Question on nuts?

[Charley Chuckles]

I was just looking at the food pyramid although I've read it so many times through the years I never noticed until now it says " limit nuts to two per day, roasted and unsalted only"
My question is I feed almond, hazelnut nuts in the shell and they are not roasted. Is that ok 🤷 I'm guessing it is and possibly that was addressing peanuts which I never give.

Ok just curious 👍

[CritterMom]

I was just looking at the food pyramid although I've read it so many times through the years I never noticed until now it says " limit nuts to two per day, roasted and unsalted only"
My question is I feed almond, hazelnut nuts in the shell and they are not roasted. Is that ok 🤷 I'm guessing it is and possibly that was addressing peanuts which I never give.

Ok just curious 👍

They are fine. Not that many nuts ARE roasted.

[Black Squirrel]

Hi CC! Raw peanuts (a Legume) contain Trypsin inhibitor that prevent the pancreas from producing Trypsin, an enzyme needed for absorption of protein in the intestine - so no raw Peanuts. As far as raw Walnuts & Pecans squirrels eat them in the wild without issue. I am NOT a fan of 2 nuts a day as cited on the triangle diet chart. I do Teklad on demand and 2 HHB's a day as a supplement. Nuts are a weekly treat and given in moderation. HHB's contain nuts anyway. Just watch for mold inside shelled nuts and avoid acorns altogether due to Aflatoxin.

[amandamarcum91]

Hello, I’m not replying to this post but needing to make a new one. I’m unable to do so since my membership has not been verified yet but I need help URGENTLY! I have found an abandoned squirrel three weeks ago. I believe the squirrel to be possibly four weeks old at this point. He was doing great until this morning. I did notice some bloating yesterday but he was acting perfectly fine. I did notice he had not used the bathroom like normal. Now he is barely breathing and seems to be gasping for air. I soaked him in a warm bath this morning and he was able to get something out but still very bloated. I am massaging his belly as much as I can. I did give him some gas drops as well but other than that he has had no formula since last night. He is on fox valley formula. Any help will be greatly appreciated! Please help!

[Black Squirrel]

Call Leah, she coordinates rehabbers in LA and may have someone nearby 504-457-4884

She is a licensed rehabber and has no issues with her number being posted

[amandamarcum91]

I have already been in touch with a local rehabilitator. She told me a couple things but I’ve already done them and nothing is helping. She suggested I post on here to see if anyone could offer any other advice.

[Charley Chuckles]

I have already been in touch with a local rehabilitator. She told me a couple things but I’ve already done them and nothing is helping. She suggested I post on here to see if anyone could offer any other advice.

I've been looking through threads on bloating, until we can get some answers are you able to go to the search bar right hand side type in bloated baby it might help.
I'm trying to contact an admin to get you on 👍

[CritterMom]

Which Fox Valley formula are you using?

Instead of just soaking him, hang him from your hand by the armpits, legs dangling down and soak him up to his little armpits in the warm water - use a container deep enough that he is dangling in the water, not sitting on the bottom. Use your other hand to start stroking the stomach in a downward direction - not hard, you don't want to hurt him, but you want to use some pressure when you are doing it. You are trying to mimic the process that moves food through the bowels and out the other end.

Start giving him warm water to drink. Give small amounts but relatively frequently. If the food is sitting in his stomach and not moving through, it will sit and ferment and bloat. You need to try to dissolve and flush it out and that means water.

Some babies just can't handle straight FV 20/50 - it is too rich and robust for them, so many rehabbers mix half Esbilac powdered puppy formula and half FV20/50. If you are using the 32/40, that is your problem. It os just too much for most baby squirrels to handle on their own and we do not recommend it.

[amandamarcum91]

Ok will try this! I have the FV 20/50 and he has had no issues with it until recently. I do have the search bar so I have been researching other things to do as well. Nothing seems to be helping though.

[CritterMom]

You can try another drop of the simethicone, too. The thing is, until the formula is out of his stomach he will just continue to bloat because it will continue to ferment, causing more gas.

[Spanky]

Some babies just can't handle straight FV 20/50 - it is too rich and robust for them, so many rehabbers mix half Esbilac powdered puppy formula and half FV20/50. If you are using the 32/40, that is your problem. It is just too much for most baby squirrels to handle on their own and we do not recommend it.


Hello, I’m not replying to this post but needing to make a new one. I’m unable to do so since my membership has not been verified yet but I need help URGENTLY! I have found an abandoned squirrel three weeks ago. I believe the squirrel to be possibly four weeks old at this point. He was doing great until this morning. I did notice some bloating yesterday but he was acting perfectly fine. I did notice he had not used the bathroom like normal. Now he is barely breathing and seems to be gasping for air. I soaked him in a warm bath this morning and he was able to get something out but still very bloated. I am massaging his belly as much as I can. I did give him some gas drops as well but other than that he has had no formula since last night. He is on fox valley formula. Any help will be greatly appreciated! Please help!

The following is the "Duckman Protocol" for dealing with the "cement gut" issues we've encountered when feeding FV 32/40:


The trick for me seemed to be getting in as much water, as quickly as possible, once you see and feel the hardness in the belly. Not sugar water or Pedilyte, but plain water. I did this every hour (giving about .2-.3 ml) and ensure you stimulate after each, for 2 reasons. 1. You have to get that water out of the bladder, and it will burst if you don't. 2. You want that water to start working on the crud in the belly. After 8-10 hours, you should start seeing some movement out of the bowel (they will continue to poop, but you will start to see it more watery, which is what you want). At that time, start introducing diluted formula at the ratio of 25% Esbilac, 75% water. Feed this for the first half day. The second half day, I bumped up the ration to 50/50. I fed this for a day and then went to 75% Esbilac, 25% water and introduced full food the next day (and the blockage was gone!). So far, I am at 100% success rate. One note though. I check my pinkies after every feeding, so see if their bellies are hard or squishy. I would suggest everyone get in the habit of checking them after every feeding as habit and you can't go wrong in catching them before they bloat up. Once they take on that angry red color on their bellies (this is when their system goes septic), they are gone and can't be saved, so the trick is to catch them before this happens (hence, getting in the habit to see if their tummies are hard or not).