Torn claw

[olorin19]

Mookie is five months old and being overwintered prior to spring release.

Mookie actually has a great origin story: We came home one day to find Mookie in a pile of leaves in a bucket (ours) by our front porch. We still have no idea who left him. So, basically Mookie is the squirrel equivalent of the baby left in a basket in front of the fire station. He opened his eyes six days later, and has been sharing a room with our special needs NR Ziggy ever since. (Separate cages, but they get along fine.)

Anyways, Mookie has somehow torn the claw on his ring finger on his right front paw. It is possible he may have torn it off completely, but a bit hard to tell without restraining him for a good look. He was favoring it for a few days, but seems to get around without obviously favoring that paw now.

Is there anything I can or should be doing for Mookie?

And if it did tear off completely, is it likely to grow back? If not, is this a concern for his eventual release, or simply something to which he will adapt?

[4Puddles]

I am not sure if the nail would grow back in squirrels, but I would be surprised if it wouldn’t as long as the nail bed isn’t severely damaged. With dogs and torn nails, it is actually best if it gets torn completely off vs partially torn because otherwise it will be excruciatingly painful anytime it shifts or bumps on anything... think extreme hangnail. When a dog comes into the hospital with a badly torn and hanging nail, we usually sedate them and yank the remaining piece off. It makes me cringe every time but they feel so much better afterwards. I would say keep the area clean to prevent any infection and maybe consider a couple of days of pain meds if he seems uncomfortable. Poor little guy! :hurt

[olorin19]

Mookie's claw is growing back. While it is not full length yet, there do not appear to be any issues, and he is certainly using the paw freely as he flies about. His indoor cage (as he overwinters prior to spring release) is wire, so the claw does not get a lot of use to cling there. But I take him out to my covered front perch twice daily so he can run around and climb, and all looks fine when Mookie is climbing around out there.

[olorin19]

The claw has totally grown back and looks completely normal. It probably took about 5-6 weeks total.

I am 99% sure that the claw was totally gone at the start. This may have been due to being torn all the off, but I suspect Mookie chewed it off himself after it was injured.