I'm sorry for the delay in activating your account.
I just came back on the board.
You're good to go now.
Bama2015 (06-28-2019)
Sorry for the delay. Also, sorry about the PM thing. There is another member that starts with Bama. I thought that was the other member. I didn’t realize you are a new member. Yes, admins have to activate the account. I will send dosing in a PM.
Nancy in New York (06-28-2019)
Dosing sent.
Bama2015 (06-28-2019), Nancy in New York (06-28-2019)
Bama2015, can you tell us what the baby is eating.
Tags diet consists of blackberries, all sorts of nuts, 100% cheese crisps (not a lot), broccoli, lettuce, watermelon. He eats treats like rodent blocks but I'm not sure the name. I put calcium powder on his food (starting today, I finally got it in the mail). I give him pine cones, small sticks, occasional strawberry, occasional avocado (not a huge fan). Hes tried bananas, didn't take to them either. I have yet to try actual squirrel food because I have heard that store bought food is no good for them. But I did find exotic nutrition brand that has good reviews? Your thoughts on that would be appreciated.
Bama2015 (06-28-2019)
Does the baby still receive formula? When did he wean? Your diet needs a lot of work.
This could be the cause of the lethargy.
The exotic nutrition squirrel food is not good at all. It is mostly a nut mix.
At 11 weeks the baby should either still be on formula or soon trying to self wean. We don’t wean them. We let them have formula as long as they will take it. The first solid food should be a quality rodent block. NOT exotic nutrition. The best blocks are Henry’s Healthy pet, Envigo (Harlan) Teklad 2018, Mazuri rodent block or Oxbow Essentials rodent block. This should be introduced soon after the eyes open.
When they are eating the block well you can start adding healthy veggies like kale, sugar snap peas, mushrooms, broccoli, etc. I never give babies nuts or seeds. They are VERY unhealthy. Are you familiar with Metabolic Bone Disease? It is due to low calcium in the diet AND high phosphorus foods like nuts and seeds. It is deadly. Of course, all squirrels love nuts and seeds. If a baby starts on unhealthy things like nuts it’s very hard to get them to eat healthy. It’s like weaning a toddler from formula to candy. They will never eat broccoli after they know about candy.
Later on after they are eating a block and healthy veggies they can have a nut as a treat but not before the healthy things. Nuts are limited for all captive squirrels to one per day. I give a baby soon to be released a nut but only as a treat and never as part of the diet.
The lethargy your baby is experiencing could be due to the diet.
He weaned about a month ago. We found him on 4/18 he was between, I would say 2 and 3 weeks old maybe. Loosely based off of photos online. I will take what you provide me with and go from there. I have based what he eats off of the research that I have done. Improving his well being is my main goal.
I have heard that about the store bought ones also.
I took him off of formula because he no longer wanted it. I should have come here first instead of researching google. I will take what you have told me and implement that immediately. Should I keep him on the calcium powder?
This is the link to the healthy diet.
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...-Pet-Squirrels
I’m sorry you found bad information on the internet. We see this often.
Let’s start from the beginning. I have no doubt your baby is calcium deficient. He weaned at approximately 7 weeks. That is WAY to early to wean. I suspect that was because he was already getting nuts and other unhealthy treats.
I think all of his problems are due to the diet and are not from aspiration pneumonia.
I would mix formula and see if Tags will take some. They will sometimes drink it from a bowl.
What formula was he on? You could also offer a full fat yogurt like YoBaby vanilla. I mix the yogurt with the formula in a bowl.
Basically, you should stop all nuts and seeds.
Buy a quality rodent block like those mentioned. The first two are available only online. The second two can be bought at pet retailers.
Feed healthy veggies from the squirrel diet pyramid.
Fruits are treats and should be limited.
I really think he would benefit from the MBD treatment. It doesn’t have to be prolonged but at least a week would help him to get the calcium levels up. https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...-MBD-Treatment
island rehabber (06-28-2019)
You should really consider buying this block made specifically for squirrels. Tags is more likely to eat this block than the others.
https://www.henryspets.com/picky-blo...ers-rats-mice/
[QUOTE=HRT4SQRLS;1295570]I would mix formula and see if Tags will take some. They will sometimes drink it from a bowl.
What formula was he on? You could also offer a full fat yogurt like YoBaby vanilla. I mix the yogurt with the formula in a bowl.
Basically, you should stop all nuts and seeds.
Buy a quality rodent block like those mentioned. The first two are available only online. The second two can be bought at pet retailers.
Feed healthy veggies from the squirrel diet pyramid.
Fruits are treats and should be limited.
I really think he would benefit from the MBD treatment. It doesn’t have to be prolonged but at least a week would help him to get the calcium levels up. https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...-MBD-Treatment[/QUOT
When you recommended Henry's earlier, I bought High-protein blocks, picky blocks and wild bites. He actually didn't eat nuts and fruits until he was showing little interest in milk, then I felt he had to eat something. So based on all I have read, that's what I started him on. I bought him his calcium powder: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0... ie=UTF8&psc=1 (squirrel-cal exotic nutrition) I can do the MBD treatment as well. Will the calcium suppliment I have work? Not for the MBD but as a suppliment in his meals..I appreciate all of the help you're giving me so my boy can rock on!
Yes, you can use the calcium that you purchased as a supplement. I do that myself. Sometimes I dust my boys food with a little calcium carbonate powder. It’s not a substitute for a healthy diet but it does help to keep the calcium balanced. Of course, don’t overdo it.
I would do the MBD treatment for a week. I would prefer that you use the Tums. Your calcium carbonate powder from Exotic Nutrition has 3.5% Magnesium carbonate in it. The reason I would not use it for the MBD treatment is due to the magnesium. It is safe to megadose calcium but I don’t know about the magnesium. It might be OK but because I don’t know I wouldn’t use it for that purpose. It’s the same reason we don’t use Rep Cal with Vitamin D3 for the MBD treatment. Megadosing Vitamin D3 can be toxic to rodents.
PS... In the beginning when I thought you were from Alabama (due to your user name), I thought you had a huge squirrel (448g). In the south squirrels are much smaller than squirrels up north. A 448g squirrel in FL would be the size of an adult. Then I saw that you are in Ohio and it all made sense as your squirrels definitely are larger than ours.
Bama2015 (06-29-2019)
By the way, I see you bought the Henry’s blocks. When the blocks come in I put a handful of blocks in a Ziplock bag in the refrigerator for use the first week. The rest of the blocks go in the freezer. They must be stored in the freezer as they have no preservatives. They will mold if not stored in the freezer.
Henry’s blocks are a supplement block. They are packed with vitamins, minerals and protein. Because they are a supplement the amounts given are limited. A baby would only get one block per day. Because your baby is SO big he could easily have 2 per day. Larger adults like fox squirrels can have 3 per day.
They can have other commercial rodent blocks free choice. The problem is that they usually don’t like them if they were not started on them as tiny babies. Give a 6 week old baby a commercial rodent block and they will nibble and eat it. Give an 11 week old the same block and he will give you the stink eye. The Henry’s blocks have pecans in them to make them tasty.
Bama2015 (06-29-2019)