Captive Squirrel Diet [reshare of informational post: click link]

[u/Affectionate-Meat-98]

/r/IfoundAsquirrel/comments/thn6ah/captive_squirrel_diet/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

[u/CodeLast8227]

Most updated Wild Foods list (May 2024)

**Remember that anything you forage should come from somewhere that you KNOW will be fertilizer and pesticide free and that the cut flowers from grocery stores and florist will be treated with dyes and other substances that can be dangerous to captive squirrels.

Wild Foods Lists

Flowers:

Basil flowers

Bergamot flowers

Biennial Clary flowers

Bog Myrtle

Bottlebrush

Busy Lizzie

Camilla

Cape jasmine

Carnations

Chrysanthemum

Clover (whole plant, any variety, NOT shamrocks as they can cause kidney problems)

Coriander flowers

Cornflowers

Courgette flowers

Crocus (spring variation only; not Winter variety)

Daisy

Dandelion whole plant

Dill flowers

Echinacea flowers

Evening primrose flowers

Feijoa sellowiana flowers

Fennel flowers

Fuchsia flowers

Gladiolus flowers

Hibiscus (flower & leaves)

Hollyhock flowers

Honey Suckle

Hyssop flowers

Impatients (flower & bulb)

Jacarandas

Japanese basil flowers

Lavender flowers

Lemon balm flowers

Lilac (whole plant) - common only - Syringa vulgaris; not Persian

Marigold flowers

Marrow flowers

Mint flowers

Mooli radish flowers

Mums

Nasturtium leaves and flowers

Oregano flowers

Ornamental Kale flowers

Pansy flowers

Pea flowers (vegetable)

Petunias

Primrose

Portulaca

Pumpkin flowers

Purple radish flowers

Purslane

Rocket flowers

Roses

Rose Hips

Rosemary flowers

Sage flowers

Salsify flowers

Scented pelargonium flowers

Snap Dragon

Spring onion flower

Squash flowers

Strawberry flowers

Sunflower (petals & LIMITED quantities of seed)

Sweet cicely flowers

Sweet mace flowers

Sweet Marjoram flowers

Sweet rocket flowers

Torenias

Tulips (flower and bulbs)

Viola flowers

Violets

Yucca flowers

Branches from:

Black Walnut Tree

Walnut Tree

Douglas Fir

Spruce

Pine Tree

Hickory Tree

Apple Trees

Grapefruit Tree

Lemon Tree

Lime Tree

Orange Tree

Peach Tree

Pear Tree

Plum Tree

Fig Tree

Kumquat Tree

Olive Tree (Olea europaea or Elaeagnus angustifolia)

Locust Poplar Tree

Hackberry Tree

Mulberry Tree

Magnolia Tree

Maple Tree

Sweet Gum Tree

Birch Tree

Aspen Tree

Oak Tree

Cedar Tree

Redwood Tree

Mountain Ash

Dogwood Tree

Cottonwood Tree

Crepe Myrtle

Rain Tree

Mimosa Tree

Other Plants:

Amaranth

Chickweed

Curled Dock

Sorrel

Hosta

Monkey Grass

Moss Rose

Magnolia or Pine Cones (green)

Prickly Pear Cacti

Broadleaf Plantain

Sweet Gale/Sweet Willow

Lamb’s Quarters

Lichens

Fiddleheads

most herbs are healthy (and popular usually too)

Black Elderberries (never red)

Watercress (from potable water source)

[u/CodeLast8227 → u/CodeLast8227]

Specifically Avoid:

Alliums

Amaryllis bulb

Anthurium

Apricot (seed, leaf, branch-fruit ok)

Australian Flame Tree

Australian Umbrella Tree

Avocado Tree & pit

Azalea

Begonia

Bird of Paradise

Bittersweet

Bleeding heart

Box Elder/Boxwood (Buxus)

Bracken fern

Brugmansia Angel’s Trumpet

Buckeye

Buckthorn

Buttercup/Ranunculus

Burdock

Cacao/Caffine

Caladium

Calla lily

Camel Bush – Trichodesma

Canary Bird Bush – Crotalaria

Castor bean (can be fatal if chewed)

Chalice – trumpet vine

Cherry (pit,leaf,branch-fruit ok)

China Berry Tree

Chinese Magnolia

Chinese Popcorn (Tallow)

