Do squirrels eat fruit? Yes, they do! Squirrels are not amongst the picky eaters, and they just happen to munch a lot of things. These rodents have a natural appetite for many edibles, including fruits, veggies, plants, fungi, flowers, and more. Plus, they are omnivores, so they also devour meat and eggs with great delish. Their favourite fruit include plums, berries, figs, apples, melons, kiwi, pomegranate, peach, cantaloupe, pineapple, strawberry, raspberry, banana, cherries, grapes, mangoes, avocado, mulberries, loquats, oranges, papaya, tangerines, and lemon to name a few.
Over the score of years, squirrels have expanded their plates a lot. They practically eat everything they can get their teensy-weensy hands on. Nevertheless, most squirrels seem to prefer fruits and veggies over meat because the high sugar content of fruits provides them with the energy they need to build nests, forage for food, and gain some extra pounds for winter.
As a squirrel owner, it is good to know do squirrels eat fruit and what food items make an excellent addition to your pet’s diet. This article will look for different fruit items best for your little furball. So keep on reading; the answer is right there!
Do squirrels eat fruit?
Squirrels belong to the omnivorous family, so the bulk of their diet is plant and animal matter. However, these rodents will eat anything that seems edible to them. They are often very fond of eating vegetables, small animals, nuts, fungus, seeds, and fruits. Their favourite fruits are apples, avocados, oranges, and apricot. Here are some other fruits that squirrels love to munch on:
- Cantaloupe
Cantaloupe is a delicious goody loaded with numerous vitamins beneficial for squirrels. This fruit contains vitamin A, vitamin k, copper, calcium, and vitamin C, a great addition to any pet or wild squirrel’s diet.
- Apples
Apples are enjoyed by both squirrels and humans. This juicy fruit is high in vitamin B6, copper, manganese, potassium, and vitamin k. It is also a fantastic source of vitamin c, which is an immune-boosting vitamin ensuring that your pet squirrel stays in excellent physical and mental health. Apples give the squirrel energy, allowing them to scramble around and forage for edible goodies.
- Kiwi
Kiwi is another fruit that has incredible immune-boosting effects. This fruit is high in vitamin c and enables an animal to fight off diseases. Kiwi is not only a tasty treat, it also contains antioxidants that help a squirrel stay immune to free radicals.
- Pineapple
This might not be the fruit you would expect a squirrel to eat, but as stated earlier, squirrels are not finical eaters. They eat everything, and pineapple has no exception! Plus, pineapple contains phosphorus, calcium, zinc, and vitamin k. Calcium strengthens the bones and helps these active animals to jump and run all day long.
- Pomegranate
Pomegranate is a delicious goody with high levels of antioxidants. This juicy fruit offers 3x more antioxidants than green tea and wine. The sweetness and antioxidant richness keeps squirrels active and protected against free radicals.
Here are some of the other fruits that a squirrel may enjoy:
- Blackberry
- Raspberry
- Grapes
- Cherries
- Loquat
- Mango
- Papaya
- Tangerine
- Melon
- Watermelon
- Plum
- Pear
- Strawberry
- Orange
- Mulberry
- Peach
- Nectarine
- Fresh figs
Warning:
As squirrels are way smaller than us, it is good to feed those fruits in small quantities. As a standard guideline, 2 slices of fruit per day are enough for these fluff babies. No doubt fruits make a great addition to our squirrel’s diet; the high amount of sugar present in the fruit is not suitable for their health. Mother Nature has not designed their tiny bodies to handle this much sugar. Thereby, it’s better to keep the quantity under control.
While feeding squirrels, it’s good to remove the pits and seeds present in some fruits as they can be toxic. Make sure you are feeding only the flesh of fruits.
Do squirrels eat fruit? Related Questions.
- Can squirrels eat blueberries?
Yes. Blueberries are entirely safe for squirrels to enjoy unless they have been sprayed on with some sort of pesticides.
