oaty's teeth!?

[Mrs. Byrd]

Oaty has been having this white plague looking stuff behind his little front teeth, like ALOT of it. it's starting to worry me. he still eats fine but it doesnt seem like he should have white.. gunk.. behind his front teeth. also, his bottom teeth are REALLY long, i dont remember Roscoe's bottom teeth being that long. he doesn't act like they bother him or anything but it seems like they're poking into the roof of his mouth right where the white gunk is forming. any idea of what the gunk could be? i got pictures of some of the white gunk we pulled from his mouth and of the front of his mouth. it almost looks like he has a hair lip. maybe i'm just worrying too much? the last picture is kinda blurry, he wouldnt be still :shakehead

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[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

I would just leave his teeth alone for right now if his eyes aren't even open yet (they don't look open in the pics). They are still developing and probably just coming in. He will work them down as he starts chewing on things (you can put monkey biscuits and rodent block in with him to nibble on now even before his eyes open). You are probably just being more observant this time since it is the second time raising a squirrel. I know I notice more things about different species as I rehab them more. I wouldn't worry about the teeth at this point and I wouldn't scrape them.

[Mrs. Byrd]

I would just leave his teeth alone for right now if his eyes aren't even open yet (they don't look open in the pics). They are still developing and probably just coming in. He will work them down as he starts chewing on things (you can put monkey biscuits and rodent block in with him to nibble on now even before his eyes open). You are probably just being more observant this time since it is the second time raising a squirrel. I know I notice more things about different species as I rehab them more. I wouldn't worry about the teeth at this point and I wouldn't scrape them.

his eyes just opened the other day, and the gunk was just coming out of his mouth in chunks we were wiping it with tissue

[island rehabber]

get a wooden stick (like a coffee stirrer) and place it sideways in his mouth -- then see if you can shine a little penlight or flashlight up to the roof of his mouth. You need to see if there is some kind of infection in there causing this white discharge. Look for red, puffy areas behind his front teeth. Infection would mean he needs antibiotics -- quick.
If you don't see anything alarming, is it possible it could be formula piling up back there? Is your formula particularly thick -- do you add cream or yogurt to it? :dono

[Jackie in Tampa]

like IR said...
any foul odor?
If he is eating solids, could it be chewed up food?
In the pic, the teeth aren't clear enough to see the tops or the length of the bottom teeth.
:Love_Icon please keep sharp tools away from eyes, I use q-tips and popsicle sticks..and plastic blunt tipped tweezers from first aid kit, that I sanded round.
I have never seen a baby with extremely long teeth, but I guess it is possible. Keep us posted.

[Mrs. Byrd]

get a wooden stick (like a coffee stirrer) and place it sideways in his mouth -- then see if you can shine a little penlight or flashlight up to the roof of his mouth. You need to see if there is some kind of infection in there causing this white discharge. Look for red, puffy areas behind his front teeth. Infection would mean he needs antibiotics -- quick.
If you don't see anything alarming, is it possible it could be formula piling up back there? Is your formula particularly thick -- do you add cream or yogurt to it? :dono


i'll wait till byrd gets here to get his mouth open and the only time we put cream or yogurt in his formula was when he was on goats milk weeks ago, we wiped all that was in there out bit by bit i haven't seen anymore yet, i'm about to feed him again so beforehand i'll check it out =] thanks for all the help everyone :grouphug

[Mrs. Byrd]

he had a little bit more gunk beside his front teeth i checked the best i could and didnt see any swelling or redness, and it had a brown tint this time? there is like a hole on the roof of his mouth, looks about right where his bottom teeth touch. also the hair on the tip of his tail is slowly falling off, it was just the very tip of his tail that was bald and now there's more of his tail bald?

[Nancy in New York]

Just want to give this a little bump up...
Did you notice an odor to the "gunk" Can you get a clearer photo of his bottom teeth...and tail?

[CritterMom]

he had a little bit more gunk beside his front teeth i checked the best i could and didnt see any swelling or redness, and it had a brown tint this time? there is like a hole on the roof of his mouth, looks about right where his bottom teeth touch. also the hair on the tip of his tail is slowly falling off, it was just the very tip of his tail that was bald and now there's more of his tail bald?

I know you consulted a vet with little Roscoe. Can you do that again? Oatie is far too thin, yet you say he eats until he's round - I would like to see him get tested for parasites. Bring the freshest poop to the vet you can in case he doesn't "produce" anything on the trip. I would like to have a vet look at the "hole" in the roof of his mouth and see what the heck that is.

In the meantime, please start adding the cream in a little bit at a time, monitoring his poops as you do.

