Buster mouth does not close and he is losing weight. Please help

[ab3286]

Buster is about four years old. I clip his teeth about twice a month otherwise they grow down his throat. He has MD. I have put TUMS in his water for the past four years but stopped about a month ago when I started putting Henery's vitiamans in his water instead. Suddenly his teeth are growing faster, he is losing weight and his testicals finally started growing. This last time I clipped his teeth they had grown extremely long. After they were clipped I noticed his mouth can not shut any more. Is the MD affecting his jaw?

[island rehabber]

MBD (Metabolic Bone Disease) will absolutely affect the jaw. Just adding calcium to his water is not enough to reverse the fatal effects of MBD. Have you spoken to Leigh at henry's about this? She has an MBD treatment kit and is fantastic at coaching people through the initial stages of treatment.

[HRT4SQRLS]

I'm not sure what state you are in (if vet care is even an option) but your squirrel needs an X-ray of its head. With MBD, your squirrel could have odontoma and this can only be diagnosed with an X-ray.

Odontoma is an elongation or bony growth at the base of the teeth. MBD and trauma to the teeth are possible causes.

[farrelli]

Can you please tell us exactly what you feed every day and how much powder you're adding to the water?

[ab3286]

Can you please tell us exactly what you feed every day and how much powder you're adding to the water?

Spinach, sweet poto, orange, sunflower seeds, coleflower, corn, apple. I keep a tums in his water. A vet down here told me it was good form of calcium. I quit rodent blocks because they get moldy.

[island rehabber]

Spinach, sweet poto, orange, sunflower seeds, coleflower, corn, apple. I keep a tums in his water. A vet down here told me it was good form of calcium. I quit rodent blocks because they get moldy.


Spinach, sunflower seeds, and corn are deadly to squirrels with MBD. They are loaded with phosphorous and therefore they leech calcium from the animal's bones. Exactly what you DO NOT want to feed. Rodent blocks don't get moldy if you put them in the refrigerator.

I would sincerely recommend that you begin the Emergency Treatemnt for MBD right now, if you want to save little Buster's life. PLEASE. Only you can do this and stick to it, and save him.

http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?34495-Emergency-Treatment-of-Metabolic-Bone-Disease-%28MBD%29

[farrelli]

Yes, please do begin the treatment and follow it religiously. Also, please do get a quality rodent block. They MUST be the core of the diet. The majority of problems we see who up here are the result of a bad diet and your guy has a very, very bad one. The following is the block that we recommend most here. A bag will last a month and should be stored in the fridge or freezer. If it's too pricy, many people on a budget will feed one block a day (instead of two) in combination with a lesser quality, but still good, block like Oxbow.

You really need to get this all under control very quickly.

[farrelli]

Btw, would you mind telling us where you are? Hopefully we'd have someone near you who might be able to take a look at him. It sounds like he's in bad shape.

[JPlagg]

Are squirrel molars like Guinea Pigs in that they keep growing? The reason I say this is Rodney my Guinea Pig has to go in several times a year to have his molars ground down. If we don't he can't close his mouth and he has all kinds of problems with eating.

[island rehabber]

No, only the four front incisors grow continually on a squirrel. Molars stay put.