Food enrichment

[MiriamS]

I gave the fuzzballs a coconut and it was hysterical. Cocoa got so excited she peed on it right away and then tried to carry it away. Finally gave up on that and spent ages chewing on it and trying to break in. Every morning I find a pile of dust from the hairy outside shell they've been chewing on. They finally broke through the little holes at the top but then it spoiled. For only a dollar, it sure kept them busy!

I've started sprinkling some little nuts in the tray underneath the cage. They are the ones that gave me the idea because I'll sometimes see them trying to pick up something they dropped. So now they just have to work harder to get their pine nuts but they are able to pick them up through the metal bars.

I also discovered they really like to eat the pits from fruit that I normally throw away. I first tried an apricot pit and you would have thought they'd died and gone to flyer heaven. There were bickering problems so I had to eat another apricot and give them each one. Here they are eating their pits like a cute little couple! They have since conquered peach and mango pits.

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[flyer_1]

That's really cute,I think I'm going to give Kobie a coconut she needs something to chew on her teeth are getting longer.

[MiriamS]

How do you check Kobie's teeth or how can you tell if they're too long? I've been a little worried that my fuzzballs have become lazy about eating nuts with hard shells and might be getting "long in the tooth."

The fruit pits are fairly soft but the coconut will definitely help with Kobie's teeth. At least I think it will. It was so hard that Cocoa and Chip didn't even leave scratches in the hard shell but they must have tried....based on the brown fuzzy pile they made underneath the coconut.

[flyer_1]

Thanks MiriamS I am going to get that big fuzzy nut tonight. I can tell her teeth are getting to long because when she licks me and some times nibbles I can kinda feel them and can tell they where a little longer besides right now I only have a big grass ball and a cuddle bone for her to chew on, any other ideas for trimming teeth or nails would be nice.

[Joan]

It is rare that their teeth need trimmimg ... usually because of malocculision. See these normal teeth: viewtopic.php?f=43&t=4930&p=57678&hilit=teeth#p57678

[flyer_1]

WOW they look like beaver teeth, what chompers!!!

[MiriamS]

Oh my gosh, it's the saber-toothed squirrel from Ice Age!!!

[Joan]

LOL They have a grove in the top of their skulls that the teeth fit into.

[MiriamS]

By groove, you must mean nostrils!

That's the only way I see that all fitting together.

[Joan]

LOL No, grove in the hard palet.

[flyer_1]

Imagine if the flying squirrel hunted in packs like wolves they would be the most feared predator in the woods.

[MiriamS]

This is just too funny. I'm picturing the scene from the first Jurassic Park with the veloceraptors that hunted in packs. Only with flyers!

So now I wonder...Joan, if those saber teeth are "normal," is it a problem if my flyer's bottom teeth are much shorter? Cocoa can open her mouth enough to carry a giant nut and I don't think that would be possible with long teeth. Though she'd never let me look.

[flyer_1]

That's too funny. Has long as you give them something hard to chew on I think it would be okay,It's amazing how they know what they need

[Joan]

... Cocoa can open her mouth enough to carry a giant nut and I don't think that would be possible with long teeth. Though she'd never let me look.

Stick a finger in that mouth and you'll find out how long they are by how deep the puncture would is.

[MiriamS]

Oouch, that's about what I was imagining. Then I gave Cocoa a pecan today and watched her run away with it. I think she carries it with just her upper teeth. Is that possible? I swear it looked like her mouth was pretty much still closed. Kind of like this but she mental telepathied "Look, ma, no hands," as I watched her tail disappear down the hall.

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