Squirrel Nutrition
Feeding Squirrels
Welcome to Our Website!
You too can raise healthy, happy squirrels!
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"A Mini Rehabilitation Guide" for Squirrels.
A "must have" for everyone new to raising squirrels!
To receive your copy click HERE.
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Introducing: Squirrel Biscuits
New to our site, Squirrel Biscuits. Complete Nutrition for even finiky Squirrels.
Handy kit makes almost 2 pounds of Squirrel Biscuit dough. The only food made
exclusively for squirrels. Get your squirrels off junk food! We'll even give you
the recipe F*R*E*E!
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Got A Question? Talk to Me onFACEBOOK!
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SquirrelNutrition.com is dedicated to providing good Squirrel Nutrition and Care. There's a lot to know about feeding squirrels in order to provide adequate squirrel nutrition.
We've raised and released many squirrels over the years, and have never lost one due to a nutrition problem. Feeding squirrels does not have to be complicated or expensive. We'll share our secrets about squirrel nutrition, and show you how you can be feeding squirrels the right way and for just pennies per day!
Forget about what you've read in the past about formula for baby squirrels! Some would have you believe that only a certain expensive puppy formula is the only safe formula for squirrels. Nothing could be further from the truth! We've raised healthy, disease resistant squirrels for years and have never had to use what other websites and animal rehabilitators promote!
Visual Proof That Feeding Right Makes a Differance
The following pictures were taken five days apart. I would not have believed it if I had not seen it with my own eyes! Proper nutrition can make a world of difference in your squirrel!
This is Lucky when she started to wean off expensive puppy formula
Below is Lucky one week later after switching her to our homemade formula plus one Nut Square per day.
Good Squirrel Nutrition Has Various Stages.
Squirrels have different nutrition needs at various stages of their lives. Between birth and eight weeks old, a squirrel will exclusively require formula. By this time their teeth have developed to the point where they instinctively start to gnaw on harder objects. They are ready to start gnawing on soft foods, but will often continue to want to nurse. (We've had squirrels continue to take formula supplementation for up to 23 weeks! ) The development of teeth can make nursing very challenging. They will shred nipples and chew the end off plastic syringes. Their jaws are powerful enough to crush glass, so I would caution anyone against using glass eyedroppers or syringes beyond a few weeks on newborn squirrels!
When squirrels first start to chew on soft vegetable, like small pieces of sweet potato, they will often just shred and spit it out until they learn how to chew and swallow. When I no longer find shredded food in their cage, I will advance their diet to harder foods like nuts. At eight weeks I start putting small Maple or Oak branches in their cage so they can start gnawing and begin the process of wearing down their incisors, which grow continuously. If a squirrel does not get enough "chew time" their teeth can grow larger than their mouth can accomodate and actually injure the inside of their mouth. If this happens, their teeth must be trimmed. I've trimmed young squirrels teeth with heavy side cut toenail clippers. If you think your squirrel has a tooth problem and you are not comfortable doing it, find a Vet that specializes in wild animal care!
Myths About Feeding Squirrels.
There's a lot of myth about what constitutes good squirrel nutrition. Most people are uninformed and misled about what they should be feeding a squirrel. A common misconception is that dried field corn and peanuts are good for squirrels. The fact is that squirrels rarely eat more than the germination bud off the kernels of corn, and throw 80 to 90% of it away!
Peanuts are not nuts at all but rather legumes. Corn and peanuts are not a complete protein and therefore not good nutrition for squirrels. The real danger of corn and peanuts is that when they get wet, they can grow an invisible mold called Aflatoxin that can destroy a squirrel's liver when ingested.
What Constitutes Good Squirrel Nutrition?
If you want to provide good squirrel nutrition, you only need keep in mind that squirrels are herbivores, and provide them with bright colored vegetables and fruits, plus real nuts that contain essential fatty acids. There is information about limiting certain fruits and vegetables that can block the absorbtion of calcium. We cover that more extensively in our section, "What to Feed Squirrels."
Of all the vitamins and minerals squirrels need, Calcium is the most important. If a squirrel does not get enought calcium in its diet, it can develop a condition called "Rickets" and "Metabolic Bone Disease." The need for calcium is especially critical when a squirrel is in captivity.
The Secret To Healthy Squirrels.
We provide our squirrels with a daily supplement calledNut Balls or Nut Squares while we have them captive and after we release them. There are foods that can block the absorption of calcium, but we do what is done in hospitals. We don't feed any other foods an hour before and an hour after giving Nut Balls. We've modified the recipe to include Organic Raw Coconut Oil and have found that our squirrels do not develop any of the typical diseases that other squirrels get. My wife and I have replaced all hydrogenated oils in our diet with organic raw coconut oil, and we've not had a "stay at home" illness in years!
More Proof
This is Ricky when he arrived at our facility,
severely malnourished and unable to walk This was Ricky 3 months later!
Below is Ozzie and Ricky two weeks before they were released.
You too could have squirrels as healthy as this!
A Well Fed Squirrel Is a Beautiful Thing!
Thank-you for visiting our Website! Please, take a few minutes to browse through our pages of squirrel education! Please bookmark our site and return often whenever you have questions about raising healthy and disease resistant squirrels! If you have any questions that are not answered here, you can contact me direct at SquirrelNutrition@Yahoo.com.
William Sells, RN
Squirrel Haven Rescue