What do adult squirrels eat that's good for them?

[conuly]

I mean, what should they eat?

See, I was in the bathroom, sitting on the toilet, singing a bit (well, I didn't have anything to read), and I heard a noise. I craned my neck a bit to see out the window, and it wasn't somebody listening to me singing badly, it was a squirrel, sitting in our Japanese maple (grow like weeds, they do), hanging upside down to eat the seeds.

If you know anything about those trees, you know their seeds are tinytiny, even to a squirrel-sized viewpoint. It seemed like an awful lot of effort for them, and, indeed, his tail (her tail?) wasn't as fluffy as we all like to see on our rodents (excepting those people who like rats and mice (will have their choice/and so will I have mine)), and I'm a bit worried.

So.

What sort of food do squirrels eat that I can get cheap that'll plump them up healthily, without making them a still-easier target for the neighborhood cats?

Comments

[fledchen.livejournal.com]

Rabbit pellets are for rabbits, not rodents. Squirrels have very different nutritional needs, I don't think they could get much nutrition out of them. You could try wild bird seed mixes, preferably with a lot of corn and sunflower seeds, which seems to be what squirrels really like. I'm not sure that it's what's "good" for them but it's usually what they try to scrounge from bird feeders. You could try a platform feeder attached to a tree. It's not catproof, but it's easier for squirrels to escape higher into the trees than to run from a dish on the ground to the trees.

[fledchen.livejournal.com]

Here's a sampling of squirrel-feeding gear I got from Google: http://www.bestnest.com/bestnest/squirrel_feeders.asp

[sicpuppy.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't be so sure about the 'rodents shouldn't eat rabbit food' thing. Some of the best and most respected rat breeders I know reccomend feeding rabbit food to their rats. Obviously not on it's own, but as a base in a homemade mix which would typically also include dried pasta, dog kibble, cereals etc. Whereas something which IS made specifically for rodents, like hamster food, is never reccomended for rats, neither are most commercial rat mixes. Go figure.
Now, squirrels aren't rats, and I have little experience with them but I can tell you what I feed my rats if it's any help, though I know rats are omnivores (and will take meat over grains any day if it's available) and Im not sure about squirrels. I guess they must eat meat, or at least insects.
My rats like cereals (the unsweetened ones are best, if you're being health conscious)like cheerios, and sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds have a lot of protein in them which, in rats at least, can cause skin problems if fed too much. They love them though. Another treat that they adore are meal worms, or wax worms. Rats go crazy for these, and I would assume squirrels would too. Only drawback is that you have to buy them live and that not only raises some moral dilemmas (for me at least since in reality theres little difference between feeding a live mealworm to a rat and feeding a live rat to a snake, something Im completely against) and you also have to keep them somewhere until they're needed. But again, lots of protein. And of course, nuts. Hazel nuts are good, because not only do my rats seem to like them, but it gives them something to wear their teeth on trying to get into the shells. And squirrels like nuts......or so Im led to believe by television and childrens books :P

I wouldn't worry TOO much about the cats getting them, I would imagine any healthy squirrel could out manouvre a cat, they're pretty bright and alert.