This delicious and sweet fruit contains numerals minerals and vitamins beneficial for both humans and wild critters. The super fruit is enriched with carbohydrates, calcium, zinc, protein, vitamin C, vitamin B6, chlorine, iron, dietary fibre, magnesium, sodium, and vitamin A, to name a few. These critters would love to enjoy blueberries as a treat. However, if you have never fed them this fruit before, they may take some time before wolfing this goody. Just don’t forget to wash the blueberries before feeding them to your beloved pet.
- Can squirrels eat grapes?
Well, green, purple or red, squirrels are extremely fond of eating grapes. These sweet treats are full of vitamin K, Vitamin C, Phosphorus, vitamin A, potassium, and calcium, which are highly beneficial to a squirrel’s health. Grapes also have antioxidants that help prevent cancers and heart diseases.
With so many health advantages, grapes are definitely a treat you can offer to your squirrel. Nonetheless, there are some limits when it comes to feeding squirrels. Eating too many grapes can severely affect your squirrel’s sensitive digestion process. Thereby, it’s good to offer grapes only in small quantities once or twice a week.
Since these critters have a pretty sensitive digestive system, you may want to wash the grapes thoroughly to remove pesticides. Also, don’t forget to remove the seeds. While grape seeds are edible, overeating grape seeds can cause kidney disorders. Grapes, no doubt, are a wonderful treat, but they fall into the category of treats that are safe but in moderation.
- Do squirrels eat peaches?
They certainly do!
Squirrels eat peaches with great enthusiasm. They are rich in beneficial compounds, including vitamin A, protein, vitamins C, carbs, fibre, potassium, vitamin K, Vitamin E, copper, and manganese. Peaches also offer some antioxidants, Vitamin B, Phosphorus, and iron. All these minerals are great at combating oxidative damage and preventing diseases.
- Do squirrels eat bananas?
Squirrels, being opportunistic feeders, don’t mind eating bananas. These rodents will surely enjoy this nutritional goodness, especially if no other food is around. Squirrels have a flexible eating pattern, and they change their diet according to where they live. And bananas are a fine addition to their diet as they give them a much-needed sugar boost to scramble around.
Bananas are a good source of Carbohydrates, potassium, fibre, sucrose, glucose, fructose, Vitamin E, C, D, A, B-carotenes, potassium ions, zinc, and magnesium. Also, bananas are low in proteins and fats and have anti-inflammatory immune-boosting capabilities.
All these nutrients are incredibly beneficial for squirrels. However, eating too many bananas isn’t suitable for these cuties. This delicious goodie contains way more sugar than a small rodent like a squirrel can handle. The nutritional richness of bananas can prove to be highly hazardous to a tiny squirrel’s health, causing severe health concerns.
Nonetheless, if you wish to feed a banana to your pet squirrel, make sure you feed in moderation. Feeding one or two slices a day is more than enough. Also, avoid feeding banana peels. These pills contain cellulose that animals and humans cannot digest. Non-organic banana peels also contain pesticides. When consumed, these pesticides can harm your adorable fur ball, causing hormonal and behavioural changes to infertility and even demise.
- Do squirrels eat oranges?
Yes. According to some squirrel admirers, these furry critters don’t seem to mind adding some sugary citrus to their meal plan. They love eating sweet and sour oranges because of the sugary taste of this juicy fruit. Oranges contain vitamin C, vitamin A, fat, sodium, sugar, calcium, and protein. However, high sugar levels make this citrus fruit a poor treat for squirrels.
- Do squirrels eat strawberries?
Well, squirrels have a flair for the sugary taste of fruits. They are pretty open-minded about strawberries and like to enjoy this tasty treat with great delish. Also, strawberries are not only safe and healthy for these little rodents to enjoy but are also enriched with a considerable amount of beneficial nutrients. Here we have listed some of the vitamins and minerals a strawberry can provide to your pet squirrel.
- Potassium:
Great for reducing blood pressure and can help to regulate fluid balances.