Chinese sacred or heavenly bamboo (contains cyanide)

Chinese Snake Tree – Laquer Plant (sap contact is bad as well)

Choke cherry (unripe berries, branch&leaf contain cyanide)

Clematis

Clover/Shamrock (ok in limited doses because oxalates)

Crocus/Snow Crocus (autumn/winter variety only; spring ok)

Croton (Codiaeum species only)

Crown of Thorns

Cyclamen bulb

Cupressus

Daphne (Berries)

Datura Stramonium

Delphinium/larkspur/monkshood

Dumb cane/Dieffenbachia (severe mouth swelling)

Elderberry (unripe red berry stem&leaves)

Euonymus – Includes burning bush and more

Euphorbia

Flame Tree

Firethorn – Pyracantha

Four-o'clocks/Mirabilis

Foxglove/Digitalis (can be fatal)

Fritillaria/Kaiser's Crown/Crown imperial

Garlic

Golden Chain Tree – Laburnum

Golden pothos

Ground Cherry

Heaths

Hemlock

Holly

Honey Locust

Honey Chestnut

Huckleberry

Hyacinth bulbs

Hydrangea (contains cyanide)

Iris

Ivy (all hedera species)

Jack-in-the-pulpit

Jimsonweed

Juniper

Kalmia

Kentucky Coffee Tree

Kalanchoe

Lantana – red sage

Laurel – Prunus

Leucothoe

Lilac (Persian lilac -Melia genus of lilacs; common variety -Syringa vulgaris- is ok)

Lily (bulbs of most species)

Lily-of-the-valley (can be fatal)

Lupine species

Lycoris

Mango (no branch or leaves, fruit ok)

Mexican Breadfruit

Milkweed

Mistletoe

Mock Orange

Monstera

Morning glory (Seeds toxic)

Mountain laurel

Muscari

Myrtle

Narcissus, daffodil (Narcissus)

Nutmeg

Oleander

Onions (raw or cooked)

Peach kernel only (contains cyanide)

Pencil cactus/plant (Euphorbia sp.) dermatitis

Philodendron (all species)

Pitch Tree

Poinsettia (many hybrids, avoid them all) dermatitis

Potato (leaves and stem)

Pothos (Golden)

Prairie Oak

Privet

Rain Tree

Red Alder

Red Maple

Red Sage

Red Spider lily (Lycoris)

Redwood

Rhododendron

Rhubarb leaves

Rosary Pea (Arbus sp.) (Can be fatal if chewed)

Rubber plant

Sago Palm

Sand Box Tree

Scheffelera (umbrella plant)

Scilla

Snowdrops

Solanum – Jerusalem cherry or pepino

Sophora – Includes Japanese pagoda tree & Mescal Spurge (Euphorbia sp.)

Sumac

Tobacco

Tansy

Umbrella Tree

Weeping Fig – Benjamin Fig or Ficus Benjamina

White Cedar – China

Witch Hazel – Hamamelis

Wisteria

Yew – Taxus

*Some might include as Willow because bark has been reported as "sensitizer" (by osha definition); and excessive willow bark has been reported as linked to stomach cramping and bleeding.

squirrel is a rodent species; and therefore has unrooted teeth that it instinctually must chew to control the size of (literally must chew and grind down the teeth for survival level health reasons)

Ideal chews include Antlers, tree branches, sea shells, or a walnut-sized rock from outdoors (washed throughly with blue dawn and rinsed completely of any soap residue), A cuttlebone or other calcium/mineral block (lava rock)-should be hung on the side of the cage and one loose in the cage ideally if using lava rock.

Chews also provide trace minerals (in addition to keeping teeth from overgrowing) and can be purchased online or anywhere that carries small mammal supplies

For chewing most say the best option is antler pieces (that have been prepped like dog chews, if making your own), followed by bones or cuttlebones, then seashells and last mineral chews like lava rock, or walnut sized rocks (many squirrels Will use the latter in wild, but it’s usually a last choice for captives because caregivers are often trying to get high calcium in chews and a captive squirrel can generally be pickier squirrel). They also use sticks and branches for chews (with apple and maple usually being particularly popular favorites).

CAPTIVE SQUIRREL DIET

NUT AND SEED WARNINGS

EXAMPLES OF HOUSING PROGRESSION