Not using top incisors

[booboo]

Hi everyone,

It seems that my 7 years old squirrel is not using her top incisors. I brought her to the vet to get her too incisors trimmed and when I check again 3 weeks later, it actually grew even longer and is curling inwards!

I don't wish to bring her back to the vet again as its a stressful ordeal for everyone including herself.

Her lower incisors was so blunt that she bit herself badly during the trimming.

Could it be possible that she is too used to using her lower incisors and did not bother to use the top incisors?

What should I do now?

[stepnstone]

Hi everyone,

It seems that my 7 years old squirrel is not using her top incisors. I brought her to the vet to get her too incisors trimmed and when I check again 3 weeks later, it actually grew even longer and is curling inwards!

I don't wish to bring her back to the vet again as its a stressful ordeal for everyone including herself.

Her lower incisors was so blunt that she bit herself badly during the trimming.

Could it be possible that she is too used to using her lower incisors and did not bother to use the top incisors?

What should I do now?
They are definitely going to need to be trimmed again.
Top and bottom teeth normally work in unison, is it possible her top are not lining up with her bottom teeth?
Does she chew and have materials like branches, antler, cuttle bone, to chew on to keep them filed down?

For whatever reason you are going to either have to keep returning to the vet or learn to do this yourself
(with help) if it becomes a continuing problem. Over grown teeth not only will stop them from eating properly,
there is a multitude of injury and /or infection to the mouth that can occur and even become life threatening.

Would it be possible to post a few pictures so we may see what you are dealing with?

[booboo]

Hi everyone

I'm so sorry for the late reply as I have some problems accessing this site.
My squirrel just dropped both of her front incisors and what should I do?

It's a huge piece! And looks like the roots came out too.

She is not in pain. Some dried blood on her nose and happily playing and eating right now.

Will her upper incisors grow?

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[CritterMom]

OMG. I have never seen this before. Having this done surgically is considered major surgery and she did it herself?

She MUST go back to the vet. The area needs to be examined and any remaining bone/tooth fragments removed...then she should be on antibiotics to prevent infection. Get her into the vet today.

[booboo]

OMG. I have never seen this before. Having this done surgically is considered major surgery and she did it herself?

She MUST go back to the vet. The area needs to be examined and any remaining bone/tooth fragments removed...then she should be on antibiotics to prevent infection. Get her into the vet today.

Unfortunately she did this by herself!

I was so freaked out. Took a while to muster my courage to pick it up and gave it a good scrub.

She is happier now, playing and eating so much!

The problem with this squirrel is that it is not legal in my country and although I K now some vet friends, they are not really experienced handling squirels. Is it necessary to put her on antibiotics?

Here's a better photo of the cleaned up version.
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[HRT4SQRLS]

Holy Moly! :eek I have NEVER seen anything like that. Let me ask this, is the pic of the cage wall? Did she pull them out chewing on the cage and get them hung on the bars. It looks like the ENTIRE teeth including the root.

Personally, if this was me I would go to the vet to have X-rays done to make 100% certain that there is no root left behind. She absolutely, 100% DOES need antibiotics to prevent infection. It not only looks like she removed her teeth, she also removed a good chunk of her gum. I think she also needs an anti-inflammatory to prevent swelling from occluding her breathing. I would hate to even think what her sinuses look like with all that trauma.

The antibiotics at a minimum are mandatory. The mouth is FULL of bacteria. Bacteria in those traumatized tooth sockets absolutely will cause an infection. It's much better to get ahead of it than to try to fight it once an infection is raging. Keep in mind just how close those teeth are to the brain. I wouldn't wait. I would use Clavamox or Clindamycin STAT.

When I think I've just about seen it all, something like this comes along.
Wow ... never seen anything like this. :eek

[HRT4SQRLS]

One more thing, you said she's 7 years old. Has she been on a healthy diet?
It's just that I can't even imagine a healthy squirrel pulling out both incisors in their entirety if she was otherwise healthy.
I can see breaking them off deep but NOT this.

I hate to even thing that she might have odontoma remaining in those sockets. A seven year old doesn't just stop chewing for no reason. They usually stop due to pain and pain can be an indicator of odontoma or a tooth abscess or both.

[booboo]

One more thing, you said she's 7 years old. Has she been on a healthy diet?
It's just that I can't even imagine a healthy squirrel pulling out both incisors in their entirety if she was otherwise healthy.
I can see breaking them off deep but NOT this.

I hate to even thing that she might have odontoma remaining in those sockets. A seven year old doesn't just stop chewing for no reason. They usually stop due to pain and pain can be an indicator of odontoma or a tooth abscess or both.

