New squirell mom.

[Jadedlady1971]

Good morning fellow squirell parents and lovers. I just recently was given 2 3 week old squirells who were abandoned by thier mom after the tree they lived in was cut down. I named the wrett and Scarlett. They are now 12 weeks old and we'll, they seem to have flourished and still seem ok except for this issue...... my Scarlett won't eat anything except for corn and some nuts on occasion she eats dandelion green and a few other odds and ends. I've bought a calcium supplement but she has recently stopped eating the food that has the calcium covering it. I bought rodent pellets and also squirell food from amazon. She is having none of it!. Yesterday I noticed a patch of hair behind her neck that is missing. I thought it was her brother wrett that may have pulled her hair out being as he is very possessive of her..kind of mean actually. When I come in the room he jumps on top of her, pulls her down, takes her food, knocks her over....whatever he can do to her to show his dominance and maybe jealousy.I don't really understand squirells behavior all that well yet so I'm not sure what's going on there. Anyways I'm thinking now maybe the patch of fur is missing because of a deficiency of some sort.wrett is my good little eater. He eats the other healthy foods I offer and very little of the corn. Please help! I don't want to losee my little girl to lack of nutrients. Also if u could weigh in on why my boy is so mean to my baby girl I would appreciate it. Thanks guys!

[island rehabber]

First, welcome to The Squirrel Board -- we are very glad you found us!

You've got two major problems here:

* Your girl's diet, which is setting her up for Metabolic Bone Disease

*Your boy's dominant behavior, which can further impair the girl's ability to get proper nutrition and develop normally

FIRST THING: I would separate them but keep the cages right close together so they can still smell and touch paws. If he is being that dominant he can actually stress her out so badly that she does not eat or drink normally. We have seen cases where siblings actually starved a less dominant sibling to death. We love our squirrels, but this is a behavior that truly sucks and yes, they do it.

SECOND THING: Girlie needs some tough love. Go to the Healthy Diet page and start her on only two or three of the healthiest foods first.....NOTHING else. So long as there is a kernel of corn or a crumb of nut in her cage she will not touch the healthy foods -- just the way a child is not going to eat broccoli if there is half a Snickers bar available. Try the most well-accepted foods first: sugar snap peas, chickory, cauliflower, nice dark green kale. NO NUTS. NO sunflower seeds. NO Corn. Those three in combination are setting her up for metabolic bone disease.

She will not starve herself to death, believe me. What rodent blocks did you try? Please try the Growth Formula blocks from henryspets.com -- they will give her the calcium and minerals she needs even if she doesn't eat much else in the beginning. (www.henryspets.com) I also found this year that the Teklad Rodent Blocks 2018 were pretty well accepted by my baby squirrels.

Tough love, and keep them separated for now, at least until your girl's diet and fur improves. We're here to help, so ask as many questions as you've got!

[SophieSquirrel]

JadedLady - I have a question.... Are you still feeding them formula? What formula were you or are you using? Did they self-wean to solids or are they still on partial formula partial solids? I keep mine on Fox Valley 20/50 which is nutritionally formulated for squirrels until they reject it. This formula gives them the proper balance of vitamins, minerals and nutrition to help prevent MBD later on. Esbilac is another product that us used successfully. I am just concerned that they were on a "scalded milk" or other such diet. Please let us know.

The "Squirrel Food" from Amazon concerns me too. Can you send a link?

Island Rehabber is spot on about tough love. I have seen that behavior several times also.

[Jadedlady1971]

Im not really sure if I'm replying to the reply on my thread correctly ( I guess it's a thread I'm pretty computer illiterate). Therected are several questions asked me in 2 replies I got so I'm going to try to answer them all right here.
MY SQUIRELLS were formula fed. The brand was esbilac and they recently within the last 2 weeks weaned themselves. My baby girl weaned herself however a full week before my little man. I just kind of let them decide when they were ready AND I also made sure they were drinking water like a pro before I "let" them stop formula. U know what guys I made a mistake they are about 14 weeks not 12.
Next, I couldn't find the types of rodent block I'd read about so my local pet store owner suggested I try her brand. Sorry i dont remember the name. The squirell food and calcium supplement I ordered were from amazon and they were from a company called exotic nutrition.( sorry I don't know how to send a link or to even find one.. it the only squirell food I could find on amazon. I saw the fox Valley products though and will give them a try asap.
I was afraid that I was going to have to separate them..will do so also asap.
Thanks for the warm welcome and for the help. Oh and could you suggest some good reading on squirell behavior? Most info. I find is the same ole stuff. No real dirt on thier behaviors.I want to know how they act in wild how they act in captivity heck I want to know everything I can learn about these wonderful creatures.

[CritterMom]

Please, please, please order the blocks that were recommended to you from Henrys - this links to the page with the squirrel foods: https://www.henryspets.com/squirrel-diet/

They are unlike ANYTHING you can purchase locally or on Amazon. The owner of Henrys is a member here and the diet was designed to TASTE GOOD which none of the others do, AND to be nutritionally complete. The fact that they are tasty may solve ALL of your problems. Make sure you let them know you are a TSB (The Squirrel Board) member and you will also get a small additional discount (it won't show at checkout but the invoice you get in your box will show it).

I used to buy mealworms through Exotic Nutrition when I was rehabbing baby birds and when I needed squirrel food I looked to see what was there. I was really disappointed at the low quality and downright dangerous nutrition levels I found in their food. Get the Henrys!

[LR]

Exotic Nutrition is an awesome company but their squirrel food is not one that is recommended. Look for these...they also carry an awsome double wide cage...

[SophieSquirrel]

....could you suggest some good reading on squirell behavior? Most info. I find is the same ole stuff. No real dirt on thier behaviors.I want to know how they act in wild......

This is by far one of the BEST informational videos on wild squirrel behavior. I have talked with Professor Brown and he is a real smart guy that knows a LOT about squirrel behavior:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7usK9hCMdw

I see you are in Georgia. I am well acquainted with Jamie Hawkins who heads up the GA DNR permit section and I have had many permits to transport through GA, but not to hold them within the state. Squirrels are not legal to keep in GA without a rehabber's license. With that being said don't let that dissuade or worry you as I know a lot of PPL there keep them but they don't broadcast it. Just don't bring them out in public or tell neighbors/friends. The problem in GA is if you need a vet and the PPL on this board can help you with that. I know of a good one on Wilmington Island (Savannah) if you are near there...

[Diggie's Friend]

Shamrock Veterinary Hospital in Dublin, GA. I know they have seen squirrels there.