Hello All

[Sunnyboy]

Hi Guys
My name is Mike and my little buddy is Sunny. I just registered and need to get a response for a question I have regarding a 5 year old Grey. Has been a happy and healthy boy since we found him; after getting him through a rough time in the beginning. Found him outside 5 years ago August and was nothing but a pinky about 2-3 days old.
Tonight was the first night that he has never eaten his dinner, so regardless of what it may be, its something. He just seems under the weather, not that I know how to analyze that since we never had to deal with it. Just want some thoughts and or guidance. Thanks Mike

[Nancy in New York]

Welcome Mike!
Can you tell us what Sunny's diet is like, meaning everything that he eats,
not just what you give him.
Diet is key to a squirrels health, that's why typically it's the first question we ask.
Thanks for helping and caring for Sunny, and for finding TSB.

[RockyPops]

Welcome Mike,

and we love pictures if you have any.

[Sunnyboy]

Hello Nancy,

In regards to Sunny's diet we try our best to keep it simple but diverse. His breakfast has always been the Teklad Rat block, graduating in formula as he grown older (currently the 2014). The what we feed him portion of your question is: Squash (butternut is his favorite), snap peas, kale, dandelion, tomatoes, cauliflower,broccoli,mushrooms, bok choy,asparagus,brussel sprouts,and other thing I would have to check with wife. Fruits & Nuts are mostly almond, walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, brazilian,
blueberries,raspberries,blackberries. Occasional foods are: Bell peppers ( mostly yellow and orange),carrots, avocado,mellons (all), bananna's , apple, orange,tangerine, roasted sunflower seeds.
Now for what he eats from a "for sure" perspective are: Squash,snap peas, cauliflower, kale, mushrooms,tomatoes, bok choy, all the berries and nuts from above. Once again there are other thing I would have to ask my wife. One thing I feel he may not be getting enough of other than from the block is proteins. I've tried hard boiled eggs, yogurt,cheeses, few other things but not with great success.

Thanks for your help,
Mike

PS: Pictures on there way, they will surely tell you a story>

[stepnstone]

How often is he given nuts? They should be limited and only given as a treat.
We do not recommend feeding Brazil nuts, especially for captive/pet squirrels.
Not only are they not native to our squirrels, Brazil nuts hold exceptionally high
levels of selenium, it is a chemical element that also has similarities to arsenic.

[Sunnyboy]

How often is he given nuts? They should be limited and only given as a treat.
We do not recommend feeding Brazil nuts, especially for captive/pet squirrels.
Not only are they not native to our squirrels, Brazil nuts hold exceptionally high
levels of selenium, it is a chemical element that also has similarities to arsenic.

In the case of the brazilians fortunately there once in a blue moon, would say every 2-3 months at minimum. The other nuts(walnuts, almonds,hazel,pecan) are given nightly as a treat, no more than 2 depending on the first one. If we give him a walnut it's only one.
The question I have is since he has never been "sick" this is the first time in 5 years we have experienced him acting sick, so lets say he just has a cold what should we do. He does seem to be sneezing a little and his eyes look a little glazy and he's is definitely mushy. He just layed on my stomach and napped for over a half hour, something he's never done when I lay down. Normally he will fall asleep when I'm sitting or standing up. He did run around with a hazelnut for a half hour looking to hide it as he will do somewhat regularly. He also did eat a piece of butternut and some kale just now.
What do you suggest moving forward? Should we just keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't seem worse. Is there anything you would give them specifically when under the weather?

Thanks again,
Mike

[CritterMom]

I would treat him for MBD. I know you are feeding him the Teklad blocks, but you are feeding them as part of a much larger diet. Teklad is designed as a LAB FOOD - it is actually manufactured to feed lab rats, and is formulated to be a complete diet - they get the blocks and water. Period. We give blocks and a million other things - many very nutritious but all of them have affects on the calcium to phosphorus ratio of the whole diet and I am betting it is lacking in calcium.

The blocks most of us use and highly recommend were initially designed to prevent MBD by counteracting our human need to give treats. They are meant to be fed at the rate of 2 per day along with healthy veggies and fruits. I do that and also provide the Teklad because my guys loves the crunchy texture.

https://www.henryspets.com/diets/ I strongly recommend the Hazelnut Blocks and Picky Blocks.

In addition, I would treat him for MBD: https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...-MBD-Treatment

The calcium supplementation will not hurt him and if this is the problem, he will begin to show improvement fairly soon after you begin.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Mike, have you noticed any subtle changes like white tears in the eyes, sniffles or vague respiratory symptoms? Has he stopped cracking in-shell nuts? Does he hide in-shell nuts instead of cracking them?
What do the teeth look like? Is he keeping the teeth filed down? Do the incisors have a sharp chiseled edge or are they blunt and square?

