Male Fox Squirrel appears to have boobs

[RustyTiki]

I rescued tis male fox squirrel 2 years ago. I did try and take him to several rescues, but because he couldn't be released back to his home. Owl family was eating up all the squirrels. He was the only one left. I have been feeding him Henrys Picky Blocks and following the guidelines they show re: feeding him. He gets 1/2 hour sunshine daily. I also feed him nut and veg blocks from William Sells squirrel site. I have seen a couple of other squirrels online, but no answer as to what they are. No vet including Zoos will look at him. I have pictures and hope I can attach them. He isn't over weight and he is molting. 4th picture shows he's a boy.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Unfortunately this is a problem that we commonly see with both males and females. In the boys we jokingly call them moobs (man boobs). I don’t think anyone really knows what causes this but my guess would be that captivity is a poor substitute for nature. We can’t reproduce the activity that they get in the trees OR the diet that nature provides. Wild squirrels, both male and female are sleek, athletic creatures that soar through the trees. I have a flyer that has huge moobs. He seems healthy in every way except … those. He eats 1 Pickie Eater block per day and veggies. He rarely gets a nut and he is still obese.

By the way, we don’t recommend any foods that William Sells peddles. If I remember right, the first 3-4 ingredients of his nut squares are nuts and nuts are certainly not good for squirrels. You might check and see if these products have soy bean in them. Soy beans are a source of plant estrogens (phytoestrogens) which aren’t good for rodents.

I wish I had an answer but I don’t. Another possibility is that the foods we provide have many times the calories they consume in the wild. Not all captive squirrels have these but MANY do.

[RustyTiki]

Unfortunately this is a problem that we commonly see with both males and females. In the boys we jokingly call them moobs (man boobs). I don’t think anyone really knows what causes this but my guess would be that captivity is a poor substitute for nature. We can’t reproduce the activity that they get in the trees OR the diet that nature provides. Wild squirrels, both male and female are sleek, athletic creatures that soar through the trees. I have a flyer that has huge moobs. He seems healthy in every way except … those. He eats 1 Pickie Eater block per day and veggies. He rarely gets a nut and he is still obese.

By the way, we don’t recommend any foods that William Sells peddles. If I remember right, the first 3-4 ingredients of his nut squares are nuts and nuts are certainly not good for squirrels. You might check and see if these products have soy bean in them. Soy beans are a source of plant estrogens (phytoestrogens) which aren’t good for rodents.

I wish I had an answer but I don’t. Another possibility is that the foods we provide have many times the calories they consume in the wild. Not all captive squirrels have these but MANY do.

:thankyou