Healthy treats for wild squirrels

[gbrown]

Since I moved into my house about 6 months ago, I've been leaving bowls of food and water on the back porch for the backyard squirrels. At first the bowl was full of black oil sunflower seeds, until I read on the board that those are not the healthiest. I stopped putting out seeds, and the little brats got mad and started trying to destroy the bird feeder to get to the few seeds that were in the mix. So now they only get fruits and veggies. I throw in a little of whatever I have in my kitchen (unless of course it's on the "avoid" list). Right now the bowl is full of sweet potato, apples, blueberries, and sugar snap peas. The squirrels seem to have gotten over the lack of seeds and love the new treats! They've even started letting me sit just a few feet away while they come and eat!

But, I looked at the healthy diet pyramid and saw that everything in the bowl is in the "limited" group. Does that apply equally to wild squirrels? Should I stop giving any/all of those foods, and what healthy things should I give them? I want to give the little cuties their treats, but I definitely don't want to do anything that would negatively impact their health.

And since I've noticed how much everyone on the board enjoys pictures, here's one of my frequent visitors!

[Spanky]

The Healthy Food Pyramid was designed for captive squirrels and wild squirrels have more "latitude" in diet than captive squirrels. Captive squirrel can only eat what they are provided while wilds have... well, the wilds to chose from in addition to what we might put out for them. I would not be concerned in the least with the offerings you are providing... much better than peanuts and sunflower seeds without any doubt!

[JLM27]

I give my wilds nuts, mostly hazelnuts, but I see them eating in the trees all the time on buds and barks, and all kinds of fruits that we do not regard as fruits because humans can't eat them.

[Ekorre]

What a sweet photo!

Thanks for caring so much about your squirrels!

I give my wild squirrels a variety of unsalted nuts (some in shells, some not). Usually walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, and almonds. Slices of ripe avocado (no seed or pit) - it's a great source of healthy fat and most squirrels love it. I also try to get them to eat vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, green cabbage, etc. I occasionally buy a package of cubed sweet potato and butternut squash and they seem to like that. They also get fresh coconut chunks, some apple, a mandarin slice, and a few other pieces of fruit from time to time. I limit the amount of fruit they get due to the high sugar content. They like variety, so I do my best to change it up as often as I can & they always have plenty of fresh water.

I've also made homemade squirrel block for them (based on a recipe I found here on TSB). That wasn't a big hit, so I made Boo Balls and added quite a bit of almond butter. That went over better, but it's still hit or miss. Here are some recipes if you're interested: https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...dly-Cook-Book) and this: http://cliptomize.com/Clipbook/View/...ret=jf7yk2rk8p

In my experience, younger squirrels are more willing to try new foods. My wild mama squirrel has a new litter of babies (there are four or five of them and they're about ten weeks old), and I'm not giving them any nuts yet. I'm doing what I can to introduce them to healthy foods before they have a chance to become nut junkies. At least the babies seem to like the squirrel block I made!

I sometimes dust the nuts (and other food) with calcium carbonate powder to provide a bit of extra calcium (nuts are high in phosphorus). Wild squirrels can eat more nuts than those in captivity because they know how to balance their diets and are not solely dependent on humans for food. Like you, I use this as my guide: https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...-Pet-Squirrels, but I'm more generous with the nuts and a few other items as they're wild squirrels.

[gbrown]

What a sweet photo!

Thanks for caring so much about your squirrels!

I give my wild squirrels a variety of unsalted nuts (some in shells, some not). Usually walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, and almonds. Slices of ripe avocado (no seed or pit) - it's a great source of healthy fat and most squirrels love it. I also try to get them to eat vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, green cabbage, etc. I occasionally buy a package of cubed sweet potato and butternut squash and they seem to like that. They also get fresh coconut chunks, some apple, a mandarin slice, and a few other pieces of fruit from time to time. I limit the amount of fruit they get due to the high sugar content. They like variety, so I do my best to change it up as often as I can & they always have plenty of fresh water.

I've also made homemade squirrel block for them (based on a recipe I found here on TSB). That wasn't a big hit, so I made Boo Balls and added quite a bit of almond butter. That went over better, but it's still hit or miss. Here are some recipes if you're interested: https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...dly-Cook-Book) and this: http://cliptomize.com/Clipbook/View/...ret=jf7yk2rk8p

In my experience, younger squirrels are more willing to try new foods. My wild mama squirrel has a new litter of babies (there are four or five of them and they're about ten weeks old), and I'm not giving them any nuts yet. I'm doing what I can to introduce them to healthy foods before they have a chance to become nut junkies. At least the babies seem to like the squirrel block I made!

I sometimes dust the nuts (and other food) with calcium carbonate powder to provide a bit of extra calcium (nuts are high in phosphorus). Wild squirrels can eat more nuts than those in captivity because they know how to balance their diets and are not solely dependent on humans for food. Like you, I use this as my guide: https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...-Pet-Squirrels, but I'm more generous with the nuts and a few other items as they're wild squirrels.

Thank you! I will try giving them some avocado and see how they like it. And I'll check out those recipes too!

I've seen two little ones out and about the last couple of weeks, so I will definitely have to put out some new things for them to try. They are just the cutest; one of them runs over as fast as he can when he sees me coming out with treats! He still has that baby face, and it is the most precious thing. I just want to scoop him up and snuggle him (but I'm fully aware my face would be ripped to shreds)!
My hubby thinks I'm crazy for loving squirrels so much, lol. I tell him nope, I'm NUTS!

[gbrown]

The Healthy Food Pyramid was designed for captive squirrels and wild squirrels have more "latitude" in diet than captive squirrels. Captive squirrel can only eat what they are provided while wilds have... well, the wilds to chose from in addition to what we might put out for them. I would not be concerned in the least with the offerings you are providing... much better than peanuts and sunflower seeds without any doubt!

Thank you, that's very good to know! Is there anything else you'd suggest that they really like? Unfortunately I've noticed fewer visitors now that the bowl is no longer full of seeds. Maybe it's a little squirrely protest?

[gbrown]

I give my wilds nuts, mostly hazelnuts, but I see them eating in the trees all the time on buds and barks, and all kinds of fruits that we do not regard as fruits because humans can't eat them.

I see that too! There's one new little guy who's been coming to visit. He ignores the bowl of treats and chews on a piece of bark that's been lying on the ground next to the porch!

[Jasonrag]

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