do my Ogre's teeth need trimming?

[Otis11]

My little guy is about a year and half old now and has always kept his teeth short on his own. He spent about 3 weeks in his new cage without antlers or anything to chew on before I realized it and now he will not crack open and of his nuts. I am affraid that his uppers have grown too long and will need to be trimmed??

Any help would be great!
Thanks

[Jackie in Tampa]

can someone resize this please...TY!:thumbsup
hang on buddy and welcome:Welcome

[Milo's Mom]

Resized image

176210

[Jackie in Tampa]

his lowers are short and his uppers have over compensated..
is he bar chewing where he may have snapped those lowers off?
I would keep a careful eye on them, but would try to correct with offering chewing stuff...BEFORE TRIMMING...
unless you are a pro and have proper tools, you may be better to try without trimming first..jmo. Teeth trimming improperly can lead to odontomas, and can cause major damage to teeth..mega pain if splinter tooth/fracture.
keep us in the loop please...
wood spoons, branches both dead and green,...
deer antler, seashells..cutttlebone etc..
Thank you MM!:bowdown

PS, they are chiseled perfectly, so if he broke them it was a while back....they are not dangerously overgrown...just need some tweakin!

[Otis11]

to the best of my knowledge, he has not broken any teeth. I have always kept an eye on them because my last squirrel Norman's teeth grew so long she hooked them on her cage and pulled them out, forcing us to keep her.

I have beem able to file them sown some and they don't appear to be gettign worse, but they're not getting better either. He has all of his blankets and his pouch he sleeps in full of nuts, but won't crack any of them open. I need to give them to him pre cracked just for him to get into them.
I'm afraid something more is wrong with him though. He has been very lathargic compared to a couple months ago...he hardly plays and will not jump. He looks at 18 inches as if it were 8 ft. and he hardly climbs. Unfortunately here in MN we are not allowed to have squirrels as pets, so I may be hard pressed to find a vet that can look at him. I just want him to be happy and healthy...after having Norman for 7 years, it's easy to become attached. He is extremely docile and loving and does not mind being handeled on bit. I am blessed to have such a loving little guy mjs

Thank you for the response Jackie:thankyou

[Nancy in New York]

I'm afraid something more is wrong with him though. He has been very lathargic compared to a couple months ago...he hardly plays and will not jump. He looks at 18 inches as if it were 8 ft. and he hardly climbs.
Thank you for the response Jackie:thankyou


What is his diet like?
Can you tell us what veggies he eats, if he
has any kind of squirrel block, what kind of
formula he was on?
That will help us a lot.

[Otis11]

What is his diet like?
Can you tell us what veggies he eats, if he
has any kind of squirrel block, what kind of
formula he was on?
That will help us a lot.


He gets lots of nuts, but hasn't been cracking them. Hazelnuts, wallnuts, pecons, almonds, silver maple seads, unsalted peanuts, sunflower seads, cherries, bananas, avocado, lettice, wheats thins occasionally as a snack, he'll sometimes eat carrots, strawberries or pineapple, apple slices.
I do not have any kind of squirrel block for him and he has not been on any kind for formula for over a year now.

Thanks!

[SammysMom]

Okay, it looks like his diet is probably the issue. He may be developing MBD. He definitely needs a good quality rodent block. I use henrys healthy blocks for Sammy. You can gt them at henryspets.com
For the moment, you should probably start him on the emergency MBD treatment. See below:
Emergency Treatment for MBD

Get calcium into the squirrel IMMEDIATELY, not later, not tomorrow, NOW. Delaying treatment can cause death or permanent paralysis.

You will need:

--Tums or calcium pills (any kind)
--a syringe, eyedropper, or spoon

Crush one Tums or calcium pill and add a little water or fruit juice. Use the syringe, eyedropper, or spoon to force-feed the mixture, a little at a time, until it is all gone. Feed a total of 600-800 mg of calcium, and spread it out through the day and night to keep his blood calcium levels as steady as possible.

If the squirrel is having seizures, weakness, or paralysis, the symptoms will usually improve within a few hours, but this does not mean the squirrel is cured. It will take many months to rebuild the calcium in the bones.

Long-Term Treatment for MBD

The next step to curing MBD is to fix the diet.

1. Remove ALL seeds, nuts, corn, and treats.

2. Follow the Healthy Diet For Pet Squirrels, which can be found at the top of the “Squirrel Nutrition” forum. (http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=16093) Your squirrel MUST eat rodent block or squirrel blocks every day. If your squirrel doesn't like rodent blocks, you can try crushing them up with peanut butter or avocado temporarily. You can also make a tastier version of squirrel blocks using the recipe at the top of the Squirrel Nutrition forum.

3. In addition to the Healthy Diet, you will need to continue giving extra calcium every day for several weeks. Either use the syringe/eyedropper or you can try putting the calcium on a small piece of fruit.

Week 1: calcium = 500 mg per day
Week 2: calcium = 250 mg per day
Weeks 3-8: calcium = 100 mg per day

The cause of the acute symptoms—weakness, lethargy, seizures, paralysis—is a drop in blood calcium levels. If these symptoms return at any time, you will need to give another emergency dose of calcium.

More Tips
MBD causes brittle bones that break easily. Try to keep your squirrel away from high places, where he might jump and break a bone. Also, if he is in a tall cage, either place him in a smaller cage, or pad the bottom very well.

