Food Data Chart Update: Calcium to Phosphorus Ratios

[luvs squirrels]

Printed it out today.

[ljhpsauce]

I know very little about flyers, and it's true that mushrooms are one of the very few foods that provide vitamin D, and vitamin D is necessary to metabolize calcium so I have to pass on this question, really. The chart was intended simply to compare calcium to phosphorus in foods--which is a major concern for greys and foxers.

This confuses me now...are you saying mushrooms are not good for squirrels???? as they are on the healthy food for squirrels chart & i give my squirrel button mushrooms as in the wild they would eat wild fungi/mushrooms.

[dirgedoll]

Anyone have thoughts on soy beans?

My flyers love these! I throw them in with all their other goodies.

[4skwerlz]

Anyone have thoughts on soy beans?

My flyers love these! I throw them in with all their other goodies.

We try to avoid soy products because they are associated with tumors in rodents, possibly because they are very high in phytoestrogens.

[island rehabber]

4S, Dr P emailed me today to say he has not forgotten about us and our calcium questions!

[dirgedoll]

Thank you so much for your response, I will remove these from my flyers' diets immediately, and keep on with what's on the charts, there's so much on there anyway...I'm glad this board is here to bounce ideas off of.

Thanks again...

Jupiter

[astra]

We try to avoid soy products because they are associated with tumors in rodents, possibly because they are very high in phytoestrogens.

That's also true for humans. Moreover, 99.99% of soy at least in North America (possible everywhere by now) is GMO.

[Stefalicious]

Can someone actually copy and paste the chart on here or something, I cant see those charts by those links?????

[Pointy Tale]

Can someone actually copy and paste the chart on here or something, I cant see those charts by those links?????

Stefalicious—
This is one of my favorite references. I’ve put the chart in Adobe for you, can you read it now? If not PM me and maybe I can email the contents to you.
Good luck.

[mpetys]

Hey, I just wanted to bump this thread up so if anyone hasn't seen the charts they will know it is here. Somehow, in the 10 months I have been on TSB, I missed this. I know it is a sticky but I think whenever I went to the Nutrition section, I was always looking up specific things: what to feed, when to feed, how much to feed etc. And if I saw the heading "Food Data Chart Update: Calcium to Phosphorus" I probably just passed over it because at that time the whole Calcium to Phosphorus ratio and how important it is was beyond my comprehension.

Anyhow, I found it very enlightening. And from this day forward it will definitely help me as I pick and choose what veggies and fruits to feed my guys.

Michele

[Charley Chuckles]

So do I -- with butter, garlic & salt....yummmmmmmm

Charley likes them but I have never tried them yet.....butter/garlic and salt maybe I will try that

[Charley Chuckles]

I was looking for coconut but do not see it on the list in small quantities

[Foamy the squirrel]

some of the stuff on here says its ok to give to the squirrels but on the healthy diet chart the things on this chat are not ok... and visa virsa can some one explane to me about this ... is confusing me

[newsquirrelmommy]

I was wondering the same thing Foamy. Like collard greens and spinach are good on the nutrition chart but on the diet chart it says to avoid. Can someone please explain. I dont want to feed my Squirt something that he should not eat. thanks

[kassy]

I've updated the chart to include some missing foods. Chart 2 is in alphabetical order, listing milligrams of calcium to milligrams of phosphorus per 100 grams of food, along with the ratios. Chart 3 ranks them highest to lowest as far as ratio of calcium to phosphorus. This is for informative purposes only, not to incite debate on what foods have what (e.g. pumpkin seeds). In addition, if anyone inclined to do the math, he or she can weigh one gram of food "A" with "X" number of milligrams of phosphorus and calcium (even micrograms) and balance out "X" number of grams of a food with more milligrams of calcium and phosphorus to achieve the 2:1 balance (assuming your squirrel will eat all of both). I personally don't have that kind of ambition or time, so I wanted to know which foods had the higher calcium to phosphorus ratios (regardless of amount of milligrams of each mineral) so that when I went grocery shopping I could lean toward the healthiest choices. My designations of "Good," "Risky," and so forth are completely arbitrary, and you can make your own decisions about individual foods, but I tried to classify for general categories. I hope this helps some of you.

PS: IR, if a "sticky" means it's one of the post always at the beginning of a thread, I humbly offer that this might be included.

Thank u for posting the meaning of "sticky," b/c I really did not know what it was! haha! I'm just learning how to even navigate this forum and that was a big help(as is your post).

[SquirrelRefuge]

Portabella mushrooms are favorite with flyers. I also bring in branches covered in moss and other lichens. They have hours of fun shredding (it makes a huge mess) and lots of good nutrition.

[Unikorngrrl]

I have a flyer, his name is Jax. He began showing early signs of MBD and "The Squirrel Board" is where I found the info to treat him as there is no Vet here that will see him. He's doing GREAT! I didn't even realize his energy level was low until he started feeling better and he is all over the place! I've dramatically changed his diet, and I am still giving him concentrated calcium. <The guilt has been tremendous> His top teeth were mush and came out of his little head when I went to trim them, but they are growing back HARD already! I'm very excited about that, I love him so very much!

How much should he be eating per day? I don't want him to be hungry, but I don't want to go overboard either.

He doesn't mess with the mineral block or the cuddle bone at all. This is not a huge concern right now since he doesn't need to shorten his teeth and I am giving him concentrated Ca, but it will be...Should I just add rodent vitamins to his food or water? He will chew on sticks etc...

I read in one place that Spinach was good and then on your nutrition thing not so much. Is it good or bad? b/c I've been adding it to his diet a great deal since his seizure.

Right now I am feeding yogurt twice a week with ReptoCal in it, concentrated Ca daily, and a smorgasbord of food that I try to change up a little each day. Boiled eggs, meal worms, Spinach, Broccoli, grapes (his favorite), oranges, sprinkle of granola, strawberries, green beans, acorns, and sunflower seeds. I basically give him 1/2 teaspoon of each & 1 acorn or 3 or 4 sunflower seeds, chopped since his front teeth aren't all the way back in yet. I added Dandelion and Clover today. I'll grab some cabbage and brussels sprouts my next trip to the grocery. He'll fight me over a peanut butter and banana sandwich and pecan spins It's quite funny, but it makes me feel like he is still hungry...and I am extremely worried about it since I've already screwed it up so badly with my own ignorance! Will this diet or close be sufficient to keep him in optimal health?

Thanks,
Ross
<Jax's Mom>

[knightsoul]

I have a question on the healthy pet chart, it now says that acorns are toxic, is this something that was just learned, I used to always see on the other threads to feed them

[farrelli]

There was a wave of deaths this year linked only to acorn consumption:

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/s...kill-squirrels

Most people now side with caution and don;t offer them.

[amyd30]

CAN ANYONE EMAIL ME THE NUTRICIAN LIST, MY COMPUTER WONT DOWLOAD THEM. heartsfire222@yahoo.com