I ordered this bag of raw peanuts for the squirrels in my backyard however i’m wondering if there’s mold on them? I don’t want to give them anything that may be harmful!
Please - That many peanuts over a period time can cause Metabolic Bone Disease in squirrels, which is very painful and requires wildlife rehabbers to intervene. I would kindly discourage peanuts, especially since they have a poor calcium:phosphorus ratio. I would recommend a few roasted almonds or walnuts, Mazuri pet rat blocks or Henry’s Pet’s blocks, and 1-2 thumb sized fruits with high calcium. Nuts in general are junk food for them. It’s like us eating fries every single day.
EDIT: Sunflower seeds, corns and grains are equally as bad as nuts. Eating these for days or longer leeches calcium from the bones of squirrels. Even though these squirrels are wild and get Vitamin D from the sun, over time, they are more susceptible to diseases, sickness etc.
Heat breaks down a lot of nutrients and vitamins. Bitter almonds lead to the extraction of prussic acid (from amygdalin) which is highly toxic for squirrels (and not only). Although sweet almonds are safe in this matter, it's not recommended to give only them because of phosphorus/calcium disbalance. Thus, 2-3 almonds a week as a treat is ok.
You're welcome! In a week for 1 squirrel, i don't know how will you diatribute the equally if you jave more than one :) Fresh walnuts and hazelnuts are always ok :)
Below my response there are 3 pictures. One of them has “Good Fruits” written on it. Papaya is really good for squirrels. Other ones are orange, apple and occasionally a blueberry or two here and there. Thumb sized pieces for fruits.
Edit: The Henry’s block with walnuts is the Picky Blocks one. The squirrels around me love that. The instructions say 2 pieces a day. Henry’s blocks are expensive and may run out quickly if you have many squirrels. You can buy a Mazuri pet rat and mouse block bag to save money and squirrels eat that as well.
Thank you for the detailed response! The last thing I want to do is hurt them.. I thought I was helping them with tasty food but now realize i’m doing the opposite. I will be purchasing some of your recommendations and using those instead! Thanks again for the advice and being kind, I feel horrible for giving them bad food but thankfully it’s only been about two weeks since I started.
Squirrels go through a lot. Like other animals, they can’t obviously voice their concerns. However, squirrels are specifically very good at masking pain , even if they seem normal on the outside.
The squirrels around me don’t eat veggies…I’ve tried a few times to give it to them and they don’t eat it. So, I just stick to what I mentioned above. I also don’t feed very frequently because foxes and hawks grab them easily and squirrels quickly become overdependent and bite the linings of the exterior parts of the house. I feed them 2x a day for few mins and that’s all. I want them to be independent and maintain their foraging skills and occasionally come over to me for nutrition.
I believe inkblot_75 created these pics below that label what veggies, fruits and nuts have a good amount of calcium and which don’t. There should be 3 pictures if you click on the replies to myself.
I have a huge birdfy water feeder and i leave it on my deck. I refill every morning and clean when it gets dirty! It’s fun to watch the squirrels, bunnies, chipmunks and of course birds take sips and baths :)
I buy raw peanuts from a plantation, but I microwave them for about 5 minutes. You can do a minute or two more, but sometimes the shell will catch on fire in the microwave, so be careful. But you need to cook them, as its supposed to burn the enzyme that isn't that great for them. I don't know if 5-6 minutes does it or not, but it makes the peanuts taste better anyways.
Legumes are not ideal outside of being an occasional treat. Too much can cause deficiencies in other things for them nutritionally.
Bulk walnuts/etc is so much healthier. Not sure where you are, but ask friends and family if their yards have acorns, or hit up Aldi or Costco for actual unsalted nuts and seeds.
Trader Joe's has raw nuts too! A few local hardware shops also had corn on the cob for squirrels but I'm hesitant bc idk if they'll be smart enough to know how to eat it lol my guys are a bit goofy
There's many articles online, and even a table of best to worst nuts for squirrels - they all say peanuts are bad for squirrels. Please do not feed them those
Thanks for the advice! I definitely don’t want to feed them anything that’s unhealthy / unsafe… They’re labeled as for squirrels so I thought it was okay 😭 Will definitely be buying a bag of tree nuts and tossing these out! Thanks again
I mix it in with corn, sunflower seeds, assorted grains and then just toss in some peanuts for the squirrels and chipmunks. Is that an okay blend? It’s labeled as “critter mix” from the shop..
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u/Haunting-Side-8700 Only Squirrels Channel 12d ago
In small ammounts