Need advice for dehydrated release

[jessijuju]

Blue is very skinny and has the rubbery, yucky dehydrated feel to her skin. I expected weight loss with being recently released but she seems to feel yuckier each time i see her, instead of healthier which is what i was hoping for. Ive been taking a variety of food over, but of course she only wants the "unhealthy" food. She wont eat blocks at all anymore. I keep a water bottle & corn on both of their squirrel feeders. Do you think the corn is causing more damage than good? She seems ok as far as actions but she just feels yucky. She climbs and buries nuts and drinks. Im just worried with her being this scrawny and winter not far away. Runt also keeps chasing her away when feeding her, so that doesnt help any. Any advice is appreciated.

[RockyPops]

Poor baby!

How old is Blue?

How long has she been free?

And corn is not really good for squirrels. If she is hungry she will eat her blocks. You may have to figure out a way to give her time to eat without Runt bothering her. Maybe give Runt a small pile of sunflower seeds. They take a while to eat. May just give her a little time.

Have any pictures? Recent?

[jessijuju]

Poor baby!

How old is Blue?

How long has she been free?

And corn is not really good for squirrels. If she is hungry she will eat her blocks. You may have to figure out a way to give her time to eat without Runt bothering her. Maybe give Runt a small pile of sunflower seeds. They take a while to eat. May just give her a little time.

Have any pictures? Recent?

She is a little over year old. Only been free for 3 wks. Runt has been free a month longer and doin good. They are sisters.

[jessijuju]

This is from 8/28. Like i mentioned, she seems ok visually, she just feels yucky dehydrated.

[Nancy in New York]

She's beautiful.
Her story is somewhat concerning.
Can you tell me what her diet was like prior to release.
What formula was she on, and was she on some sort of "Squirrel Block" like
Henry's (Specifically made for squirrels) or a few other commercial brands?

Supplement her diet all you can with ONLY healthy foods and see if she improves.
I may also suggest treating her for MBD if she was raised on a poor diet.

Pyramid of Healthy Diet
You can print this out.
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...-Pet-Squirrels

[jessijuju]

She's beautiful.
Her story is somewhat concerning.
Can you tell me what her diet was like prior to release.
What formula was she on, and was she on some sort of "Squirrel Block" like
Henry's (Specifically made for squirrels) or a few other commercial brands?

Supplement her diet all you can with ONLY healthy foods and see if she improves.
I may also suggest treating her for MBD if she was raised on a poor diet.

Pyramid of Healthy Diet
You can print this out.
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...-Pet-Squirrels

She was on mazuri blocks mostly, but she stopped eating those the last few months. So i then tried Henrys picky blocks w no luck and then Henrys hazelnut blocks w very little luck. She also would get sweet potato, green beans, romaine lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes... As treats she would get banana chips, grapes, cheese puffs... Her sisters and her all seemed to be doing great. My biggest concern for her was being too fat at one time, but then once she got a small taste of freedom, she was more concerned about being in the trees than eating everything in sight. She really liked the AC so im hoping the heat has just been a little rough on her and she will get better soon.

[Rock Monkey]

Corn is not useful. For one thing it is totally solid and has almost no moisture content which will lead the digestive system to draw water from the body to digest it. Thus contributing to dehydration.

Cheese puffs should not be part of squirrel's diet. Too much salt and all kinds of other artificial stuff. The salt can cause dehydration.

Banana chips with added sugar are not squirrel appropriate. Even the unsweetened variety have no moisture content and contribute to dehydration and constipation. Constipation will diminish appetite substantially and thus worsen hydration.

Do you put out fresh water? Changed daily.

Sweet Potato is 70+% water and has calcium and phosphorus in the proper ratio.

Avocado is almost irresistable. Put out separate food dishes so one squirrel can't crowd the other out.

[jessijuju]

Corn is not useful. For one thing it is totally solid and has almost no moisture content which will lead the digestive system to draw water from the body to digest it. Thus contributing to dehydration.

Cheese puffs should not be part of squirrel's diet. Too much salt and all kinds of other artificial stuff. The salt can cause dehydration.

Banana chips with added sugar are not squirrel appropriate. Even the unsweetened variety have no moisture content and contribute to dehydration and constipation. Constipation will diminish appetite substantially and thus worsen hydration.

Do you put out fresh water? Changed daily.

Sweet Potato is 70+% water and has calcium and phosphorus in the proper ratio.

Avocado is almost irresistable. Put out separate food dishes so one squirrel can't crowd the other out.

Yes i put out fresh water daily. There is 2 separate feeders w water bottles. They used to love sweet potatoes but wont hardly touch them since theyve been free.

