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blueyed squirl
03-25-2009, 12:04 PM
I've had Niki for about 4 years & have never had a problem with his teeth. Now this past winter season he has stopped chewing on things. His top teeth (the orange ones) remained the same but the white part behind them kept growing. SO I went to my vet & got the trimmed. He suggested more nut, a cuttle bone, & even a deer antler. Well I've tried all these & Niki still is not really chewing anything but his nuts. Now his Orange teeth have started getting really long as well as the white one behind it. Does anyone have any suggestions other than going to the vet every 2 weeks, knocking him out & cut on his teeth.

Thanks,

foxsquirrels
03-25-2009, 12:21 PM
Do you have a camera and will he let you take a picture so we can see his teeth?

4skwerlz
03-25-2009, 07:35 PM
What is Niki's diet? Lack of calcium and protein can cause tooth problems.

Sciurus1
03-27-2009, 12:38 AM
I wouldn't be cutting out his teeth, it is a life threatening surgery to do when triming is what is needed.

blueyed squirl
03-27-2009, 01:30 PM
I would never have them cut out. I just let the vet trim them. It's just no one can handle him but me, & because of that he has to be knocked out. The vet uses this special tool. His diet hasn't changed at all. He usually eats sweet pot. avocado, snap peas, apples, & mixed unshelled nuts, with occasional treats. He is a very picky squirrel and there's a lot of things I've tried to get him to eat over the years. It's just strange because I've never had a problem. He'll be 4 years old next month & has always done fine with his teeth.

4skwerlz
03-27-2009, 05:00 PM
I would never have them cut out. I just let the vet trim them. It's just no one can handle him but me, & because of that he has to be knocked out. The vet uses this special tool. His diet hasn't changed at all. He usually eats sweet pot. avocado, snap peas, apples, & mixed unshelled nuts, with occasional treats. He is a very picky squirrel and there's a lot of things I've tried to get him to eat over the years. It's just strange because I've never had a problem. He'll be 4 years old next month & has always done fine with his teeth.

The diet you describe is deficient in calcium, protein, B vitamins, well, it's deficient in lots of nutrients. I strongly suspect that's the source of Niki's tooth problems, but even if not, this diet will lead to other health problems. Your squirrel MUST be eating rodent blocks or squirrel blocks every day. If Niki won't eat rodent blocks, he will probably like squirrel blocks, which provide the same nutrition. You can make them yourself according to the recipe in the nutrition section or you can buy them online. Also, see the "Healthy Diet" posted in the Nutrition Forum.

We've had MANY picky squirrels on TSB that have learned to eat a healthy diet by following the feeding instructions in the Healthy Diet. I'm sure Niki can too.

babybleu
03-27-2009, 08:13 PM
Sqrlady, I have some questions for you!! My Chumpy Mumps has to have his teeth trimmed too... he has malocclusion and had them trimmed 4 weeks ago with a vet, knocked out, using a dremel. Prior to that, we had trimmed them at home 3 times. He can't get his teeth together to break nuts. The vet suggested that removing the lower tooth would be an option but now I don't know. He also said that it's very easy to "split" the tooth when trimming with sidecutters (wire cutters) and then it can abcess and it's very painful and difficult to treat. What is your experience with this? What do you use to cut the teeth??? How short should you go? How do you keep from getting sharp or jagged edges? He thought that this would last 3 to 4 months but his teeth are getting extremely long already and I'm going to have to do something soon. It's just that the $180.00 that it costs to have the vet trim them is very hard to come by right now. He's very handlable, as we've had him since before his eyes were open, but doesn't like to be restrained when we trim. He can't bite, because his teeth don't come together.

Jackie in Tampa
03-27-2009, 08:33 PM
I also trim teeth, I use jewelers side cutters, a round blunt end metal nail file and a popsicle stick. In the case of my sq, I trim like clockwork every three weeks.
Jewelers grade are of better harder metal that is required for quick clean break...splintering can cause odontomas...much worse than abcess.
I have made a video on clipping...also I have had an upper abcess incisor removed due to impact trauma on my grey.
I am using the same clippers for almost 6 years.
I clip my sqs teeth in good natural sunlight with no distractions possible. It takes a few minutes after you do it lots, however my stomach hurts everytime....:tilt I have never gotton over the nervous thing....
You must file sharp burs off teeth, can cause serious injury while grooming. Popsicle stick keeps tongue and cheeks outta the way and tooth from entering throat.
Didn't mean to scare you...and it is not for everyone, but it's not too bad if it is a must! I do it!:thumbsup
Also some vet techs do house calls for alot less money and will usually teach you how to do yourself! That's what happened with us! :thumbsup
Good Luck and take your time.

merman
03-28-2009, 03:03 AM
Thanks Jackie for this great information!!
really wonder how long do you leave the teeth, i mean, how deep do you go ?
what's the length remaining in the mouth ?

i think i don't need it now but this is a good information to save for future reference..

Thanks again..

merman
03-28-2009, 08:16 AM
Thanks so much..

I will try to take pic of Mia asap her mouth open and post on her threat, as i am thinking this might be the cause that she cannot crack a nut.

could you all please have a look at attached pic, it is from last week just after she was biting a block, i don't know if it was for nutritional needs or trying to wear her teeth down.






My experience with trimming teeth has been with a cat claw trimmer that has a little area on the end for extra leverage. I have never had teeth splinter on me while trimming their teeth and I have to trim about every two to three weeks. Normally I do it at 2 weeks because one of the worst cases has a tooth that will grow out of his mouth and hit him in the nose. So when his tooth gets to a certain point I trim and just do them all because they are all ready by that time. I personally do not have to use a popsicle stick but it is probably a good idea to help keep the tongue out of the way. The tools Jackie uses are excellent as well. I use a glove on the hand that holds them simply because some will kick and tear up my hand. None has ever tried to bite me. Often it is helpful to have another person around to help keep little fingers from in front of the mouth. I personally would not remove teeth from a squirrel ever again. I had it done once long ago and found that it really did not solve any of the problems that we were trying to solve. The poor squirrel had bleeding for days and he was miserable after the procedure for weeks. That is just my opinion as I know others who have had their squirrels' teeth removed. I am not sure the exact length that is left in the mouth but I would say it is better to remove too little than too much as you can make them bleed if you trim back to far. The main cost you are experiencing at the vet is the anesthesia for knocking him out. Plus that is not a good thing to have to do to a squirrel every couple of weeks anyway. Once you get the hang of it teeth trimming is not that hard and it saves the squirrel from a lot of stress of moving around and being knocked out and being held by people it does not know.

4skwerlz
03-28-2009, 08:54 AM
Henry rarely cracks nuts either, but that's from laziness. Nuts in shell he usually just caches. He knows Mommy will give him food he doesn't need to work to get.

Mia's top teeth look pretty good, maybe a little far apart, but Sqlady is right: we need to see how the tops and bottoms are relative to one another.

Here are a couple pics of normal teeth:

An older squirrel:
78424

A juvie squirrel (before they turn orange):
78425