Potential Tooth Problem in a semi-wild...

[Rocky1]

WHO
There is a large semi-wild squirrel who has visited me for probably at least a year now. She will come right up to me, sit next to me, but I have NOT encouraged any closer behavior. Since she is a wild, I don't want to cause problems for her. I absolutely love her.

PROBLEM
She apparently cannot eat hard foods, and is leaving red (possibly blood) on food she tries to eat. I will attach pictures. Today, she passed up Kaytee blocks and peanuts, and went after my soft bread. I offered her almonds and pecans in the shell. She tried to eat them, but instead, only left an outline of red where she was biting, no success.

HOW LONG
This problem has gone undetected by me for probably at least a week and a half. This is the squirrel who tried to put in-shell pecans in her mouth and they just fell out - she was apparently intentionally showing me this. And I found a chewed up nut with red on my balcony railing. Now I think I finally understand that all of this was due to a tooth problem that I was unaware of.

WHAT SHOULD I DO? What are my best options?

(I do plan to put bread with unsalted peanut and nut butters out next time for her. But I will have to move soon and worry for her. I would also like to figure out what's going on so it can be remedied.)

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[Rocky1]

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There are no berries and nothing red to eat around here, so this must be blood. All pictures are of almonds which are definitely NOT red. In fact, I served these so I know they weren't red before.


Under WHO, I should have mentioned that this is a wrinkly squirrel with wrinkles like a Chinese Shar Pei so now I think she's losing weight due to this.

I just need to know how to help her.

[Rexie]

Wow it sure does seem to be blood.... I have no idea how you can help her other than trap her and get her to a wildlife vet or rehabber who could help her. Depending on where you are the wildlife vet is worry some for fear of euthanasia. I hope some others will offer some better options for her, as she is in need of some medical attention.

[Rocky1]

Wow it sure does seem to be blood.... I have no idea how you can help her other than trap her and get her to a wildlife vet or rehabber who could help her. Depending on where you are the wildlife vet is worry some for fear of euthanasia. I hope some others will offer some better options for her, as she is in need of some medical attention.

I am in Belmont, MA (close to Boston). I don't drive. This squirrel visits me every day at 9 a.m. I would love to help her and would gladly accept help. I do NOT have a vet.


It would be easy for me to trap her in my apartment by simply shutting the door once she enters. The only thing is that we would need to help her the first time I do this because she may be afraid of me after that.

[Rexie]

I live in Texas so there is no way I can help you. Hopefully someone in your area will see the thread and offer a plan to help your squirrel friend. Can you try to get a picture of her mouth somehow? We need to see if it's a tooth problem or a tumor that's visible. Does her face look swollen?

[Daisey007]

I wouldn't simply close her up in your apartment because then you'll have to run her down inside the apartment to catch her, that will surely make her hate you. You need to get a small "Have A Heart trap". Once she's trapped then you will become her rescuer :Love_Icon You could be working on getting a trap while you wait on help here.

[Rocky1]

UPDATE: When given soft foods she doesn't bleed. (Just to be clear, she was bleeding while eating for a long time - weeks.) Yesterday and today, I provided soft bread with peanut butter, seedless pieces of watermelon, and grapes. She ate like she was starving and no blood this time. I attached pictures of partially eaten grapes, hoping that someone could identify if her bite mark looks right? I figure that her bite mark on partially eaten food could be a clue to narrow down what the problem could be. IMO, I would be better off just taking her to a vet, but I don't know of a vet near Boston and don't drive. I would still be extremely grateful for help.

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[PennyCash]

I'm sure that she appreciated softer food. It's nice that your trying to take care of her. I agree that I think she needs to be checked out by a vet. Wilds do have teeth problems and anytime teeth are involved it can turn deadly. Afraid that's all the help I can offer from another side of the country. Maybe you could try getting a picture or video of her eating and her mouth. Hopefully someone closer can help.
Just so you know I've been told repeatedly by several vets among other sources that grapes should be peeled, seeds and fibrous center removed. The skins are known to get stuck in the mouth and throat.
I'm not so sure about the bread and peanut butter since those are things that I've read don't hold much nutritional value.

