7 yr old Red (Pine) Squirrel needs immediate teeth trimming

[Gigi]

Hello all. I have a 7 year old Red/Pine squirrel who has been perfectly healthy the whole time I have had him. I noticed the other day he was moving his mouth funny and not eating well. I've always checked his teeth from time to take to make sure all is good. But when I finally went to look at them yesterday I was horrified to see the bottom 2 front ones were grown almost to him top two. I live in Michigan where it's illegal to have a squirrel. I've called around to see if any licensed wildlife vet could help but there aren't many the two who are, are on vacation. I'm terrified to call a rehabber and also of taking him to a vet for fear they will turn me in or take him from me. He's so little and squirmy so I was wondering if there's anything I can give him to sedate him safely and do it in my own. I'm suffering from severe health challenges that affect me neurologically with processing information, so I hope my posting was okay. Please. I need help with this. Thank you so much.

[Nancy in New York]

Hello all. I have a 7 year old Red/Pine squirrel who has been perfectly healthy the whole time I have had him. I noticed the other day he was moving his mouth funny and not eating well. I've always checked his teeth from time to take to make sure all is good. But when I finally went to look at them yesterday I was horrified to see the bottom 2 front ones were grown almost to him top two. I live in Michigan where it's illegal to have a squirrel. I've called around to see if any licensed wildlife vet could help but there aren't many the two who are, are on vacation. I'm terrified to call a rehabber and also of taking him to a vet for fear they will turn me in or take him from me. He's so little and squirmy so I was wondering if there's anything I can give him to sedate him safely and do it in my own. I'm suffering from severe health challenges that affect me neurologically with processing information, so I hope my posting was okay. Please. I need help with this. Thank you so much.

Sorry to hear about your little red's teeth.
You could try Rescue Remedy to see if that helps.
Before attempting to clip, try the RR first and see it
it makes him drowsy.
Get the one for humans. If you have Amazon Prime
you will get it by Monday.
https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=rescue+remedy&tag=mh0b-20&index=aps&hvadid=3527192700&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_7k9pnaf6uk_e
Otherwise call around to health food stores and see if they carry it.

Do you think you can get a picture of his mouth/teeth?

What may also work is Children's benedryl. If you have a weight on your little
one, we can dose.

You will need a good clippers.
There are several posts on the board on how to clip teeth.
Do a search and see if you can find some.
I will look on YouTube to see if I can find a video.

Here's one.
It appears that some used SMALL side cutter plyers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTdldLtZmSI

Reds are my absolute favorite. :)

Edit: If at all possible, I suggest having two people helping while trimming.

[Gigi]

Omg. You are so wonderful! thank you for responding so quick. I'm sorry that I'm neurologically challeged. I have an infection in my brain causing inflammation so it's challenging me to write and research. I know a place that sells RR or I can get some children's Benadryl too. I'm so worried because he won't come out of his tube that's in his giant cage. He was out last night and I was able to feed him 7 ml's of Fox Valley's Day One formula and only 2 ml's this morning. He won't come out. Getting a picture will be difficult. I'm all alone. As for his weight I'm not sure he'd let me put him on a scale.

[Gigi]

I will try to get a weight on him. And I will get my husband to try and help with the trimming when he gets home. Is there a specific amount to the Rescue Remedy to use? He's always been very healthy no metabolic bone disease - never. I'm worried because he isn't eating his usual healthy foods - I noticed he wasn't eating his usual amount, but he goes through this in the spring and summer months over the years so I thought it was normal. Could he develope MBD in a week or not eating his full balanced meals?

I viewed the video....I'm feeling faint of heart just watching it, so hopefully RR or children's Benadryl will help make him more sedate.

I'm so glad you love the reds as much as I do. He's my whole world. I love him more than anything.

Thank you SO MUCH again.

[Nancy in New York]

Omg. You are so wonderful! thank you for responding so quick. I'm sorry that I'm neurologically challeged. I have an infection in my brain causing inflammation so it's challenging me to write and research. I know a place that sells RR or I can get some children's Benadryl too. I'm so worried because he won't come out of his tube that's in his giant cage. He was out last night and I was able to feed him 7 ml's of Fox Valley's Day One formula and only 2 ml's this morning. He won't come out. Getting a picture will be difficult. I'm all alone. As for his weight I'm not sure he'd let me put him on a scale.

