Obese wild squirrels... because of me?

[Amy Mae]

Hi there! I am a wild squirrel lover, and have a thriving community in the little patch of wilderness behind my apartment. I have identified 23 different fox squirrels with distinct, identifiable markings. One grey. And then a whole slew of reds that I cannot tell apart. I feel so lucky. They brighten up even the darkest times.

But... do squirrels become fat to the point that it is a harm, rather than a help?

My concern is that it’s the middle of summer and they are huge. Even the reds! I put out multiple feeding stations so that they don’t compete with birds or each other for food. I worry that squirrels may be programmed to eat as much as they can in order to bulk up for lean, cold times. So if there is too much food available every day, am I hurting my wild fur babies? I also worry that they are so big that they will become sluggish and less agile when predators are near. (At least two red tailed hawks have been spotted.)

Also, right now everybody’s making babies. So I figured that the obese ones were all just pregnant. However, some of them have testes and are roughly just as fat. So again, this reinforces my worry that I’m over-feeding.

[CritterMom]

Well, foxers are BIG. I would keep an eye out for squirrels that are in your area but not your neighborhood and see what they look like size-wise. They ARE programmed to chow down during the warm times. I support a huge population of squirrels and feed them Mazuri rat blocks that I fancy up a bit. About mid-summer they start to pack on the weight - even the non-mamas and by fall they are massive.

[Amy Mae]

Critter Mom, thank you! It sounds like you are feeding a lot of wild ones, like I am, and your recommendations are gratefully received. I’m trying to give them periodic feedings of those square nuggets that have calcium in them, as I would hate to be contributing to poor nutrition and weak bones for my forest friends. I’ll check out the rat blocks - thanks for the tip. I’m also glad for the reassurance that it’s not just the mamas, cuz otherwise, I’d have an awful lot of mamas. I’d have to start calling my strip of woods the Pregnancy Ward.