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Thread: Nutrients / Snacks for Eye Health

  1. #1
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    Default Nutrients / Snacks for Eye Health

    I have been noticing that the squirrels in the park seem to have bad eyesight. When I toss them a nut, they cannot seem to see where it goes. Instead, they follow the sound. In absence of the sound of the nut hitting the ground, they look around and look around acting confused. I wonder if part of the problem is that they are getting too many nuts and not an adequate diet to maintain eyesight? Is anyone willing to recommend any snacks that promote good eye health in squirrels? How about in spoiled squirrels that are picky eaters?

    There is also a nasty polluted pond that might have something to do with this problem.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Nutrients / Snacks for Eye Health

    Thats interesting. I wonder if it could be that they are being exposed to pesticide or herbicides sprayed on the grass. ..or possibly they could be ingesting rat poison. When I lived in Manhattan in the late 80's, pigeons were being run over by cars and buses with increasing frequency...it turned out their nervous systems were being damaged because they were ingesting rat poison pellets distributed in all the city parks. The impaired neurological system caused sluggish response time to approaching vehicles .[/PHP]. I know that neurological impairment can also affect vision,blurry,or double vision,or blindness.

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  4. #3
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    Default Re: Nutrients / Snacks for Eye Health

    Quote Originally Posted by Rocky1 View Post
    I have been noticing that the squirrels in the park seem to have bad eyesight. When I toss them a nut, they cannot seem to see where it goes. Instead, they follow the sound. In absence of the sound of the nut hitting the ground, they look around and look around acting confused. I wonder if part of the problem is that they are getting too many nuts and not an adequate diet to maintain eyesight? Is anyone willing to recommend any snacks that promote good eye health in squirrels? How about in spoiled squirrels that are picky eaters?

    There is also a nasty polluted pond that might have something to do with this problem.
    Foods that most wild squirrels will readily eat are avocado (no skin or pit), fresh coconut, fresh corn chunks (ideally sprinkled with a little calcium carbonate powder) and sugar snap peas (sometimes).

    A more time consuming option is to make boo balls, which is ground rodent block (I use Harlan Teklad 2018) mixed with veggie/fruit baby food or applesauce, some ground nuts and coconut or avocado oil. The mixture should be just wet enough to hold together when rolled into a ball. This rodent block provides complete nutrition so it is very healthy for them. An added bonus....birds will eat it too.

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  6. #4
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    Default Re: Nutrients / Snacks for Eye Health

    Most of my wilds enjoy pumpkin and butternut squash. Both are high in vitamin A, which is good for human eyesight so it seems like it would be good for squirrels too!

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    Rocky1 (09-15-2020)

  8. #5
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    Default Re: Nutrients / Snacks for Eye Health

    I was so amazed that these urban squirrels, with all their nuts and junk food, actually pigged out on my fresh pumpkin wedges, lol! That was a great suggestion! If the squirrels think I'm a bad cook they would not be the first, but some boo balls might be next or I might wait until winter. I will pay attention to pesticides and chemicals in the park to the best of my ability to try to help figure this out.

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    Mialouise (09-15-2020)

  10. #6
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    Default Re: Nutrients / Snacks for Eye Health

    Aw, that's awesome! Glad they liked the pumpkin. Thanks for caring about your city squirrels. I live in NYC and have a crew of that visits my fire escape regularly. I have seen them with all sorts of human junk food but pizza seems to be their favorite! I give them almonds, and Henry's Wild Bites to provide added nutrition. They love avocado (no skin or pit) but won't go near most other veggies- pumpkin and butternut squash seem to be the exception. Every squirrel is different though, with different likes and dislikes just like us.

    https://www.henryspets.com/wild-bite...rats-and-mice/

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