2 12 years old, became pretty lathargic 4-5 days and breathing thru mouth some

[supersquirrelgirl]

Hi Matt,

Sounds good and Thank you for praise of TSB. Id dosing complete or have a few more days ?? (yes, clear syringe is much easier to read)

Pic of Ms Rupert looks very nice. You're both lucky to have each other.

Mr.SSG

[mattb]

I think I ought to continue treatment for a couple more days, 10 days total. Seeing that I might not have given very accurate doses a few times and that we're just seeing her doing better, I think another 2 days is probably not a bad plan.

Today she has ate about 5 of the food balls I made up. This is also making us feel better now that she is eating food that is high in nutrients and vitamins. I will continue making these balls and will cut down the amount of pecans and walnuts as we go along.

Thanks for all the help.

[CritterMom]

Very good idea. You can go further than that if need be. I would like to see her symptom free.

[mattb]

I will continue at least another 5-7 days, then. We'll see how it works out.
thanks

[mattb]

I've been dosing for 10 days now. Rupert is doing much better and is more active. I don't think she is breathing thru her mouth any more. I still her a pop/gasp every 5-10 seconds. I've heard this in the past. Not sure if it has always been like this or if it has come and gone at times. I think I will treat her for another 2-3 days. Thoughts about this??

Eating better food, not as many nuts in her diet. I am making some food balls as has been previously mentioned. Still put the exotic squirrel mix in so she has something to nibble. A little fresh produce that she will eat from time to time.

I have a pack of Exotic Beneficial blocks. This seems to be mostly nuts. They are advertised as healthy. Any opinions on this?

Mattb

[CritterMom]

My opinion on ALL of the food at Exotic Nutrition is a big thumbs down. Lots of the stuff seems to be what squirrels WANT to eat, not what they SHOULD eat. I strongly recommend the Henry's foods. They even make treats that are all nutritionally balanced.

[supersquirrelgirl]

Hi Matt,

Great to hear Rupert is doing good. Agree you should continue AB to include day-14. This should more than enough cover any short-dosing you did early on.

Mr.SSG

[mattb]

Thanks for your opinion of the Exotic foods. I didn't see how anything so full of seeds and nuts could be healthy. I will stick to Henrys blocks, the mix I make up and fresh produce.

I'm going to continue meds for 2 more days.

I think she is much better, still have a popping/gasp every 5-10 seconds, but I've noticed that for over a year, so I guess it's not something that will get better.

thanks all.

[supersquirrelgirl]

Hi Matt,

Good work! So glad Ms. Rupert is doing good thanks to your loving care.

TSB is here if you need anything. I'll remove you from my care sheet.

Take Care,

Mr.SSG

[Mel1959]

If they are Henry’s blocks they are to have 2-3 per day….maybe 4 if it’s a very large squirrel. You could try adding a little coconut oil or mashed avocado to the block. There is also a walnut oil available. I hope others will post with alternative well liked flavorings that can be added.

Have you considered making boo balls? There are recipes in the squirrel nutrition section. Basically it’s ground up hard extruded rodent block, I use Harlan Teklad. To the ground block I add ground nuts (to encourage them to eat it), powdered FV 20/50 formula (provides extra nutrition), calcium powder can also be added, then to hold it all together I mix in veggie/fruit baby food and some coconut or avocado oil. The mixture should be able to be rolled into balls and stay stuck together without being sticky. I can even get the wild squirrels to eat these and they prefer them over Henry’s Wild Bites.

[mattb]

Thanks for the feeding tips. I give her Picky blocks which she eats occaisionally. I do have walnut oil which I have seasoned them with. Per and earlier post, I have mashed up forti rodent pellets, pecans and walnuts, sprinkled with calcium and with some walnut oil and some apple juice. Maybe baby food works better than apple juice? She has ate and picked thru the balls I made and leaves a mess, but does eat a bit of everything.
I leave this in her cage all the time. I made the balls and let them air dry, then put in the fridg.

I have several bags of the squirrel mix from exotic, she only picks a few things from this, but I keep a small bowl of it in the bottom of the cage.

She eats broccoli, cauliflower and mushrooms some, so I usually put a bit of that in every morning and throw out whats left at nite.

I like the idea of making balls with most everything needed for a healthy diet and being able to have that available to her most of the day. I am going to continue to experiment with the formula and will try baby food next.

thanks

[Mel1959]

Yes, the hard extruded block like Harland is 100% complete nutrition. It’s the only thing fed to lab rats. Adding the powdered formula just ups the ante as they eat the balls and consume bits and pieces. I think Exotic Nutrition provides inferior nutrition compared to other food sources. Regal Rat made by oxbow and Mazuri Rat block are both recommended. Zupreem makes a monkey block that is also ok.

Have you tried kale, escarole, chicory, endive, dandelion greens and arugula? I’ve had squirrels prefer these types of lettuce.

