Bird House Designs

Can a squirrel get lead poisoning?

We have a Bird House in the backyard that the hole was chewed away by squirrels so that they could live there. My dad nailed a piece of metal to the hole of The Birdhouse making it big enough so only birds can get in.
I saw that the metal had chew marks on it too after a while and later found out that it was lead.
Could the squirrels chewing on it get lead poisoning?

Sure. Lead targets amino acids (parts of proteins) in the body that contain sulfur. This reaction of lead to sulfur causes several different symptoms and diseases. Because both humans and squirrels contain the same amino acids, they can get poisoned too.

Pikmin 2: Part 30 – Birdhouse? Field? Metal? MAKE UP YOUR MIND, GAME!