Question about diet for tooth issues

[equine623]

I'm sorry if this has already been asked/answered, not sure where to look.

I have a male, approx 12 weeks old. (Very approx, he came into rehab with some kind of wound that turned into an abscess and no use of his front leg. He climbs like a demon now :wott )

His teeth are so misaligned and even at this age grow fast (seems like too fast!) but I've been able to maintain his comfort with trimming them. He was so sick for a while I didn't bother messing with his teeth, now I'm trimming them a little at a time to try and work them back and see if I can get him able to chew anything.

Right now I make a gruel of sorts with ground rodent blocks and FV formula. He loves it, no problems with eating it. I put in chopped greens every day, some days he munches others not so much. And tonight I gave him chopped green beans and blueberries which he loved.

Is there anything better I can give him that is liquidy so he can lap it up. I want to make sure nutritionally his needs are met while we work on getting his teeth trimmed back enough to maybe become functional. I know chances are he won't be releasable, and that's ok...just need to keep him happy and healthy.

Thanks for any advice :)

Jill ( & Ed too)

[Rhapsody]

I have a little guy that is about 10 weeks old and he was just deemed NR 2 weeks ago when he was Dx with Malocclusion and I was told to chop his food up fine when he has his 4 front teeth removed..... he will still be able to eat with his back molars, but will need help tearing and breaking his food apart as squirrels do not eat with their front teeth those are the tools.

[lilidukes]

You might want to check out this thread.

http://www.thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27450

[Jackie in Tampa]

:wave123
I have two with no teeth..adults 5 and 9y/o..
actually one, My darling Rocky has one upper which I clip every three weeks..
I truly know the burden of keeping them healthy..
for fun, but not really funny ...I call them 'my toothless wonders'!!

I chop all veggies small, yet not cooked. I try to keep all the vitamins and minerals of fresh, so some things are very small morsels.
I suppliment their nuts, also chopped with Henry's Vitamix and Whey isolate protein.
WE can give all the suppliments we want, but without the protein nothing is fundemental. They go hand and hand.
I have a couple Pamper Chef choppers and I add the two right in the dish and commence to chop with the nuts...they get powdery noses, but they are both healthy...Rocky and Hope!!:Love_Icon :Love_Icon
I do syringe feed them FV with extra calcium when they are willing to participate...but like kids..that is touch and go.
I also make a shake that I use when I KNOW THEY HAVEN"T BEEN GETTING all that they need...and yes I offer tums or calcium tablets in every keepers cage... I have several sqs that will just nom nom on a calcium tablet..
Rocky will occassionally lick a tums 'til it looks like a life saver with the center gone!:D
I find that taking them outside as often as possible helps too..into filtered shade/sun.
there are 4 ways to get the valued D vitamin...fish, dairy, MUSHROOMS and the good ole sun!
I offer Dannon All Natural Vanilla yogurt and suggest you get your little one to love it right away, as it is also a good avenue to get the Vitamix and protien in them, both are really almost tasteless, so it is not yucky, just very important.

I also will Pamper Chef chop HHBs and add some juice just to wet them so they soften ...both Rocky and Hope will occasionally eat them this way..
It will always be a chore to keep a tooth issue sq healthy...but that's why we must be loving care givers forever...making the commitment!:Love_Icon
Good luck and you will find many here with the same issues you will be facing..
Thanks for helping and what is your babies name?
:poke We love pics!!!!

[Rhapsody]

Thanks JACKIE - saving post for MARVEN. :wave123

[equine623]

Thanks for the info! His name is Ed...because he's special :crazy I have a weird sense of humor, I mean no offense by that!

I was actually wondering if he would have an easier time with things if his top teeth were removed, they are growing almost parallel to the roof of his mouth and trimming them is difficult. But where on earth does one find a squirrel friendly vet? I'm a vet tech but I'm still not sure of who in the area to take him to. I'm in NE PA, near the NY and NJ borders, if anyone has any recommendations.

I have given him the Yobaby vanilla yogurt and he does seem to like it, glad that is ok to continue. I have such a variety of animals and am very used to dealing with special dietary needs...I was soaking my turtle this morning chopping greens for him and the iguana and Ed was playing run up the mommy, run down the mommy :rotfl That's normal, right?

Have to run to get to a class but I'll be back later, thanks everyone!!!

Jill

[Jackie in Tampa]

Thanks for the info! His name is Ed...because he's special :crazy I have a weird sense of humor, I mean no offense by that!

I was actually wondering if he would have an easier time with things if his top teeth were removed, they are growing almost parallel to the roof of his mouth and trimming them is difficult. But where on earth does one find a squirrel friendly vet? I'm a vet tech but I'm still not sure of who in the area to take him to. I'm in NE PA, near the NY and NJ borders, if anyone has any recommendations.

I have given him the Yobaby vanilla yogurt and he does seem to like it, glad that is ok to continue. I have such a variety of animals and am very used to dealing with special dietary needs...I was soaking my turtle this morning chopping greens for him and the iguana and Ed was playing run up the mommy, run down the mommy :rotfl That's normal, right?

Have to run to get to a class but I'll be back later, thanks everyone!!!

Jill
Specail Ed:Love_Icon I like that:D
If I had to do it all over again with Rocky..I would have all teeth{incisors} pulled. Trimming is a burden, and it's also dangerous. If sq moves and clipping is interrupted.lousy cut or root is jarred, odontomas are probable...and that's a rough diagnosis as the skull cap must be drilled or removed to remove teeth and tumor...scarey, expensive and not always possible.
But my Rocky is too old and it took years for me to determine this opinion.

I trim several sqs teeth from time to time to help others learn what it took me years to.
Once I decided to try to clip myself after a year of large bills and unwarranted stress,
I started with a vet tech cominmg to my house to teach me..We did that for about 6 months...and I have been on my own ever since.
Each sq and each malo is different...BUT ALL SQS UPPER INCISORS follow the roof of their mouth [pointing toward the throat..all sqs!!!that is normal growth...
The uppers need to be clipped very very short so the lowers will grow the long length that they are in nature.
NEVER angle the clip, this can and will cause teeth to shatter/splinter, sometimes below the gum line.
Once the uppers are short, offering sticks and shells and bones{hard and soft} will help Ed get his groove back!
They use the lowers to shape the uppers to that beveled look...
If done well and often enough, most sqs with all 4 incisors can take over the maintainance...
but if truly a real malo with NO TEETH LINING UP, ...hummmm, I would take all 4 out..so much easier! FOREVER!!
I am lousy typer and hope this comes across as I think faster than my fingers:rotfl most times:rotfl

[equine623]

Oh the teeth don't line up at all! There is no contact between the top and bottom, the bottoms were touching the top lip and are in front of the top ones by quite a distance. I studied his mouth and the other squirrels I had here before release and his were/are definitely different. I hate it, honestly, once I got the abscess healed and he regained use of his front leg there is nothing stopping him from release except teeth. In looking at pictures of squirrel skulls I saw that normally the top teeth are more frontward, so he is definitely special :rotfl

In your opinion would it be a better quality of life to have the teeth removed rather than continual restraint and stress of trimming? And avoid the other risks involved with trimming?

Ed is such a sweet boy, well really he's a brat but we love him :Love_Icon