Brazil nuts can kill

[karriemed]

http://www.nutsite.com/

This site has mixed nuts with the option to leave out Brazil nuts.

[olorin19]

I had a lovely girl squirrel named Irene back in 2011. (Her entire nest with her inside was knocked out of a tree by Hurricane Irene, falling 25-30 feet and landing in a driveway. She was about 5-6 weeks old.) Having previously raised and released another baby squirrel without incident, I happily took on Irene. She was a very sweet and gentle squirrel. As we all know, squirrels do not like to poop in the nest. Of course, the definition of "nest" seems to vary by squirrel. In Irene's case, dad was apparently not included. So, whenever I would get Irene out of her cage to head outside, she would leave a turd trail starting almost as soon as she left her cage.

As far as I could tell, Irene was a healthy squirrel. She was certainly a delightful girl.

When she was 11-12 weeks old, my stash of horse chestnuts (from the library lawn nearby) ran out, so I went out and bought a bag of mixed nuts in the shell as a replacement. I cracked some, including a brazil nut. Irene seemed fine when she went to bed. The next morning, she was lying in full extension on the floor of her cage, in obvious pain, and breathing with difficulty. i was not able to find any vets, rehabbers, etc. willing and able to see her. She died in my lap within an hour. It still hurts, even all these years later.

I googled around in the following months, and the only possible explanation I ever found was that the brazil nut killed Irene.

[Mel1959]

Very sorry that happened to Irene and you.

[olorin19]

Very sorry that happened to Irene and you.

Thanks Mel

My first squirrel Sam (2004) went so easily that until Irene I had no clue how many things could go wrong, even with the best of intentions and lots of effort. Having now nursed Dustin through two recoveries from abscesses and taken care of my special needs Ziggy for a year, I am far more aware of how little I really know and how important it is to seek advice whenever in doubt.

As Amy is still young enough that she stays on me when outside, I am enjoying the occasional "squirrel trifecta" lately: Amy on my shoulder and Ziggy in the grass at my feet, then Dustin making an appearance for some evenings treats.

I am sure many of us have experienced both great joy and great sorrow with our furry friends.

Or as Kahlil Gibran expressed it:

"Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain."

[Clutch&StuartsMommy]

Did the post mention a protocol if a squirrel was given a Brazilian nut and became slightly ill? I noticed some posted they have fed the Brazilian nuts to their little'ens. I think this would be great info to know/share. 😊

[slee]

Hi all, just curious about this. I have a wild sq that visits me and he loves brazil nuts. He only gets one and i buy them shelled and he doesnt get one everyday. He has been getting them for 4 years. My mom and i both order from nuts.com & anuts.com and take nuts to the park, mom & I know all the sqs by name in the park and none were not missing, she & I have been feeding these sqs for years. Is it younger sqs that cannot handle it or adults too? Thanks

[SophieSquirrel]

Hi all, just curious about this. I have a wild sq that visits me and he loves brazil nuts. He only gets one and i buy them shelled and he doesnt get one everyday. He has been getting them for 4 years. My mom and i both order from nuts.com & anuts.com and take nuts to the park, mom & I know all the sqs by name in the park and none were not missing, she & I have been feeding these sqs for years. Is it younger sqs that cannot handle it or adults too? Thanks

I guess the prudent response is if there are risks why take a chance. There are many other choices for the wilds like Hazlenuts, Pecans, and for those on a budget - even Peanuts. With a squirrels tiny body and fast metabolism who knows how much Selenium can be toxic. Why chance it? It's like the old guy who smoked and drank until he was a ripe old 95. I'll bet for every one of him there are 10 who died early of cancer or cirrhosis of the liver.

Here ya go...

"How much selenium is in one Brazil nut? Just one ounce (6 to 8 nuts) contains 544 mcg of selenium, which is the equivalent of 777% of your Recommended Dietary Allowance. That means even a single nut can contain up to 91 mcg of selenium – that’s 165% of the RDI for adults". So can you imagine how much eating just one nut can harm a tiny squirrel!

Based on the average human weight of 137 Lbs and the average squirrel weight of 1.3 Lbs you are +- 105 times heavier than a squirrel. Think about the levels of Selenium in a squirrel with just one nut.

Source: https://www.superfoodly.com/brazil-n...oning-dangers/

[slee]

Wow, i have a wild squirrel that gets a brazil nut, not daily, but he has gotten them over a 4 yr time span. I buy nuts in the bulk already shelled. How is it some squirrels are alright and orhers not?

[Diggie's Friend]

In the attached file the study in Selenium relates that inorganic forms that include Selenium Di-oxide, builds up in the blood to where it will become toxic over time. See this section on "SELENIUM TOXICITY IN ANIMALS".

"In the rat, the dietary requirement for selenium is ca. 0.20 mg kg-1 (Hafeman et al., 1974). The threshold for selenium toxicity from selenite is about 0.50 mg kg-1, a mere 2.5 times the dietary requirement (Tinsley et al., 1967). Chronic dietary selenite toxicity in the rat begins at 3–4 mg kg-1 and there is almost no survival of rats fed 16 mg kg-1 Se (Harr et al., 1967)."

"Chronic ingestion of either selenite or selenate in the rat, at the same selenium dietary levels, exhibits nearly equivalent toxicity (Brasher and Ogle, 1993; Wilber, 1993). Dietary ingestion of organoselenium compounds, however, exhibit wide differences in toxicity."

This is why the amounts noted in rodent block diets are below the daily requirment for selenium at 150 per Kg of diet, or 7.5 mcg. per 50 grams of diet. For when you look at other diets noting 0.02 mcg. daily, this is most likely due to the source being one of the inorganic higher elemental sources of Selenium that build up quickly in the blood, andn why the amounts noted in block diets don't't reflect the amount of the daily requirement.

"Dietary ingestion of organoselenium compounds, however, exhibit wide differences in toxicity."

1. Selenium compounds, i.e., selenite and selenium dioxide, can react with glutathione (GSH) and other thiols to form selenotrisulfides that will ultimately react to produce superoxide and hydrogen peroxide, and are toxic.

2. Diselenides, i.e., selenocystine and selenocystamine in the presence of GSH and other thiols, are reduced to selenols (RSeH), which are catalytic, produce superoxide and hydrogen peroxide, and are toxic.

3. Selenium compounds that do not react with thiols,i.e., selenate and all tested selenoethers (RSeR), do not produce superoxide or hydrogen peroxide in vitro and are not toxic per se.

4. Selenate and selenoethers are toxic in tissue culture or in vivo only after being reduced to selenite or a selenol.

5. Selenium toxicity manifests itself acutely or chronically when oxidative damage exceeds antioxidant defenses or the ability of either plants or animals to form seleno -
proteins, selenoethers, or elemental selenium (Se0) (Spallholz, 1994).

Without looking deeper into the toxicity level of the form of selenium in Brazil Nuts, to consider including this source in the diet would be risky. If you already feed a block diet it may aleady include what is a safe level to include in the diet; adding to it wouldn't be needful, nor warranted.