[Rocky1]

I'm sure that she appreciated softer food. It's nice that your trying to take care of her. I agree that I think she needs to be checked out by a vet. Wilds do have teeth problems and anytime teeth are involved it can turn deadly. Afraid that's all the help I can offer from another side of the country. Maybe you could try getting a picture or video of her eating and her mouth. Hopefully someone closer can help.
Just so you know I've been told repeatedly by several vets among other sources that grapes should be peeled, seeds and fibrous center removed. The skins are known to get stuck in the mouth and throat.
I'm not so sure about the bread and peanut butter since those are things that I've read don't hold much nutritional value.

UPDATE: The right side of her mouth, and possibly throat, is badly swollen. Her face bulges out on the right side under her eye, in the mouth area. The left side does NOT appear swollen. She seems to have difficulty swallowing. It takes a lot longer for her to bleed on soft food compared to hard food, but she still bleeds on her food. I suspect it's time for the vet, if ANYONE could help me? I am willing to hand her over to a rehabilitator and pay for all of her expenses and more.


Here's her non-swollen side (the best view starts around 10 seconds in), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwIqLA8vmbU

At about 25 seconds in to this video you can see a glimpse of her right side. At the very end, you can see where she bleed on the food. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR-RjZVBC3s

[Rocky1]

Right swollen side (as best my camera could capture it), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P30-vERpzA

Just eating, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hgh3l2ztXo (She seems to mask pain when I start filming. She looked very miserable, squinting while she chewed, trying multiple times to swallow... Then when I start filming, she stops squinting, looks more alert, etc.

There will be more videos, but I have to charge my battery first.

[Rocky1]

Non-Swollen side in HD, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4omTv2_RmY8

Swallows at about 5 seconds in, I think, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZWuibgWjm8 (I'm going to watch my other videos to ensure that was a swallow and not just looking at me. She has had much more miserable looking attempts at swallowing.)

[PennyCash]

UPDATE: The right side of her mouth, and possibly throat, is badly swollen. Her face bulges out on the right side under her eye, in the mouth area. The left side does NOT appear swollen. She seems to have difficulty swallowing. It takes a lot longer for her to bleed on soft food compared to hard food, but she still bleeds on her food. I suspect it's time for the vet, if ANYONE could help me? I am willing to hand her over to a rehabilitator and pay for all of her expenses and more.


Here's her non-swollen side (the best view starts around 10 seconds in), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwIqLA8vmbU

At about 25 seconds in to this video you can see a glimpse of her right side. At the very end, you can see where she bleed on the food. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR-RjZVBC3s

Rocky, I watched all of the videos but unfortunately the only thing that I could make out was the swelling. When you got closer to the food I could see the blood wish you could have gotten closer to her. Meanwhile, I'm sitting thousands of miles away hoping that you can get some help for this sweetie.
BTW with you moving soon do you think it's a good idea to have them coming into the apartment? When your gone they might very well continue to try to enter which could have a negative impact on the squirrels.

[Rocky1]

Eating, view of non-swollen side, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sk6UUE9FHU

Eating, view of swollen side, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcajYahptFQ

[Rocky1]

Rocky, I watched all of the videos but unfortunately the only thing that I could make out was the swelling. When you got closer to the food I could see the blood wish you could have gotten closer to her. Meanwhile, I'm sitting thousands of miles away hoping that you can get some help for this sweetie.
BTW with you moving soon do you think it's a good idea to have them coming into the apartment? When your gone they might very well continue to try to enter which could have a negative impact on the squirrels.

This squirrel needs help asap. I am hoping to get her help so that either she can survive without me in the wild, OR be in the safe hands of a rehabilitator. Right now, she is starving and relies on me due to her injury. I want to keep this thread solely focused on getting her help.

(To quickly address the other points, and move on, squirrels have been coming in homes on this block for years, even before I moved in. I have been helping train some of them to stay away from the house. In the case of this squirrel, I am her lifeline. I must help her or hand her off. This topic may be destined for the Emergency Section soon. If I try to get any closer to her, she will run off and starve - and may not return due to fear. I was much closer to her than the videos appear. For some reason even though I was about 12 inches away from her, my camera has the effect of zooming out. It's unfortunate, but all I have.)

