Hi there- not sure if you read the post from the original thread! He has always been energetic, however it is getting worse with the pacing none stop and I have to work from home, and I have upcoming hard times with my mom going in for an open brain surgery next week, so I need him to settle down.
Just this morning, I went out an got some fresh branches, he gave them no care and just woke up at 7 starting pacing right away.
I have bought nuts in the shell from www.anuts.com They sell black walnuts in the shell. They also sell snack food for humans. Prices are reasonable.
Yes, the instinct to be out amongst the trees is wired in genetically. As to how he would do, I have no idea, but he might surprise. I realize that you like him, that the bond is profound.
Squirrels are very sensitive bio feedback devices. Mr. Moby may be more keyed up recently because since Covid has come to dominate the world and our lives, many of us are rather stressed out. Depression is on the rise, drug abuse is up, violence is up, people are cracking their teeth from grinding and clenching, people are gaining weight, people are losing substantial amounts. The stress is effecting all of us. You are more stressed out, so Mr. Moby becomes more stressed out, which in turn stresses you out. It is a downward spiral. Being cooped up in an apartment instead of interacting with coworkers and customers all day is stressful. Your mom needing brain surgery is stressful. (My mother recently had a stroke and earlier in life, a brain aneurysm.)
So, you might start by trying to be mindful of your stress level at any given moment. Are your teeth clenched? Is there tension in your neck and shoulder? How is the breathing? Etc. Bottomline if you can release some of your stress I think that you will find that Mr. Moby will calm down. Consider yoga and meditation. Just take some time to do nothing except try to release the tension muscle group by muscle group. Put on some relaxing music. Turn off the TV and computer and put down the phone. Maybe just stare out the window a bit. Try to find a more mellow rhythm to lead you through daily life.
The feedback with Mr. Moby can also be part of a upward, relaxation spiral.
If you could get a first floor apartment, with a patio or porch, you could put a large outdoor cage there.
Mialouise (12-04-2020)
Also, by talking to Mr. Moby this allows you to monitor your current emotional state and thus be able to modulate towards more relaxed if angry or stressed. Yelling at Mr. Moby will only get you more of the behavior you don't want, in all likelihood. Reprimand and redirect but do so calmly, with quiet firmness.
As I mentioned, I also have a free roaming squirrel about the house. It can be done, but every squirrel is an individual, every situation slightly different.
Thank you so much- your words mean a lot and I have been very stressed out with my moms situation and I am getting headaches daily from neck tension and being so upset
I'm so sorry you have to go through this with your mom 😞
I'm sending prayers to you both and pray your boy will calm down so you can focus more. I'm sure he is picking up on your anxiety they are real good at that 🙄
Big hugs honey
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Black walnuts have a significantly higher phosphorus to calcium ratio of approx. (8:1) than that of English walnuts, at (3.5:1), making it
one of the closest (P:Ca) ratios of all commercially produced nuts. It's also lower in calcium lowering anti-nutrients than that found in Black walnuts, which on account of the level they contain being higher that that of their calcium content, supply no calcium to the body.
So english walnuts are better? if so are they as hard to crack/??
Chirps (11-27-2020), Grinderhead (11-26-2020)
No they aren't; my foxer had no issue opening them up on her own. Thing is, I don't recommend feeding nuts in the shell for they are prone to having nut weevil larva infestation and even toxic fungus. Most don't, but I assure you some do. Organic only, as conventionally produced nuts by law have to be fumigated. We get our nuts from Trader Joe's, best English walnuts of the available sources at markets.
RamiS (11-26-2020)
The point of giving the black walnut was not nutrition but rather something to keep Mr. Moby occupied in a natural squirrel kind of way. Chewing into a black walnut is a lot of work. Taking many minutes, 10-15, and resulting in a pile of sawdust, and even then they, the grey squirrel, doesn't get access to all of the nutmeat, that requires more work still. So, a grey squirrel quickly learns that a black walnut is a lot of work. So instead of trying to eat it, they look for places to cache it. However, no place is ever good enough. So, two minutes later they pick it up again and look for a better hiding place. This can keep them occupied for a while.
An English walnut while it has better phosphorus numbers is easy to get open and there is a lot of nut inside an English walnut. So, the squirrel will eat fewer nuts if they are given black walnuts instead of English walnuts. So, the ultimate objective is to keep the squirrel busy and focused on squirrel business, building and maintaining a reserve cache of food.
A squirrel with a black walnut is a happy squirrel because it is so big. So it becomes a prize possession. So they scamper here and there, looking for the perfect place to put it.
Chirps (11-27-2020)
No, English walnuts are easy to crack and so they won't serve the intended purpose. It takes my grey less than a minute to get into one. I rarely give her one because they a large and contain a lot of nutmeat. Since the black walnut is so difficult to get into they eat very few of them. They are very enthusiastic in the beginning but quickly realize that it is a lot of work. (See my other, longer reply above.)
Hickory nuts provide the same level of difficulty to open because they have a very thick shell.
Oh my goodness look at that innocent face
I love love love him
Charley Chuckles gone from my arms FOREVER in my heart 8/14/04-3/7/13
Simon, our time was too short together, but you gave us so much love, be with CC now 3/7/14
The "CHARLEY CHUCKLES MEMORIAL RAIL TOUR" leaves the station choo chooo
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RamiS (07-21-2023)
Not to throw a wrench into the works however I just want to add my 2cents....
Unfortunately I've had to deal with odatomas in a couple of my kids.
Never could figure how they get them🤔
I have a theory and its only a theory....using hard shell nuts like black walnuts and such to occupy a squirrel instead of branches causes them to CHEW CHEW CHEW which may be putting pressure on their jaws/teeth where as a wild squirrel does not sit and do that daily.
I would suggest trying something like coconut shells, change it up even deer anlter, use your imagination.
I've just seen harm caused by continuous chewing on something hard on a regular basis, almost like when they chew on their cage wire.
Charley Chuckles gone from my arms FOREVER in my heart 8/14/04-3/7/13
Simon, our time was too short together, but you gave us so much love, be with CC now 3/7/14
The "CHARLEY CHUCKLES MEMORIAL RAIL TOUR" leaves the station choo chooo
*Deland,FL. *Washington DC *Boston (Back Bay) *Boston (North Station) *Wells,Maine *Albany,NY *New York (Penn Station) *Back to Deland FL. "July 1- July 22" 2013
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charleychuckles1@gmail.com
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Chirps (11-27-2020)