[Legomom]

Have you been in touch with our member, Atlatasquirrelgirl? She is a rehabber in the Atlanta area & a great resource. I'm going to send her a pm to check in on your threads. You might want to connect with her so that you'd have on-hand help with your baby & guidance. I hope she can help you. :grouphug

[Mrs. Byrd]

we have been switching over to the 32/40 and adding cream his poops are still solid and healthy looking, I will see if the vet we took him to can check out his poo, he is gaining weight pretty regularly he gained 10 grams yesterday but i am not sure if that is good or not,

[CritterMom]

we have been switching over to the 32/40 and adding cream his poops are still solid and healthy looking, I will see if the vet we took him to can check out his poo, he is gaining weight pretty regularly he gained 10 grams yesterday but i am not sure if that is good or not,


OK, that is good. As long as the poops look good you can keep inching the cream quantity up. Make sure the vet looks in his mouth, too...

[winky2]

The hole on the roof of his mouth sounds like a cleft palate. Cleft palates are congenital birth defects and are sometimes paired with other defects. We always check our C-section babies for cleft palates as soon as they come out of the uterus because it gives us a heads up to look for other defects and if it's a difficult resuscitation we'll suspect heart or brain deformities. Does Oaty act different in other ways (developmentally, physical characteristics, etc)? Does milk come out his nose when he eats? Babies with clefts can be very hard to feed and often don't have any suction ability.

[Mrs. Byrd]

he doesn't like to suck on the nipple he always licks but he has never aspirated, as for development he is more active than roscoe was at this age he was climbing out of stuff before his eyes even opened. he seems very smart and is just undersized. the hole isin't very big and it looks more like a scratch than an actual hole. and there hasn't been anymore gunk from it. i really think it's just where his bottom teeth came in and he wasn't used to them and he poked himself.

[Legomom]

I've actually had a few that would bleed from their mouths when their teeth were coming in. Totally freaked me out the first time it happened. Keep a close on him, but I suspect that you're probably correct....poor thing is just dealing with growing up. :grouphug

[winky2]

It doesn't sound like a traditional cleft palate if the hole is only where his bottom teeth press against the hard palate. Still, he is failing to thrive and we need to figure out why. Do you have an appointment with your vet?

[winky2]

What kind of nipples are you using?

[Mrs. Byrd]

What kind of nipples are you using?


not yet, and catac nipples? i think

[CritterMom]

Gaining 10 grams yesterday is good. Keep on with the cream in the formula and lets hope he just needs a little more fat. I really do think that getting a fecal done is important, though.

[winky2]

Catac nipples are the elongated ones, they work great for squirrels. I have never had a healthy squirrel that wouldn't suck after a few feedings. If Oaty is only lapping and not sucking that is very unique and an another indication that there's something else going on with him (cleft palate?). Anyone attempting to raise a baby squirrel needs a gram scale. It is unsafe to proceed without one. The weight gain and loss is one of the best indicators of health or disease. Is there anyway you can purchase, beg, borrow or steal one? Do you have an appointment with the vet?

[winky2]

Oops, sorry. I see you have a scale but not a vet appointment. I was confused.

[Mrs. Byrd]

we're planning on getting him a fecal test done this coming up week, we have to wait until 1) my paycheck comes in on monday 2) byrd has his break from work. but as of now, hes eating fine and everything. just know that we are planning on gettng it done :thumbsup

[CritterMom]

we're planning on getting him a fecal test done this coming up week, we have to wait until 1) my paycheck comes in on monday 2) byrd has his break from work. but as of now, hes eating fine and everything. just know that we are planning on gettng it done :thumbsup


Just keep inching up the cream amount in his formula. Another thing you could do, especially since the weekend is coming up, is move the feedings just a tiny bit closer together so you have added one more feeding per day. Doing that for a couple days with the added fat in the formula will help to chunk him up, too.

[winky2]

I completely understand. Raising a squirrel can be hard on the budget. Especially the first few weeks. Maybe we can hook you up with a local rehabber in your area who can take a look at Oaty and maybe give you some Panacur or something. Sometimes it's OK to treat impirically when they're symptomatic. Would you be open to that?

[Byrd]

We are going to start feeding him throughout the night as well and i just got off the phone with Highland animal Hospital they have 2 wildlife rehabbers working there and we will be going there at 2:00 tomorrow for a fecal exam.

[CritterMom]

That is excellent. It will rule in or out parasites - because if he has them, it may be the reason he is not gaining weight the way he should. Do make sure to bring up both the teeth and the substance you were wiping out of his mouth, too.

[Byrd]

will do. hopefully I will be able to talk to the person about becoming a licensed rehabber in GA

[atlantasquirrelgirl]

I see that you have somebody that is going to take a look at your baby. Be sure to get them to examine the upper palate for a puncture.

I'm traveling for the next week, but if you need anything, send me a PM.

[Mrs. Byrd]

just got back from the vet, oaty wouldnt go poo so we're suppose to bring some back when he does go. he checked his weight and said it wasn't too bad, that it was normal for babies to be a little underweight around here. he was 73g when the vet weighed him. he talked to us about becoming licensed and said when we do he would love for us to come up there and help =D so overall it was a good trip, still waiting on oaty to do his buisness though :poke

[Byrd]

Also they gave Oaty a general Dewormer to take care of any parasites he might have when looked in his mouth at the vets there was nothing there and the vet said the gunk we saw was most likley spit up from formula.