Sidley won't eat his blocks...

[PrincessPeach]

So we have an oddball of a situation. Sidley is 90% blind. Give or take a few %. He only has the one eye now and the one he has is very very limited. We know because he can't see us if we are more than a foot away. He lives inside with us but we do our absolute best to spend atleast 4 hours in the mornings outside with him. He climbs trees and eats stuff he finds in them and on the ground. And he spends alot of time running around burying the hickory nuts he finds. Lately he has been trying to eat old black walnuts which always results in tug of war because I was led to believe the old ones are toxic. Sidley doesn't jump. I imagine that's because he can't see far enough to aim to jump somewhere. We only allow him in trees with limited connecting branches if any. Like small groupings. Anyways I'm getting off topic. My question is, is it OK if he won't eat the blocks if we get him to eat veggies and fruits and all the random he finds outside? He has bones we set out for him to chew on and he does that and he does all the normal squirrel nibbles on everything that he thinks he might want to eat outside. Lately he has been more interested in the nuts hes finding but I assumed it was just because it was fall. Sidley is my first lifetime buddy. If he could go back and be wild I'd let him but he just can't keep himself safe. I want to make sure he stays healthy nutrition wise but we can't get him to eat the blacks at all. Even if we put no other stuff out he will go find old stuff outside or wherever he's hidden things in the house and just not touch them. Well he touches them but they always end up put in with his building blocks lol. Thanks in advance.

[Mel1959]

How old is Sidley?

Anytime I read about folks letting their compromised squirrels outside to climb trees I cringe. I’m a worrier and I have read horror stories of squirrels refusing to come down from a tree or running off. I realize you say he can’t see well, but that would mean that he has the potential to fall. All in all it’s a very scary and dangerous situation in my opinion.

As for the block, which block have you offered? Most squirrels will eat Henrys Picky Eater or Hazelnut blocks. They must be purchased online at Henry’s Pets. In order to implement a tough love approach you would have to clean out all his stash inside his cage and the house. You’d also need to keep him inside where he doesn’t have access to the nuts he’s foraging. Not indefinitely, but for a period of time. The block should be given first thing in the morning when he’s hungriest. Henry’s blocks are loaded with vitamins so he only needs 2-3 a day along with healthy veggies.

The problem with not eating block is that captive squirrels don’t have access to all the healthy foods they’d find in their outside environment. I realize Sidley is spending several hours outside daily, but it’s still in a limited capacity when compared to other wild squirrels. Eating nuts and not eating block is a recipe for disaster from metabolic bone disease. Eating nuts which are high in phosphorous creates an imbalance of the calcium to phosphorous ratio in their bodies. Too much phosphorous causes the body to pull calcium from the bones to equalize the ratio balance. When this happens it creates MBD, which is fatal if left untreated.

I hope this answers your questions and you order some Henry’s block and see if you can’t get him to start eating them.

[Diggie's Friend]

Rat block supplies the greatest share of calcium, protein, and other key nutrients. If the squirrel won't eat the block, save then for supplying these sources in specific measures and ratios, it will lead to the development of metabolic bone disease and premature mortality.

To entice your squirrel to eat the rat block, you can try adding a few drops of organic Chia oil onto the block to see if that peaks his interest. You can also grind up the rat block and add a little bit of organic coconut oil, along with the chia oil source here below (food grade only) to make smaller portions of block. (chill to set then feed)


https://www.amazon.com/Foods-Alive-Artisan-Cold-Pressed-Organic/dp/B007788AZA