wild squirrel

[virgo062]

we have this little wild squirrel we call him lopeared. he is missing half a ear, his fur is missing on his back and he is just a scrawny little thing....his upper and lower teeth are way to long. we feed him soft foods and it takes forever for him to eat...we are going to try and catch him....my question is the teeth. I know they can be clipped. we dont know anyone that can do this....unless Baxied does it she is close to us. Is this something we can do? If so I need some instructions. sorry about the typing I am getting bit

[Milo's Mom]

Yes, Virgo, clipping teeth IS something you can do.

Although, catching a wild and clipping its teeth and releasing is very very stressful and I doubt if you'd be able to catch him again (he'd know why you are trying to catch him).

I think Jackie and/or maybe Stosh have posted some pretty detailed pics and instructions.

Do you have rescue remedy? Everyone involved will need some.

Are you planning to release him afterwards?

[virgo062]

we will release him after we fatten him up. he is pretty calm he almost will eat out of ricks hand. not sure of his age he may be orphaned he is pretty small. it will be stressful but worth it to get him released dont you think?

[virgo062]

Can someone send me the link please? We are willing to try. This baby does not have much longer :(

[Milo's Mom]

I worry about never being able to catch him again to keep clipping them. Basically by releasing him you are releasing a mallocluded squirrel, which are clearly NR's. Sometimes though after a good couple clippings the teeth re-align themselves. Do you think it might be possible to hang onto him for awhile (like while fattening him up) and evaluate his teeth?

We all know what the outcome will be if you are not able to catch him again. I also fear that by catching him it will wreck the level of trust that's been developed, thus making catching him in the future very very difficult.

[Milo's Mom]

here is a video done awhile ago by JIT.

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38125

[virgo062]

I'm sure we will have him a while he looks very unhealthy....He could even be one of ours we have released...At the very lease do you think its worth catching him just to get him healthy?

[virgo062]

Ok well she makes it look easy......:bowdown Doubt it will be that easy for us...Wild squirrel or not....Ok what do you think?

[farrelli]

Yes, you MUST catch him and keep him if you don't want him to die a really horrible death by either starvation or his teeth growing into his skull. The only way he could be released again is if his teeth realigned, but that is uncommon. If you can't keep him forever, do you know anyone who could? Perhaps we could find someone?

[squirrelfriend]

If you are not able to keep him afterwards can you let us know your location and maybe we can find someone on here that can give him a forever home? If you do not want to disclose your location on an open forum either pm me or one of the moderators and we can help find someone close by to take him in. If you are in Ontario Canada I can take him. I have lots of experience with malocclusions. Until you can catch him put out nut butter for him. At least he can eat that. We wouldnt want him to starve before you get to catch him. Wishing the best for you both.

[acorniv]

Do you have rescue remedy? Everyone involved will need some.


YAY for Rescue Remedy - truly a miracle product. :-). I use the original, made for humans. I dont know why they made seperate for animals, since you give ( and I have) infant bunnies and adult horses the same stuff - same dose.

I put a drop on my finger and rub it in their ear. That way you're not adding to stress by making them taste the alcohol base.

[magna]

If you work with a vet and they are able and willing to help you I would recommend taking him/her to them once caught to get them clipped the first time and have them show you how.

[MollyBear361]

Any luck?

[virgo062]

We are waiting till this weekend. Right now we dont have a empty cage...I really dont think we will have much problem catching him. He tolerates us pretty well looking at him through the door. I feel like he is one of our releases. I dont want to set the cage while we are at work :( When we catch him I want to be able to spend some time calming him down.We have gotten a little better look throught the door and his jaw may be broken. I still cant figure out his back....It looks like the hair has been burnt.

[squirrelfriend]

The hair loss on the back might just be due to molting. It kind of gives them a " shirtless" look. Are the burnt hairs possibly Downey fur that lies beneath the guard hairs? A picture would help a lot. Is there any crust or redness on the skin there? If so then it could be mange or a bad parasite infestation.

[Rhapsody]

Lets keep in mind as well.... that his teeth might of become over grown after getting injured (hence the half ear) and not being able to eat for a while, therefore, he was not able to keep his teeth trimmed down. He needs to be captured and have his teeth trimmed then given hard shelled nuts and antler pieces to see if he can keep the teeth trimmed down him self with gnawing on appropriate squirrel safe items..... if he can them freedom into the wild can be his.

[virgo062]

We did catch one squirrel this morning but it was not loppy....The Hav A Heart cage has a metal door :soapbox which cuts the squirrels mouth when they chew on it. Rick is going to make some adjustments to the cage this weekend...I didnt even think about the door. It just seems like one mishap after another...I am really woriied about Loppy and why he is bleeding from his mouth...There was a lot of blood for a little squirrel. We will try at feeding time tonight so we can watch the cage

[virgo062]

The hair loss on the back might just be due to molting. It kind of gives them a " shirtless" look. Are the burnt hairs possibly Downey fur that lies beneath the guard hairs? A picture would help a lot. Is there any crust or redness on the skin there? If so then it could be mange or a bad parasite infestation.


There is no redness or cuts on his back