[Rocky1]

FYI - This is my wild pet Buddy. (She's not as tame as most pets because I didn't let her get close to me. I wanted what's best for her. If this is relevant to her treatment, I can elaborate here or over the phone.)

[Rocky1]

UPDATE: She's back again for dinner. She's relying on me, it seems entirely, for soft food. She scrapes the peanut butter off the bread, and that's her meal. Tonight I will try grinding up Kaytee blocks and mixing with peanut butter. I will put that on half of the bread so she can pick which to eat.

I could really use some help. I think a vet is needed to identify the problem and suggest a treatment plan. Depending on the issue, I may need a rehabilitator to administer the treatment to Buddy. I will pay 100% of the cost and then some. It breaks my heart to watch this. I will be happy to trap her and hand her over to someone willing to help.

[TubeDriver]

Make boo balls out of crushed Henries blocks or kaytee blocks, crushed nuts (for flavor) and apple sauce as a binder. At least that way, she will get some real nutrition.

If the condition does not resolve on its own shortly, she will need to be captured and her mouth examined.

[Daisey007]

I haven't a clue what is wrong but she obviously needs some expertise with this issue. Do you think you can keep her inside until you can get her some help? I think she's pretty vulnerable in that state, plus you'll want her near when help does arrive. :dono

I'm glad she has YOU to depend on! :bowdown

Sending up prayers...:Love_Icon

[DaSquirrelMom]

Since she is eating soft food you provide, you could begin treating her infection (the swelling is a symptom) by putting antibiotics in her food.

[Daisey007]

Since she is eating soft food you provide, you could begin treating her infection (the swelling is a symptom) by putting antibiotics in her food.

That's true... just getting something past her lips is the biggest challenge. :w00t

[redwuff]

Do you think you could get her into a hav a hart trap or some type of caging so she could be transported? What is the time period you have before you move?

She defiantly needs some medical help to find out what is going on.

Trysh

[Rocky1]

Do you think you could get her into a hav a hart trap or some type of caging so she could be transported? What is the time period you have before you move?

She defiantly needs some medical help to find out what is going on.

Trysh


Yes, I could put her food in the trap. She trusts me enough to go in. She visits at the same time every day. Strategically, this will be easy. I will answer your other question over PM since this is NOT a private forum.

[Rocky1]

That's true... just getting something past her lips is the biggest challenge. :w00t


If I had the antibiotics, yes. Instructions about what to mix them with would also be needed. (I'm a bad cook and even my friends don't like my cooking. Poor Buddy. Someone else's recipe will be needed.)

[Rocky1]

Make boo balls out of crushed Henries blocks or kaytee blocks, crushed nuts (for flavor) and apple sauce as a binder. At least that way, she will get some real nutrition.

If the condition does not resolve on its own shortly, she will need to be captured and her mouth examined.

Thanks, I will try this! I'm guessing equal amounts of each should suffice? Except for the binder. Probably just enough binder to make it stick together.

[Rocky1]

Redwuff: Got this message when I tried to PM, "redwuff has exceeded their stored private messages quota and cannot accept further messages until they clear some space."

[Rocky1]

Yes, I could put her food in the trap. She trusts me enough to go in. She visits at the same time every day. Strategically, this will be easy. I will answer your other question over PM since this is NOT a private forum.

I would very much like to hand Buddy of to a rehabilitator who is willing to care for her. As much as I love her, there is a problem with my feeding her this close to an eviction. Plus, I found more bloody food (picture below), and want to make sure that she is the only one with this problem. I think she just has a mouth injury and that's it, but by handing her off, I can be sure of that too. This is difficult for me and very sad, but if anyone could help, I would be forever grateful.

This picture is from a couple minutes ago.

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Ignore picture of boo balls below. I tried to delete that picture, but it won't go away.

[Squarl]

Don't just assume that vets won't help. Occasionally doctors take special interest in cases. I've known a few vets to take in wildlife that I'm pretty sure they don't have licenses for LoL. If you haven't already... call around and see if they can help. Some vets are still cool u might get lucky :D