If you can get a picture, I will post it.
Send it to my email address, which I will pm to you.
Can you tell us what his diet is like? Just name everything
that he actually eats.
I worry about him staying in his cube and not eating much.
Not sure if this is all related to his teeth.

I'm sorry about your condiiton. I can imagine this could be challenging.
Do you have a friend or relative that would be able to help you trim?

Also if you're out, can you pick up some infant ibuprofen.
Make sure the strength is 50 mg/1.25 mL
If his teeth are bothering him/painful this may be another reason
for him not eating. :(

[Nancy in New York]

I will try to get a weight on him. And I will get my husband to try and help with the trimming when he gets home. Is there a specific amount to the Rescue Remedy to use? He's always been very healthy no metabolic bone disease - never. I'm worried because he isn't eating his usual healthy foods - I noticed he wasn't eating his usual amount, but he goes through this in the spring and summer months over the years so I thought it was normal. Could he develope MBD in a week or not eating his full balanced meals?

I viewed the video....I'm feeling faint of heart just watching it, so hopefully RR or children's Benadryl will help make him more sedate.

I'm so glad you love the reds as much as I do. He's my whole world. I love him more than anything.

Thank you SO MUCH again.

Sorry I posted before seeing this.
MBD takes time to develop, but it can hit them fast as they
typically mask their symptoms.
Just list everything that he eats.

BEFORE you trim, you will need a good clipper, you never want to clip too
short. Start off with just a little trim, and later if you need to take more off
you can. You can't go back if you clip too low. We also want to avoid the tooth
splitting.
With the RR, but a little on their pads of their feed and a little in their mouth.
I would rather you try this a day before you trim just to see if it works.

[Gigi]

HIS DIET: Broccoli, snow peas, apple, pears (when he'll eat them), avocado, walnuts, pecans, almonds, blueberries, blackberries, sweet corn (once in awhile), grapes, grape tomatoes.

He has always done very well on this diet. No MBD ever.

Yesterday I was able to give him only 7 ml's of Fox Valley Day one formula and only 2 or less this am. He just is sleeping most of the day - yesterday and today.

Thank you

[Nancy in New York]

HIS DIET: Broccoli, snow peas, apple, pears (when he'll eat them), avocado, walnuts, pecans, almonds, blueberries, blackberries, sweet corn (once in awhile), grapes, grape tomatoes.

He has always done very well on this diet. No MBD ever.

Yesterday I was able to give him only 7 ml's of Fox Valley Day one formula and only 2 or less this am. He just is sleeping most of the day - yesterday and today.

Thank you

OK here's the healthy diet below.
Your little one is on too many nuts and fruit.
He needs a good quality squirrel block.
This is a staple and a necessity to squirrels in captivity.
Mine always eat the picky ones.
As you can see by the chart, nuts are a treat and need to be
given in very limited quantities. That means one or two TOPS daily.
Fruit should be limited as well.
Order some blocks, and follow the diet.
http://www.henryspets.com/squirrel-diet/
I would start the MBD protocol just in case. It will not hurt him, and if
you see an improvement in a day or 2 I think it's safe to say, this is MBD.

https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?32122-MBD-Treatment

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-WBwrFLT/0/98b5eed6/O/i-WBwrFLT.jpg

[Gray Squirrel]

Alter you get his teeth trimmed you may want to get some block made for rodents to chew on and put them where he can get them. Some are made of wood but others are made of something like stone or lava or something like that and are sold at the pet stores where I live. This may keep this from happening again. I think I would get both kinds for him

[Gigi]

Thank you so much for the rodent block advice. I tried those before and he wouldn't use them 😞 He has been chewing on pine branches and I'm very shocked to see that his bottom teeth have become so overgrown. Ill buy more rodent blocks again and hopefully he'll use them. I CANNOT THANK EVERYONE enough for all the help everyone is giving me. Thank you, Hun so much for the advice.