4 1/2 month old with diarrhea

**Hannah327** · 05-18-2022, 06:51 PM

I have 3, 4 1/2 month old gray squirrels and one of my females, Peaches, has had diarrhea for a week now. I thought it was from a cucumber slice I gave her because it was green and watery and it was something I new that I have never given them. It eventually got light brown and mustard colored but still watery. And now it’s still light colored but pasty like. Could this be a parasite? Is there anything I can do for her to make her feel better? She’s been laying around.

**Tuff** · 05-18-2022, 08:34 PM

Originally Posted by Hannah327

I have 3, 4 1/2 month old gray squirrels and one of my females, Peaches, has had diarrhea for a week now. I thought it was from a cucumber slice I gave her because it was green and watery and it was something I new that I have never given them. It eventually got light brown and mustard colored but still watery. And now it’s still light colored but pasty like. Could this be a parasite? Is there anything I can do for her to make her feel better? She’s been laying around.

First question is what does the normal diet consist of? Could she have gotten into anything else. Photos of the poo do help to diagnose. Does it have an offensive odor?

**Hannah327** · 05-21-2022, 12:43 PM

They’re 3 1/2 months old my bad and they are free fed Teklad 24% protein blocks. They eat romaine lettuce freely and broccoli and what not. They get 2-3 nuts a piece a day and I have healthy treats for them too they they get once a day. I give them a grape every now and then or a few blueberries. I roll their cage outside on my porch every day and I let them out of it when I can be out there to watch and play with them. They play and dig in my flowerbeds and flower pots but I don’t know of anything they could’ve gotten into that would cause harm. I’m about to clean their cage out so I will take some photos. I haven’t been able to smell right since I’ve had covid a year ago but I can smell it a little bit, it just smells like squirrel poo to me. I don’t think it’s really strong but it’s doesn’t smell great.

**Spanky** · 05-21-2022, 05:05 PM

Originally Posted by Hannah327

They’re 3 1/2 months old my bad and they are free fed Teklad 24% protein blocks. They eat romaine lettuce freely and broccoli and what not. They get 2-3 nuts a piece a day and I have healthy treats for them too they they get once a day. I give them a grape every now and then or a few blueberries. I roll their cage outside on my porch every day and I let them out of it when I can be out there to watch and play with them. They play and dig in my flowerbeds and flower pots but I don’t know of anything they could’ve gotten into that would cause harm. I’m about to clean their cage out so I will take some photos. I haven’t been able to smell right since I’ve had covid a year ago but I can smell it a little bit, it just smells like squirrel poo to me. I don’t think it’s really strong but it’s doesn’t smell great.

Pictures of the poo would help. What is the coloring?

If feeding Tekald and not a supplement block like Henry's, the Teklad blocks need to be about 8-% (or more) of their diet. I am not sure if that is the case with all the other foods that were also listed.

Letting these squirrels out of the cage outdoors is a disaster in the making...

Causes of diarrhea could include not washing the fruits and veggies. Too many fruits. Not sure what the "healthy treats" are or if they might be the culprit. And of course their getting into the flower beds and unknown things could be causing diarrhea.

**Hannah327** · 05-22-2022, 10:27 AM

I tried to upload a picture I usually don’t have any problems but it’s not showing I posted it. The coloring is a light brown. Are you saying I need to switch back to Henry’s? I don’t let them out in my house and I feel bad if I make them stay in their cage. They love being outside and playing I hate to keep them up. I am in the process of making them a box for a tree and the treats I give are calendula, hibiscus, and a veggie blend treat from exotic nutrition. Yogu drops as well. I slacked off on the fruit I was giving quite a bit thinking that may have been it but no improvement so far.

**stepnstone** · 05-22-2022, 10:47 AM

Originally Posted by Hannah327

I tried to upload a picture I usually don’t have any problems but it’s not showing I posted it. The coloring is a light brown. Are you saying I need to switch back to Henry’s? I don’t let them out in my house and I feel bad if I make them stay in their cage. They love being outside and playing I hate to keep them up. I am in the process of making them a box for a tree and the treats I give are calendula, hibiscus, and a veggie blend treat from exotic nutrition. Yogu drops as well. I slacked off on the fruit I was giving quite a bit thinking that may have been it but no improvement so far.

I wouldn't even slop a pig with anything from exotic nutrition!

**Spanky** · 05-22-2022, 12:39 PM

Originally Posted by Hannah327

Are you saying I need to switch back to Henry’s?

I am not saying you need to switch back to Henry's but I am saying there is a world of different between Henry's and Teklad (and other rodent block) and which ever is being used should be used correctly... and they are very different.

Henry's is a "supplement" block meaning it is concentrated with nutrition. When using Henry's, you need to only feed 2 - 3 blocks a day and then they can be basically free fed with healthy vegetables and fruit per the healthy food pyramid.

If you are using a "staple" block like Teklad (and more others) you need to free feed the Teklad making sure that is 80% of their daily intake. The veggies and fruit then become "treats" which should not be more than 15% - 20% of what they eat. The "staple" extruded rodent pellets are intended really to be 100% of their diet, so the concentration of nutrition is very low compared to a block like Henry's.

The key in either case is that they need to actually eat the Henry's or the Teklad in the prescribed amount before the other foods are provided.

And you can free feed Teklad even if using Henry's (I added this after thinking members reading this thread might wonder about this).

**Hannah327** · 05-22-2022, 06:00 PM

I was told they had to eat at least 4-6 blocks a piece a day, with them together it’s hard to tell if all of them are eating that much but they are all eating quite a bit of it. My girl that’s had diarrhea is losing weight I’m thinking I need to go back to the Henry’s like I was a little while back and see if that helps and still offer the teklad.