teeth/eating issues please help

[LindaR]

OK My baby is having a real difficult time eating solid foods even when I break them up small or even put them in a blender. He gets food stuck in his teeth. And his mouth is so small I cant get to them to help. His teeth are messed up and do not align the way they should. He has to get them trimmed by the vet regularly and that still doesnt help his eating issue. PLEASE SOMEBODY help me with this? I am so worried about him choking. It scares me to pieces! He is 12 weeks old on FV and I try to give him fresh veggies listed on the nutrition chart. He has monkey biscuits and block but is unable to chew on them enough to get anything off of them. Please help any advice would be sooo much appreciated :Love_Icon

Love my baby mjs "Hammie"

[Jackie in Tampa]

me again Linda...
It may be best to have one thread so we can keep all Hammies info together...easier for the rehabbers to read in ONE PLACE and not repeat questions..or have to back track etc...
I am not the forum police, do as you like, just saying...:D

if IT is an emergency...always post a BIG LOUD HELP!!! in the emergency forum, by all means...

asked for a video as you were looking for advise on his broken arm...
now his teeth issues...
take a pic with pencil in mouth so we can see what is going on...

[LindaR]

You are so wonderful thank you!! :Love_Icon I tried to upload a video but it wouldnt work for some reason I can try again with another video but will take me some time. The arm that is gimpy is not the arm he broke it is the opposite one. So that worries me all the more. His arm that he broke is healed up and strong thank God :) and thank for the advice about posting I didnt mean to cause confusion or anything. I am just unsure of how to address these matters :) thank you again, I will keep trying with the video and get that pic just soon as I can :)

Love my baby mjs "Hammie"

[Jackie in Tampa]

I am so not techincal linda.. I upload to photobucket then bring the link here and paste it..
others use youtube for same purpose...

[LindaR]

Great idea thank you so much!! Doing that now :)

[LindaR]

Hope this works....

[LindaR]

keeps saying I have an invalid file..tried both youtube and photobucket :(

[LindaR]

http://s1058.beta.photobucket.com/user/Linda_Rodman/media/hammievideo_zpsa4a2e529.mp4.html?sort=3&o=0

Finally wow I feel so putarded!! if this isnt good enough I can try to make another video, a better one :) Thank you all so much for your help, really!! I super duper appreciate it!! XOXOXO

[Jackie in Tampa]

had to do vegetables for 867 sqs...oye!
I did watch video, am in love.. I know where you live and I coming to sqanap him!
dang, on second thought...
why don't you bring him here, I heard you washing those pots and pans..
I know where a dishwasher is needed... in Tampa...:rotfl

can you take another video...
I know...:peace sorry, I want to see more and sure others will too.
How large of an aquarium is he in? gallon wise?
gotta feed a flyer... will ck back:wave123

Hammie is adorable...major KLUNK!:Love_Icon

[LindaR]

right now Hammie is in a built cage now in my living room gallon-wise it could estimated at approximately 120 gal at least. Its huge lol Thank you for your kind words lol he is my sweet precious little miracle and I love him so much. I got some tums 750 just in case he needs the extra calcium. I havent given it to him yet. I want to make sure before I do anything. I will take another video and post it as soon as I can :) I just wanna make sure he doesnt have the MBD and if so take care of it ASAP.

Love my baby mjs "Hammie"

[LindaR]

Here is a video I just took of Hammie, in it you can see how he is slow on his left side and stumbles a lot. He will use it on occasion but it isnt getting better. COULD THIS BE MBD????? I need to know so I can help him ASAP thank you all so much!! :Love_Icon

http://s1058.beta.photobucket.com/user/Linda_Rodman/media/hammievideo2_zps35bd3e6b.mp4.html?sort=3&o=1


Love my baby mjs "Hammie"

[Jackie in Tampa]

well, I would say he is NR, non releasable and has nuerological disorders...
this may be his FOREVER statis...
Bless his little heart..

no offense intended, but the chicken wire MUST be replaced for his safety... this wire will allow his legs to fall through and he is not coordinated enough to help himself...
I recomend 1/2 x 1/2 hardware cloth... Lowe's and HD both sell it.. right beside the Chicken wire...
besides the limbs issue, it can damage mouths/ teeth if chewed on...
He is adorable...
is your family able to keep him?
forever? it's a very large commitment, sqs are hard to care for correctly in captivity..
not only safety concerns, but the perfect diet is a must.