- Antioxidants:
Enriched with multiple antioxidants, strawberries can help with multiple diseases. This juicy fruit aids the body in repairing damaged cell tissues. Strawberries also help with certain types of cancers.
- Vitamin C
Vitamin c plays a vital role in the overall growth of your squirrel. It aids in the function of organs and repairs cell tissues as well.
- Supports Heart Health
Strawberries have a high polyphenol content, which is fantastic for keeping heart diseases at bay. It can also lower the risk of a heart attack.
Strawberries are wonderful at giving your squirrels the main sugar boost they need to stay active. However, any fruit crossing the boundaries of moderation is a threat to this beautiful creature’s life. Thereby always feed strawberries in moderation.
- Can squirrels eat pistachios?
Yes. As long as offered in moderateness, pistachios are harmless for squirrels. Pistachios contain vitamin A, omega 3 fatty acids, omega 6 fatty acids, vitamin C, iron, sodium, potassium, vitamin E, vitamin B6, protein, and folate. They are among those nuts that are safe for a squirrel to consume. Pistachios also contain antioxidant and anti-inflammatory traits beneficial for humans and squirrels. However, not all pistachios are the same. Some pistachios contain a pretty high amount of sodium, making them highly poisonous for squirrels.
Below is a table with different varieties of pistachios and the amount of sodium in them.
| Varieties of Pistachios | Sodium |
|---|---|
| Roasted pistachios | 526 mg per cup |
| Iranian ground pistachio | 0.3 mg/ serving |
| Kernel pistachio | 160 mg /.25 cup |
| Iranian jumbo pistachio | 0.3 mg/serving |
| Salted pistachio | 26 mg/ cup |
| Red pistachio | 126 mg/serving |
| Iranian long pistachio | 3 mg/ serving |
| Green skin pistachio | 0.3 mg/ serving |
| Turkish antep pistachio | mg |
| Persian elongated pistachio | 0.3 mg/ serving |
- Can squirrels eat carrots?
There isn’t much that this tiny furball won’t eat, and carrots have no exception. These yummy roots are perfectly safe for squirrels to consume. In fact, if offered in moderation, carols can be highly beneficial for a squirrel’s health. Raw or cooked, carrots don’t pose any threat to a squirrel’s health and don’t have the extra calorie count associated with sugary treats and fruits.
Carrots are an excellent source of soluble fibre, beta carotene, antioxidants, potassium, and vitamin k. Their low in fat nature makes them a perfect veggie to top your squirrel diet chart. Moreover, nibbling on some crunchy carrots can improve your pet’s dental health. It also helps with bowel movements.
While carrots are healthy for squirrels, it is good to chop these roots into bite-size pieces before feeding squirrels to prevent choking. Also, don’t overfeed, or else your squirrel will put on some extra pounds.
- Do squirrels eat raisins?
If given a chance, squirrels will go crazy over raisins because of the sweet goodness. Anyhow, just because your squirrel likes to munch on a thing doesn’t make it suitable for the mammal’s health. Raisins are packed with antioxidants, potassium, and magnesium, making them an incredibly nutritional treat. But their sugar content is also very high. For this reason, owners should avoid feeding raisins to their squirrels.
Though, neither veterinarians nor researchers have identified the health benefits of feeding raisins to squirrels. Plus, there isn’t any strong evidence regarding raisin toxicity in squirrels or how much is safe for a squirrel to consume. That means there is no way for us to identify whether raisin consumption is poisonous for a squirrel or not.
That being said, experienced squirrel keepers and veterinarians suggest not to overfeed raisins as no one can tell how severe or mild these mammals can react.
Final Words on do squirrels eat fruit
Do squirrels eat fruit? Yes. Squirrels do supplement their diet with some juicy fruits in the wild. These critters love adding a bit of sugar to their food every once in a while to stay active and energetic, especially during the winter season. Yet, too much sugar consumption can cause them numerous health concerns. So if you plan on feeding your backyard squirrels, make sure the sugary fruits are fed in moderation.