet food either. Grains and legumes causes problems as well. A lot depends on what sort of food you eat.

Her cage is in front of a well lit window and has a sheet draped over a portion so she can be in shade or sunlight depending on what she wants when she's in the cage, but when I'm home and awake she's not really in the cage, she's out and about in the home. She'll either go in the cage in her pouch or into my shirt to nap, then come back out when she wakes up to either play or grub food if she hears me cooking/eating/etc.

And ok I'm giving her way too many nuts then. Her diet is mostly henrys blocks and nuts.

And no the acorns were foraged and just sold in a cardboard box.

[Rock Monkey]

Her cage is in front of a well lit window and has a sheet draped over a portion so she can be in shade or sunlight depending on what she wants when she's in the cage, but when I'm home and awake she's not really in the cage, she's out and about in the home. She'll either go in the cage in her pouch or into my shirt to nap, then come back out when she wakes up to either play or grub food if she hears me cooking/eating/etc.


Window glass blocks nearly 100% of UV-B rays. It is that part of the spectrum that leads to the creation of vitamin D. Sunlight is very much necessary psychologically, I think, plus it help keep them on a natural sleep/wake cycle with the sun. The sunlight will also provide some warmth, but through a window it will create no vitamin D. The squirrel appropriate block will provide needed supplemental vitamins.

Look over the provided link to the recommended diet and try some of the recommended veggies and see what is liked.

Its great that she has a lot of freedom that should keep her fit and happy which should help a great deal to mitigate behavioral problems.

If somebody just gathered up the acorns on mass there will likely be some bad ones in the batch. Do some reading on the topic regarding the potential problems with acorns and cut some open and examine them. You will likely find some that have gone bad.

[CritterMom]

It doesn't matter where they came from. Acorns are "wet" - they are much like chestnuts inside, much like chestnuts, unlike nuts like walnuts and pecans which are dry. That wetness allows mold and fungus to form very quickly. Outdoors, a squirrel has his choice of millions of acorns - they select and toss those that are bad. Indoors they have only what you give them. If they toss an acorn it is the only one they have, so they are more "valuable" to them and they are more likely to try eating one that a wild would discard because it is their only acorn.

I have tons of oak trees - right now the perimeter of my yard, where I raked them, is ankle deep in the darned things! Despite this, I do not feed them to my squirrel. I see them as far too risky. The mold and mildew they form is toxic and WILL kill them.

If you don't want to discard them or put them out for your wilds, in the very least you need to cut each one in half and closely examine them before feeding...

[MotherOfBadgers]

Yea I did some more in depth reading and went over the acorns again really examining them for imperfections and I've decided to just throw them away. Despite how much I paid I wont ask for a refund because I should've done this research before buying, so money wasted, lesson learned.

Re: the sunlight though... she screams bloody murder when I bring her outdoors. She likes going to visit other people's homes, but the walk from front door to car, car to front door.... she's terrified. Trembling with fear, wont leave my shirt, can't dig in deep enough, screams adult squirrel version baby cries for mommy if you manage to get her out... it's too cold out now to have the windows open, but even when it's warm out she runs away from the open window after a quick sniff and the realization that it leads to *outside.* So if henrys blocks aren't enough for her VitD then I'm probably gonna have to go straight to a supplement or vitamin.

[Rock Monkey]

she screams bloody murder when I bring her outdoors.

So if henrys blocks aren't enough for her VitD then I'm probably gonna have to go straight to a supplement or vitamin.

If you keep the nut supply in her diet to one or two a day, the Henry's block should provide sufficient vitamin support for a captive squirrel.

She doesn't seem inclined to self-release, but one day she may surprise you. Something may call to her to investigate or just instinct. If you aren't, you may want to make the transitions to the car in her cage so that she doesn't self release when it would be very bad for her to do so.

Just to clarify, I wasn't suggesting that you take her outside free and loose, but rather in a cage. (Note, every squirrel is a little different in their preferences.)

[MotherOfBadgers]

If you keep the nut supply in her diet to one or two a day, the Henry's block should provide sufficient vitamin support for a captive squirrel.

She doesn't seem inclined to self-release, but one day she may surprise you. Something may call to her to investigate or just instinct. If you aren't, you may want to make the transitions to the car in her cage so that she doesn't self release when it would be very bad for her to do so.

Just to clarify, I wasn't suggesting that you take her outside free and loose, but rather in a cage. (Note, every squirrel is a little different in their preferences.)

While I do feel "secure" in her not running off/away from me while outside, I always have her in a travel/bonding pouch and wearing a harness and leash that's tethered to me when we leave the house. Seen too many nightmare videos of someone putting a release on a tree and a cat coming and grabbing it in under a minute to scare me "straight" into not taking any risks. The few other rehabs I've had short term before and during/after this one have really demonstrated to me how special and unique my girl is so I try not to take any chances.

I *used to* try putting her loose on trees and in the grass. She'd always jump back onto me/climb my leg then burrow into my shirt. One day I had gotten really frustrated and was actually tossing her far as I could into the grass (without hurting her) and she just kept coming back to me like a frantic bulldozer, up my leg, down my shirt, trembling, screaming bloody murder as I pulled her back out to try again. I was convinced I was doing the right thing, what was best for her. Getting her used to the outside, ready for release, she was old enough, it was time to go. Then a friend said that I was being cruel, "the animal is clearly terrified," and it kinda crushed my soul. Made me cry. Changed my outlook. I stopped trying after that. I accepted that she didn't wanna leave, this is my life now, and I fully emotionally let her in and spent a buncha money to upgrade all her gear.

[Mel1959]

Although 2-3 Henrys blocks daily provide the necessary nutrients, they don’t provide the necessary calories to support a squirrel. You must also feed her veggies and an occasional fruit, to provide calories and variety to her diet. 1-2 nuts per day will also provide extra calories. Most squirrels love avocado (no skin or pit), fresh coconut, kale, sweet potatoe and many other items on the healthy diet list. It’s just a matter of offering and seeing what’s liked keeping in mind that the things they like changes. What is not touched one day might be gobbled up the next.

Envigo Harlan Teklad 2018 is a 100% completely nutritional hard extruded block. However, it doesn’t taste yummy like Henrys blocks. I use it by grinding it into a powder and mixing it with powdered Fox Valley formula, ground nuts, baby food, avocado and coconut oil then roll it into balls to feed my wilds and rehabs. There’s recipes for boo balls in the squirrel nutrition section. The wilds have to eat some boo balls before they get nuts in the afternoon. :grin3