Calcium

[lmbstory]

We've had a male gray for just over 2 months. I estimate he was 5-6 wks old when we found him. He is doing great. I feed him multiple veggies & nuts daily to include alot of celery & he also has 2 set of deer antlers he chews on. Does he still need a calcium block of some kind?

[Spanky]

We've had a male gray for just over 2 months. I estimate he was 5-6 wks old when we found him. He is doing great. I feed him multiple veggies & nuts daily to include alot of celery & he also has 2 set of deer antlers he chews on. Does he still need a calcium block of some kind?

He needs a high quality rodent block to be the foundation of his diet. It is not a matter of providing a lot of calcium, to prevent MBD it is a matter of limiting foods that rob calcium. If they are getting a lot of calcium robbing foods (like buts, seeds and dried corn as examples), it is not possible to give enough calcium to prevent MBD. The analogy I use is eating a supersized Big Mac meal, along with a apple pie and ordering a diet soda to drink for every meal... the diet soda in no way compensates for all the bad stuff in the rest of the meal.

I don't even give any nuts at all until they are in the release cage (4 months old and older).

Here is a link to the healthy food pyramid:
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?44440-Healthy-Diet-for-Pet-Squirrels