Heat is very soothing for a squirrel with MBD. A heating pad turned to low and placed so they cannot chew the pad or cord, or a rice buddy (a sock filled with dry rice/beans and microwaved for about 20 seconds) will work.

[SammysMom]

Go to the healthy squirrel forum and take a look. It is so much different than I ever thought before Sammy started to show the signs that your squirrel is now showing. They have very specific dietary needs that you wouldn't think of from seeing them in the wild.

[stepnstone]

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I'm afraid something more is wrong with him though. He has been very lathargic compared to a couple months ago...he hardly plays and will not jump. He looks at 18 inches as if it were 8 ft. and he hardly climbs.

...after having Norman for 7 years, it's easy to become attached.

Definitely a diet issue and definitely at risk for MBD and it sounds like you are seeing the symptoms.
This is serious and very life threatening! He should be eating a good quality rodent block and with all the nuts it's just depleting any of the value in the good things he does eat. You have the chance to turn this around now, his continued survival will depend on it. Many do not get that opportunity.

Who/what was Norman?? Was this another squirrel, if so was his diet fed in the same fashion as Ogre's?

[Otis11]

{cut}

Who/what was Norman?? Was this another squirrel, if so was his diet fed in the same fashion as Ogre's?

Norman was my squirrel I had from 02-09...since she had no teeth, we had to chop up her food, but her diet was almost all walnuts. What do they survive on in the wild??

Otis (aka Ogre when he's crabby) is the new little guy our cat brought home April of last year. He is still active, but not like he was before. Thank you to all that have answered, it sounds like he will be ok. He's gotten about half a tums down already today, but he was not happy when we took all his nuts he had hidden!

[SammysMom]

They are never happy about that... Neither is the kid when you take away all the snickers bars they have hidden in their room:jump
Keep up with the Tums, but you truly must change his diet to ensure his healthy life. In the wild they eat bark and grass and bugs and many other things you would never even think of a squirrel eating. The healthy diet forum here has all the information that you could need and if you don't find it, ASK. Everyone here is happy to help someone who is trying to keep a fuzzy pal healthy. :thumbsup
Rodent block is the most important thing for you to get now. It often involves some tough love and times where you worry they will starve before eating it, but it is for their health. It is NOT fun, but it WILL save Otis and keep him healthy. For a while NO NUTS will have to be the rule. If you do go to henryspets.com the blocks are made with nuts in them so they seem to be more easily accepted and 2 - 3 per day is all they have to eat to get the nutrition they need. If you would like to try a few I will send them to you if you give me your mailing address. If you cant PM yet, you cam email it to loseandgainhealth@sbcglobal.net

[stepnstone]

Norman was my squirrel I had from 02-09...since she had no teeth, we had to chop up her food, but her diet was almost all walnuts. What do they survive on in the wild??
Otis (aka Ogre when he's crabby) is the new little guy our cat brought home April of last year. He is still active, but not like he was before. Thank you to all that have answered, it sounds like he will be ok. He's gotten about half a tums down already today, but he was not happy when we took all his nuts he had hidden!

Kudos to you and Norman's 7 years but I have to admit I'm surprised with a diet of "almost all walnuts". It's hard to say why some squirrels on an improper diet seem to get past the issue of MBD while other's are stricken, if they even do get past it. Many squirrels pass before their time due to deficiencies in their diets without displaying the "recognizable" symptoms.

I realize for most people without the knowledge or information that when they think squirrels and what they eat they naturally think nuts, it's a common misconception. After all, this is the trees they are drawn to, what they are fed in the parks and backyard feeders, what you will see in almost every advertisement involving a squirrel. In reality, their diets in the wild consists of so much more. Their systems are much more complex then one could imagine and they eat a wide verity of wild foods to obtain the calcium, protein and vitamins to keep them healthy and agile. This includes but not limited to; vegetation, tree bark, insects, even dirt supplies certain minerals to their diet.

In the wild they know what to eat and what they need to nurture their systems, captive squirrels have to depend on their captors to supply the proper nutrition. This is why a proper balanced diet is so important to their survival.

[Otis11]

Thanks everyone! Otis is definately improving. He is much more active today. Is there anything else I can feed him right now besides the Tums and rodent block? Any fruits or vegetables? :thankyou

[SammysMom]

Here is the healthy squirrel diet information:
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32218
Remember that even though he is improving o the outside, his bones are VERY brittle fro the lack of calcium. Try to keep him in an area where he will not be tempted to do any jumping. Since they are prey animals they are extremely good at masking any sign of not feeling well to prevent themselves from becoming someone's MEAL.

[Otis11]

Here is the healthy squirrel diet information:
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32218
Remember that even though he is improving o the outside, his bones are VERY brittle fro the lack of calcium. Try to keep him in an area where he will not be tempted to do any jumping. Since they are prey animals they are extremely good at masking any sign of not feeling well to prevent themselves from becoming someone's MEAL.

Thank you! I actually checked that link out after posting last night, very helpful! The room we often times play with him in is carpeted so I was keeping him on the floor as much as possible. He was back to hoping around and rolling on his back wrestling a towel. He did make a couple leaps from the couch to the chair to the desk (12-18") but I brought him back to the floor after than. We'll see how today goes.

Thanks!