Thank you!
I will get her to the vet asap.
Just read about this article and I'm quite worried too.
http://squirrelrefuge.org/teethissues.html

She doesn't seem to be losing weight or losing her appetite. We did not wean her and she is still on a PetLac twice a day (puppy's milk formula), supplemented with vegetables, fruits and nuts.

I want her to have enough nutrients and thus continue feeding her the PetLac. Tried to get the rodent blocks for her but unfortunately I can't find them in my country and no online shops are willing to ship it over too.

I'm not sure if the vet is willing to gas her to send her for X-ray or not. He is very selective on gassing animals especially small ones. As he believes is not really good for their health.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Yes, some small animals are sensitive to anesthesia. I, too would be uncomfortable without experience with it. I believe here they use isoflurane gas. Has he ever put small pocket pets under? It would be very brief so it would be minimal anesthesia.

That is an excellent article on squirrel teeth. The author is a member here. :tilt

[booboo]

Yes, some small animals are sensitive to anesthesia. I, too would be uncomfortable without experience with it. I believe here they use isoflurane gas. Has he ever put small pocket pets under? It would be very brief so it would be minimal anesthesia.

That is an excellent article on squirrel teeth. The author is a member here. :tilt

Oh! It's seems like it's the only article I can find on google related to teeth issues for squirrels.

Do you think I should just get the antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs from my vet first? Sending her to the vet will most likely traumatized her and stress her out.

Her nose has some dried blood and I don't see any wheezing or sneezing. Any other signs I should look out for?

And any anti inflammatory drugs to recommend for squirrels?

[HRT4SQRLS]

Oh! It's seems like it's the only article I can find on google related to teeth issues for squirrels.

Do you think I should just get the antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs from my vet first? Sending her to the vet will most likely traumatized her and stress her out.

Her nose has some dried blood and I don't see any wheezing or sneezing. Any other signs I should look out for?

And any anti inflammatory drugs to recommend for squirrels?

Dr.E put Resilie on Metacam after her odontoma surgery so I believe this would be a good one for inflammation and pain.
If you want to wait on the vet visit at least start the meds and see how things progress. Any signs of lethargy or lack of appetite would be cause for concern and definitely take her in.

[Nancy in New York]

Oh! It's seems like it's the only article I can find on google related to teeth issues for squirrels.

Do you think I should just get the antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs from my vet first? Sending her to the vet will most likely traumatized her and stress her out.

Her nose has some dried blood and I don't see any wheezing or sneezing. Any other signs I should look out for?

And any anti inflammatory drugs to recommend for squirrels?

Do you have any Clavamox (animal antibiotic) or Augmentin (human antibiotic)? Get some from your vet if not.
Do you have a weight on your squirrel?
Can you tell us what state and city you are in, perhaps we
have a member that has a squirrel friendly vet.
Get the antibiotics ASAP.
You can give infant ibuprofen for pain, OR Metacam from the vet,
but we need a weight to dose
properly.
If this were my squirrel, I would get the x rays ASAP.....IF your vet
can safely do this.

[booboo]

Thank you everyone.

Will get the meds from my vet first and monitor her.

In the meantime, can I feed her calcium tablets?
Or get her multivitamins tablets for kids? What should I avoid?

We don't have Tums here too and wondering if I should start feeding her calcium for this teeth issue.

[CritterMom]

It is not a bad idea. Can you get calcium that is JUST calcium, with nothing else added to it (like Vitamin D)?

[DarkLies212]

Not sure how this works, but can something get stuck in the hole and cause more damage?

[CritterMom]

Well, they broke off...and nobody knows if there is still pieces of bone and tooth in there where you can't see it. Bone and tooth are both living tissue, and when it is separated from it's blood supply, it dies and if pieces were stuck in there it would actually begin to decompose IN the skull. Now that it is broken, ALL of it needs to be cleaned out and the antibiotics needed to prevent bacterial growth, since the mouth is basically a cesspool...

[booboo]

It is not a bad idea. Can you get calcium that is JUST calcium, with nothing else added to it (like Vitamin D)?

I only managed to get tablets with 450mg of calcium + 50mg of Vitamin D.
Is this ok for my squirrel?
How many mg should I feed her and should I give her vitamin c too?

Her bleeding from the nose finally stopped but there's discharge coming out from her eyes. Am getting her on antibiotics today.

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[Mel1959]

I don't think calcium with the vitamin D is what you want. I believe too much vitamin D can be toxic. Can you find powdered calcium carbonate?