[mattb]

Gonna do meds tomorrow and then stop it or mybe just go to one morning dose for another day or two. I have the forti diet for rats and it has most of what we look for in squirrel food. I'm going to try a mix with baby food as was suggested along with some pecans and walnuts. I hope I can come up with something she really likes and that is good for her. She nibbles and picks on the balls I made up and I will keep up with the picky blocks.
She just doesn't go after any one thing. Maybe a little of this today and then something else tomorrow.

I guess I think she should eat like my outside squirrels. I have 6-8 that won't leave you alone when you go out the back door. I give them all Rupies leftovers and they eat it all, right now. These guys live in the houses I put up when I first released Rupes brother and sister. They are close to the house and the squirrels just set and watch for somebody to come out. I keep thinking she should eat like they do. Maybe because she only scavenged for food the month or so she was outside, she isn't worried about eating like them. She is a runt and has never been fat.

We also feed a few deer at the edge of the yard. My wife has seen this a guy a few times, today is the first time I've seen him. The deer that have grown up here stand at the fence and just look at the house if the food bucket is empty. When you go out to fill it, they back up about 5 foot and as soon as you turn your back they came back to the bucket.

[supersquirrelgirl]

You have a wonderful back yard!

My backyard has all wild squirrels (mostly foxers and 2 greys) that look in and tap the backdoor for food. We have a food box for seeds but now they just bang the cover lid like a doorbell. The come everyday and lay around. Some will sit next to you and chatter.

Good luck with Ms. Rupert.

[mattb]

I've enjoyed all types of anumals since I was a kid looking for crawdads in the creek. I've had quite a few small animals and alwys tried to learn about them. Internet has really opened up a lot of that info.

The squirrels are fun to fool with. I put peanuts in the kitchen window and they will climb to window and look in until they get attention and when you open the door they are on the step. I cut a small tree off about 3 foot above ground. It is nesx to the porch and about 5 foot from a big window in the family room. The tree with one of the boxes is about 5 foot farther out. A squirrel will just set on the stump staring in the house. When he sees you looking out he runs right to the back door! Usually there will be another 1 or 2 on the tree watching. Next thing yo set down and there are 5-6 begging for something.

We have a small chipmonk population. They went from being really scared to finally not minding being around you if they think they get something to eat. I give them sunflower seeds. Of course the squirrels will eat them all, but I made a feeder from 2 inch pvc pipe that the chips can get in, but not the squirrels. We got 5-6 every now and then. I have a cat problem and hawk problem, but I have warned the local cat owners I will catch and move their cats if I find them laying in wait on my porch. Twice the cats have caught chipmonks and took them home as a kill or food. I let them know that we've worked hard to get them established, but we don't let them go to the neighbors yards and kill their cats or birds.

[supersquirrelgirl]

Sounds like a great wildlife backyard or maybe a big acres lot ??

We live near a wilderness ridge and there's all kinds of animals up there. Seen mountain lions, coyotes, foxes, wild turkeys, hawks, owls, rabbits, and of course, the big crows. Many times, these animals patrol the neighborhood at late nights and early mornings. They jump fences and come into backyards quite often.

I can tell something is up when the squirrels jump to trees and the house roof all start barking out the alert. It gets very loud!

Sometimes a big hawk sits on the fence just waiting for squirrel to make a mistake. Hawks are so patient when hunting.

[mattb]

We are actually in a subdivision. Last house at a dead end. Woods runs behind us and trails along for 5 miles or so to thousands of acres of wooded hills. The other direction the woods runs into 150 acres of grass under radio towers and beyond it another 100 acres of woods that is isolated from roads. We do have foxes, turkeys, coyotes (rarely) but no Bobcats or mountain lions. The band of woods is no more than 100-150 yards wide.
It makes a nice backyard especially being the last house on the street.

[mattb]

Rupe is eatng a lot better, some fresh, some of the stuff I made up. She is more active and wanting out and happy to go downstairs where I let her run and she can climb and investigate every corner!

She still has a gasp/popping sound from her mouth every 5 seconds or so. I think she is probably still mouth breathing some. Sometimes she moves her mouth like she is chewing on something. Might be my imagination, but she sometimes looks like her mouth is open just a bit. Not sure if there is more I can do. Opinions.

[supersquirrelgirl]

Some thoughts....

When she is gasping, does her mid-body follow ?? Like taking a deep breath with her lungs move big ??

Any chance you can do a video ??

Could popping be from mouth or teeth ?? How loud is it ?? (need to be right next to her or hear a few feet away?)

Mr.SSG

[mattb]

I hear the popping when she is on my shoulder. Just a small gasp (air she kind of pops out). I see no other issues when she does this and I know she's done this off and on for a year or more. She is eating good, today mushrooms, snap peas, broccoli, nibbled on home made food block. Not bothering with Henry's blocks. She is more active. Still not always going, but she is over 2 years old and food is always there, she doesn't have to work for it. She sleeps 1/2 to 2/3 of the day. I might try to do some video. Kind of tricky, but maybe I could get her making the noise.