New Baby with Broken Jaw

[dnwhite]

You rescue one squirrel and then every squirrel in the world who needs help finds you..

Last week at work a lady brought in a pinkie that he german shepard had.. needless to say it passed away :shakehead

Today.. a man brought in a little fuzzer that had been laying in his yard all day and he figured something would eat it so he thought he would see if we could take it.. Being the squirrel sap that I am since Foxy came into my world I wasn't going to let it leave..

Poor baby already had fly eggs layed on it where the flies already thought she was dead.. I combed them all off of her. She was dehydrated, so we gave her some fluids under her skin and she perked up. I fed her and she slurped it all up. She started to crawl around. Then I noticed something on her chin and when I brushed the dirt away I saw that her bottom lip was split open so I got the Dr. to check her again and thats when we found out her jaw was broken. We gave her some pain meds, and we're going to see how she does through the night. He said we might possibly have to wire the jaw shut but with her being so young we wouldn't get into that right away... I'm guessing she is about 5 weeks old? Her eyes were open, then they were closed and when I wipe them she'll open them again. She has her top teeth too. So she is stable and PRAY for her tonight!

I promise to post pictures of her and some new ones of Foxy tomorrow. I'll keep you updated. Any advice/concerns would be appreciated!

[Sissy]

My prayers and thoughts are with you and this sweet baby. I hope she makes it through the night and makes a full recovery. You are doing a wonderful job with the squirrels. Keep up the great job!
:grouphug :Love_Icon :grouphug

[FLUFFYTAILNUT]

im so..emotional..chin quivering....you are so good ..so caring..
i will be praying for you and that sweet baby...:grouphug
much love to this baby...
n kisses to foxy!!
ill be waiting for those pics!!
rip..sweet baby....that died.....
rachel n bean:wave123

[Buddy'sMom]

Word spreads .... they soon learn where to show up to get help. I hope she can heal -- it's great that at least she is getting pain meds. :Love_Icon

Hopefully someone will post that has some experience with broken jaws in wild animals. Keep in mind that squirrels seem to heal very readily from a variety of broken bones -- faster and stronger than a human would. So it might be that if her jaw could be stabilized (wiring or externally) it might heal very nicely. [This is not based on knowledge, just logic.]

But stabilizing the broken bottom jaw cannot be done without relation to her upper jaw. The most critical thing will be maintaining proper alignment of her teeth. They need to be aligned right in order to properly wear down -- otherwise they continue to grow until they cause major problems. If the vet needs and visual guidance on the alignment there is a photo here that might help (in the malocclusion forum): http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showpost.php?p=37124&postcount=16

She would need to be watched after healing to make sure her teeth are wearing down, otherwise they will need regulary trimming.

Best wishes for this little girl. :Love_Icon She found her way to a very good place.

:grouphug :Love_Icon :grouphug

[DebsRoxy19]

You are an angel... I can't even imagine how stressful rehabbing can be. You are helping these babies from the kindness of your heart, no matter what the outcome turns out to be. Me being an animal lover myself, I can hardly read stories about the little guys that don't make it... but truly you are making a HUGE difference. You win some and you lose some, but its the effort and intention that counts. :Love_Icon .. and the love of course! I'm sorry to hear about the pinkie, but she is in a better place now.. Squirrely Heaven of course! :crazy

I wish you the very best of luck, and I'll be praying for this little one every day...

God Bless and hang in there :)

Deb and Roxy :Love_Icon

[dnwhite]

Baby is still hanging in there today. She's drinking what I give her, and shes peeing now. She was still a little dehydrated this morning so she got some more fluids.

I'm going to take her back to work with me tomorrow so the doctor can look at her jaw again and see where he wants to go from here.

I think that I am going to need some help with this baby.. I'm fine with the short term care of her and getting her over this hump, however, the last squirrel I tried to save is still living in my house.. SOOO this one will for sure have to go to someone with more rehab abilities than I have :D

As promised here are some pictures of the little girl..

47697

47698

47699

you can see the little split in her lip in this last picture where she fell and broke her jaw

[Elizabeth]

:Love_Icon :Love_Icon :Love_Icon :Love_Icon :Love_Icon Poor sweet little baby! Thank you for caring for her. :thankyou I hope everything goes smoothly. This board is full of wonderful, knowlegable people who will help you out and answer your questions.


:grouphug :grouphug :grouphug :grouphug :grouphug :grouphug :grouphug :grouphug :grouphug :grouphug

[Sissy]

Ahhh that poor sweet baby! You are doing a good job with her and thanks for helping her out. I'm so glad she made it through the night.