The reason I ask these questions is because squirrels can develop tooth issues that can be serious so we need to rule that out.

[Sunnyboy]

Mike, have you noticed any subtle changes like white tears in the eyes, sniffles or vague respiratory symptoms? Has he stopped cracking in-shell nuts? Does he hide in-shell nuts instead of cracking them?
What do the teeth look like? Is he keeping the teeth filed down? Do the incisors have a sharp chiseled edge or are they blunt and square?

The reason I ask these questions is because squirrels can develop tooth issues that can be serious so we need to rule that out.

To answer each question: No white tears. He still cracks his nut even though he hides them also. This is something he has done for years so difference there. He will go back and getem and then crack and eat them. His teeth seem okay, if I had to lean to one side or the other I say there not as sharp as I've felt in the past. I will look at the calcium (MBD) suggestion.

So if I understand correctly,you recommend the using the block from Henry's and stop giving him the Teklan?
Thanks for all the responses.

[Spanky]

Occasional foods are: Bell peppers ( mostly yellow and orange),carrots, avocado,mellons (all), bananna's , apple, orange,tangerine, roasted sunflower seeds.

PS: Pictures on there way, they will surely tell you a story>

So if I understand correctly,you recommend the using the block from Henry's and stop giving him the Teklan?

I would stop the bell peppers.... here is a link to the healthy diet for pets squirrels that shows the good and the bad:
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...-Pet-Squirrels

Pictures.... would be helpful.

What about those sunflower seeds (and other seeds): How much and how often does he get them?

You do not have to stop the Teklad if he eats that and enjoys that (I provide Teklad to squirrels here that will eat it), but the Henry's are "supplement" blocks to a healthy diet that includes veggies, some fruit and occasional treats. Think of Teklad of what a laboratory might feed... a consistent diet of Teklad and only Teklad to get the proper balance and nutrition.. purely what is required, not necessarily a diet that provides, um, pleasure and diversity? We all support the idea of a healthy diet (to the extent we can provide that to a captive squirrel) with the Henry's as the supplement to help fill in the gaps (there will always be gaps unless you go with a strict "lab diet").

[Sunnyboy]

I just looked at the link provided about the MBD and Im wondering if the fact he has been running and jumping around even today would have any bearing on it being that. It seems as if the post speaks to paralysis of some kind that"s why I ask.Your squirrel's symptoms should improve within a few hours or days (younger squirrels typically respond faster). If the squirrel is feeling better but still paralyzed, he may have a spinal injury due to his weak bones.

As I mentioned earlier Sunny has been nothing but a healthy happy boy for 5 + years, and we have never had to search out any reasoning for a previous illness. I assume that it's possible that squirrels can get a "cold" in some manner. If you guys confirm that this is a possibility, rather then something of a more serious situation, how have you dealt with it from a care standpoint and a
"medicine" to give.
While I want to handle this with immediate action if needed; I don't want to overreact and panic. Some thoughts on the possibility its a cold would be appreciated. We just gave him some calcium(Tums) with a little peanut butter.

Thanks so much

[CritterMom]

I agree. I feed both the Henry's and the Teklad blocks. Zeke gets 2 Henry's per day and he spends hours hiding, recovering, nibbling, rehiding, re-recovering, re-nibbling, and re-re-hiding his Teklads all day long. The Henry's are my insurance policy. BTW, they usually LOVE them - they are designed to be tasty, too. Make sure you take a handful out to keep in the fridge and freeze the rest - they have no preservatives.

[Sunnyboy]

I have been following the suggested healthy diets from the Squirrel board, Henry's Pets Healthy Diet for Pet Squirrels, and the Squirrel Refuge.org since day one. I never been as diligent with a pet as I have been with Sunny, I have also hand raised baby Macaws from the day they have hatched.

As most of you know Squirrel's aren't an animal you go out and get, I'm sure most of you have had them land into your life out of nowhere. So with that said we have sort out and read all the available knowledge by others like yourselves available and taken it very seriously, thank God for the Internet.

My wife and I just took our first trip together in 5 years, as we never felt comfortable with leaving Sunny's care to another person. Please don't take this post as being defensive or trying to prove competence to you guys. I'm more trying to give you some insight to how we have handled our responsibility and have been able to raise a 2-3 day old baby squirrel for 5+ years thankfully without issue.
I sincerely appreciate your quick and caring responses and do feel better knowing others like us are out there to lean on and learn from. Im going to take and send some picture to you all in next post.

[Sunnyboy]

These are some photos of Sunny. First one is a few days after finding him, 2nd is from July, and 3rd is today.

[RockyPops]

Beautiful boy you have there!

Thanks for the pics!