Bless his heart... and yours too!

[LindaR]

Yes we intend to keep him. He is very much a part of our family. I will let husband know about the cage lining so that it can be promptly changed. So you dont think this is MBD? but rather a neurological disease? I just want to make sure so that I am prepared to do whatever is necessary to make him more comfortable and safer. I love little Hammie so much I do not want anything to happen to him





Love my Baby mjs "Hammie"

[Jackie in Tampa]

are you aware we have a nutrition forum...
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=191


His diet will def be the challenge..
Has he always had FV for his formula?

are you familiar with HHBs?
http://www.henryspets.com/squirrel-blocks-growth-formula/

I have several NRs.. my guys are happy and healthy as far as their statis allows.. I do have nuero sqs as well as amputees and a dwarf.
HHBs are my choice /insurance/ assurance that I am doing all I can to keep them active and healthy/happy.
Couple that and the healthy diet, bingo!:thumbsup

sorry about the cage DH!... best to do as soon as possible.

Hammie is adorable, no doubt!:Love_Icon

[LindaR]

When I first got him at 2 weeks old I used Esbilac but then I found this site on the internet and joined once I found out about Foxvalley formulas, I got that as soon as possible and he has been on that ever since. Right now I give him the foxvalley as primary. Monkey biscuits, rodent block, lettuce, squash, green beans, Brussels sprouts, and sometimes peanut butter as secondaries. I keep them in his cage for him during the day. He will nibble on them but he has trouble eating solid foods though. His teeth arent lined up like they should be. He gets them trimmed by our vet because he cannot grind them down himself.

I am so committed to taking care of him. It is worth it to see him play, be happy and snuggle up to me. He is an amazing little guy and he has stole my heart 200%!

I am glad you told me about the cage, we are going to change it. Thank you for everything, I am just glad that he does not have MBD.

Love my baby mjs "Hammie":Love_Icon

[LindaR]

I gave Hammie some calcium about 50mg each feeding for a total of 300mg over a day and a half, and added to his formula...today he is doing much much better, much more active, using his arm more, and up and about for longer periods. So this is a good thing right??

[LindaR]

Hammies cage has been fixed and is so much better than before. I have another question though....

Since Hammie's teeth arent aligned he has difficulty eating harder more solid foods. I sometimes have to grind his food up fine in order for him to eat it safely. are there any softer food recipes available that I could prepare for him???

I ground up some monkey biscuits and mixed with a little peanut butter and he loved it. Does anyone have any other ideas? please help...


Love my baby mjs "Hammie"

[Jackie in Tampa]

I am failthful to Henry's research, I believe in the avenue of nutrition that has been advised by their manufacturer..
I also have three sqs here forever with teeth issues of a variety.
Henry's sells a powder variation of the vitamins already measured out per RDA...called Vitamix...
I feed my normal guys HHBs and for the toothless ones, I chop nuts with a pampered chef slap chop and place them in a container , add the proper amount per day and coat their nuts... these three are fed a normal veggie diet that has also been chopped to smaller sizes..
the incisors are tools to open nuts and make food small enough to pass back to the molar/masscerators...
many sqs are toothless and remain healthy in captivity...
I also give the entire tums tablet or a plain calcium 600mg tablet to my keepers in their cozy cubes, they will chew them as they want...
a cuttle bone sold for birds is also another soft calcium source..

I know that Henry's will also do special orders for softer blocks..

others will be here soon to share their ideas..

[Jackie in Tampa]

IF tooth extraction is a possibility, that maybe the best option..
advise is for uppers ONLY.
continuous clippings are fine if done well, however there is always the possibility of odontoma tumors
lowers are made to move independantly of each other in order to carry large cache...there fore have more flexibilty/play...
uppers are stationary in the jaw, any twisting of the tootyh itself can damage root and nerve.. this can become a problem... hence removal is a good choice for upper tooth issues, imo.
having said that, I would make sure you find a dentist with rodent experience...I would never never let a domestics vet pull sq teeth, as a matter of fact I would run for the hills if one volunteered...oye!
This is tricky surgery and I know of a few failed attempts done by DVMs...
good doctors too...so please do not rush to have them pulled...

Once the uppers are removed, I have found most sqs will maintain the lowers on their own...
and for those that do not and need forever clippings, the lowers do grow slower and are much less dangerous to clip..
this is just my opinion, I am not a rehabber nor do I have any medical knowledge... just a nut with a houseful of sqs...:)