I'm close by if you need me to help you out.

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

Danielle your an angel to squirrels.:Love_Icon She is a sweet little thing, cant wait to see the beauty queen!

[TinyPaws]

Awwwwwww :Love_Icon It breaks my heart to see any animal injured and she is so not fussy....Positive thoughts and prayer being sent your way...:grouphug

[FLUFFYTAILNUT]

ohhhhh..she is beautiful.....she needs lovens....
sweet baby ..give her those kisses right on that boo boo...

im like you..i dont think i could raise that cuteness to let it out doors...:sanp3

sissy.....your the woman....:thumbsup if you can take this special baby girl on..:thumbsup

have a great night....and thanks for those ictures!!
she looks like the size of bean..in my signature..in the palm of my hand...
rachel n bean:wave123

[skye]

Bless you for helping this poor little darling oh my how sad. This baby must be in alot of pain I sure pray vet can help her and she heals well. Best wishes to you and the little one.

[dnwhite]

The doctor said that her jaw looked pretty stable and from what he could tell in line! I guess it will be a wait and see game from here to see how her teeth grow as she grows? Yay for Good News though!!:thumbsup

[JLM27]

So glad to hear that her prognosis looks better! Yay for good news. Sending prayers.:flash3

[Buddy'sMom]

Thanks for the update! Please keep us updated when you can --- we will send prayers and healing thoughts to this little one. :Love_Icon Sounds like she is in very good hands! :bowdown

:grouphug :Love_Icon :grouphug

[tatcat]

:thumbsup awesome news darlin!!!:thumbsup

[dnwhite]

The baby has had a rough couple of days.. And I just thought I'd give you guys an update. Somehow, I'm guessing by crawling around in her box, she re-broke her jaw. I was so worried about her and feared the worst.. Today my vet wired her bottom jaw together (it was broken in half right in the middle of her jaw) and the wires will stabilize the jaw until it can heal.. I will be handing her off to Sissy later in the week so she can continue to grow and become a big healthy squirrel. :jump And hopefully she won't have any more bumps along the way!

PS. :thankyou :thankyou :thankyou to Sissy for everything the past couple of days!!!!!!!!!!

[Apple Corps]

Proper Dx and Tx = bright future :jump

[Sissy]

:wahoo :wahoo :wahoo

Thank you Danielle for helping this baby!

[Sissy]

I have some very sad news to share with everyone today. The sweet little girl squirrel with the broken jaw passed away early this morning. When Danielle went in to check on her and feed her, she had passed away. She is very upset and with good reason. She did all she could to help this sweet baby but it was out of her hands.
RIP: Little Girl Squirrel

[krawls]

I am sorry for the loss of the little girl. She must have had some other injuries from her fall.

I am sure she knew she was in comforting hands before she passed.

:Squirrel :sad

RIP Little Broken Jaw Girl.

[rippie-n-lilgirlsmom]

Rest in Peace Baby.
http://i521.photobucket.com/albums/w339/dilightfuldi/PETHEAVEN.jpg

[tatcat]

:grouphug danielle, i am so sorry for your loss..you did everything ya could for her...i am so glad she was with you..bless you darlin:grouphug

[FLUFFYTAILNUT]

DANILELLE...i am so,so sorry..for your loss.
you poor thing..what a sad thing to come upon..
there isnt a whole lot i can say...but know...she was well loved and taken care of.
she had more going on than you were aware of.
r.i.p sweet baby girl.. :Cry
:Love_Icon :grouphug much love and comfort..rachel n bean:grouphug :Love_Icon

http://dl4.glitter-graphics.net/pub/153/153524ymzuy12135.gif (http://www.glitter-graphics.com)

[Mars]

:sad

[dnwhite]

Aw thanks you guys. I have been sad all day just thinking about the baby.. But I know what happened, happened for a reason and now she's in squirrel heaven running through the trees.. :sad :sad But none the less she still made her way into my heart and I'm going to miss the little bugger

[Mountain Mama]

:sad

[Sciurus1]

I am very sorry this has happened. You made her life good for the short time she had left here. You surely won't forget her, nor she you!

[Apple Corps]

So sorry to hear this :grouphug :grouphug

[JLM27]

You eased her pain and gave her warmth, security, food and love. Otherwise she would have had a lingering suffering time of it. God bless you for your tender mercies! Go in peace baby girl!

[Kathy56]

:grouphug :grouphug :grouphug :grouphug