[Rock Monkey]

Cooked or uncooked sweet potato?

Uncooked will last longer before going bad, but cooked is easier to digest and sometimes I add a few drops of honey or maple syrup to spur interest. Failing that, crush up a small, unsalted pecan and mix in with one sweet potato.

If you stop putting out the corn that should help get their digestions back into a healthy balance.

Hopefully, the lack of interest in sweet potato is a sign that they have found other healthy foods in the area.

[jessijuju]

Cooked or uncooked sweet potato?

Uncooked will last longer before going bad, but cooked is easier to digest and sometimes I add a few drops of honey or maple syrup to spur interest. Failing that, crush up a small, unsalted pecan and mix in with one sweet potato.

If you stop putting out the corn that should help get their digestions back into a healthy balance.

Hopefully, the lack of interest in sweet potato is a sign that they have found other healthy foods in the area.

Uncooked. I did get her to eat a picky block this morning. And i know they have been eating walnuts. Their mouth and hands are all stained up. There is plenty of those around. Do i just continue to feed blocks and veggies only, or is there a "wild" squirrel feed that is fairly healthy for them? Once they fatten up and are doing good, that is.

[Rock Monkey]

The cooked sweet potato might spur more interest. It couldn't hurt to try and see if there is a difference in their interest.

I would continue putting out the block and squirrel appropriate veggies.

Also, continue to put out fresh water as you are doing. Chewing into a black walnut is a lot of work. I am sure they are stripping the husks off some and burying some of them. (Supposedly time in the ground soften the shell some.)

They are busily putting away stores for the coming winter. They don't hibernate, though they do spend less time outside of the nest. They need to eat every day. The good thing about the black walnuts is that I think there are very few other creatures that can eat them because the shell is so thick.

The harsher the winter the greater the strain on the squirrels, especially if it is a poor mast (acorns, pecans, black walnuts, pine cones) year. If they are struggling to get enough calories during the winter they are much more vulnerable to disease and infestations.

Generally speaking, squirrels face tough odds every year. Their first year is the most challenging where survival is concerned.

[jessijuju]

I tried cooked sweet potato w syrup in it and then with pecans smashed in it. Also tried avocado again. They dont want anything but nuts right now. I leave the veggies on their feeder for them just in case. Not sure if they eventually eat it or something else.

[Rock Monkey]

It sounds like they are finding enough to eat and are working to fatten up for winter. In this mode they will seek the highest fat content foods, even to the point of leaving some food uneaten.

[jessijuju]

It sounds like they are finding enough to eat and are working to fatten up for winter. In this mode they will seek the highest fat content foods, even to the point of leaving some food uneaten.

I hope you are right. Blue needs to fatten up a lot before winter. I worry about her.

[Rock Monkey]

Black Walnuts are not an easy food. Don't get me wrong, some food is always better than no food.

What I mean is that it takes a lot of energy to chew open a black walnut. So the amount of energy they have to expend versus the amount of energy they gain from eating one could be better. Plus, the growth of their teeth may not be able to keep up with the wear and tear of a diet exclusively of black walnuts.

If Helen has a choice between and almond or pecan in a shell and a black walnut, she will eat the almond or pecan first. Don't get me wrong though, she will take the black walnut and cache it somewhere.

If you want to help fatten Blue up for winter I suggest finding or buying some pecans in the shell. (Most of what you find on the ground now is probably not ripe.) It takes less than half minute to chew into one. They can eat what they want to eat, then cache the rest. Then during the winter or spring they can dig them up as need be.

I think you will find those pecans disappearing quickly. If she comes when you call her, then that's great because then you can make sure the pecans go to her.

[jessijuju]

I havent found any in shell but i did get her some unshelled almonds to eat. She comes to me most of the time when i whistle, but unfortunately runt usually beats her. I can usually give runt a shelled peanut and she will take off to go bury it tho 😏 I think (with a little help of supplying some food) they will be ok this winter. Runt was always one to be hiding food somewhere, so no worries there. And blue is a master at stuffing her "house" full of "bedding" so im sure she will stay warm. Ill never forget the first time she started plucking leaves off of their fake tree and taking them into their nest box. I was a proud momma! ☺😍

[Rock Monkey]

When I wanted some nuts in a shell and I searched around I found:

www.anuts.com Prices are reasonable, though there is a shipping charge. Plus they have lots of other snack food for humans.

Stores only seem to have nuts in the shell around the Holidays.

Pecans $3.88, almonds $2.89 a lb.

With the almonds just make sure that there are no other ingredients or flavors, not roasted etc., no sugar, no salt.