Showing signs of pain in mouth?

[Maxine]

Hi I have a very spoiled 7 year old squirrel. She started showing signs of maybe discomfort in her mouth. I'm not sure but she is making noises while eating and just wanting to lay in my lap

[redwuff]

Is she able to crack a nut? Have you looked in her mouth? What do you feed her?

[Maxine]

I have not looked in her mouth yet. She eats a wide variety of vegetables fruit and nuts. She didn't crack the nut herself I did. She just acts like her mouth is hurting

[redwuff]

Please look in her mouth and tell us what you see.

She needs to be on a good quality rodent block to maintain her health. A good source I’d recommend is at www.Henry’sHealthypet.com

[redwuff]

Can you tell us exactly what she was fed today?

[Maxine]

Before I left for work I broke open a pecan she had very little so I tried her on a soft piece of bread. She ate that but was still making some noises while eating

[redwuff]

Because of the diet that your sweet girl has been fed, it is possible that she is suffering from MBD, metabolic bone disease. Usually it manifests with weakness in her limbs, unable to walk, or seizures. Please look in her mouth to see what is going on in there, look up MBD and a healthy squirrel diet, and see what Henry’s Healthy Pet squirrel block (hhb) is. Using hhb’s is the easiest way to start them on the road to a healthy diet. Please, no more nuts for awhile. If she does have MBD, she needs to be started on calcium.

[Maxine]

I'm sorry but she has a huge variety of foods she eats not just nuts. She was perfectly fine a couple days ago. She runs all over the house and very well cared for. Maybe she has something stuck in her mouth. I will check when I get home. She does have an appointment scheduled for Monday or tuesday

[Maxine]

Because of the diet that your sweet girl has been fed, it is possible that she is suffering from MBD, metabolic bone disease. Usually it manifests with weakness in her limbs, unable to walk, or seizures. Please look in her mouth to see what is going on in there, look up MBD and a healthy squirrel diet, and see what Henry’s Healthy Pet squirrel block (hhb) is. Using hhb’s is the easiest way to start them on the road to a healthy diet. Please, no more nuts for awhile. If she does have MBD, she needs to be started on calcium.
Where do I get the calcium and what kind

[Maxine]

Where do I get calcium and what kind? I also read tums and rolaids would help now. Is that correct?

[redwuff]

Where do I get calcium and what kind? I also read tums and rolaids would help now. Is that correct?

I gave the web site on post 4 above. She carries an MBD emergency kit. The Henry’s Healthy Pet site also has excellent information on her site concerning healthy diet and MBD.

Yes you can use tums but please look at the information before you treat. It is very important to get calcium into their system if this is MBD. Henry’s site will tell you how to dose it.

Check to make sure that her teeth/incisors are being ground down properly and are not too long.

[redwuff]

I'm sorry but she has a huge variety of foods she eats not just nuts. She was perfectly fine a couple days ago. She runs all over the house and very well cared for. Maybe she has something stuck in her mouth. I will check when I get home. She does have an appointment scheduled for Monday or tuesday


Unless a squirrel has the proper calcium/phosphorus ratio the diet is not balanced. The fact that your girl has made it to seven years speaks to the fact that she has some calcium in her diet. Fruits veggies and nuts is not balanced. Please believe me, I am not trying to dis you, I want to help you help your girl. She needs a rodent block of some kind as the main staple of her diet. We see many tragic endings here because of diet.

I do not know if the pain in your girls mouth is MBD but I do know her diet is not stellar.

Have your vet get a head X-ray to rule out an odontoma of the incisors. That could also be causing enough pain that she does not want to eat.

If she is not eating try to see if she would be willing to take formula.

[redwuff]

I'm sorry but she has a huge variety of foods she eats not just nuts. She was perfectly fine a couple days ago. She runs all over the house and very well cared for. Maybe she has something stuck in her mouth. I will check when I get home. She does have an appointment scheduled for Monday or tuesday

If you are not familiar with this vet, please be careful. Not all vets are squirrel safe. If you feel good about this vet, I am so glad that you have somewhere to take her to get her seen. Having a squirrel for seven years is no easy task. I know you must love her:Love_Icon

[UDoWhat]

I'm sorry but she has a huge variety of foods she eats not just nuts. She was perfectly fine a couple days ago. She runs all over the house and very well cared for. Maybe she has something stuck in her mouth. I will check when I get home. She does have an appointment scheduled for Monday or tuesday

What you are describing could be a textbook case of MBD. It comes on suddenly and it is deadly. If rodent block is not at least 75% of her diet she could have MBD. Please post a picture of her mouth so we can take a look. She could have odontomas. It is also very common in aging squirrels and other rodents. Her teeth may need to be trimmed. MBD can cause the jaws to misalign due to a slow weakening of the jaw bones. Or it could be as simple as her teeth needing to be trimmed if she is not wearing them down herself. Rodent block is hard and helps squirrels to wear their teeth down.
I would start the MBD treatment ASAP! You have nothing to lose but your squirrel.
Here is the link.
https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?17680-Emergency-Treatment-for-MBD-(Updated-3-31-09)

[Maxine]

Unless a squirrel has the proper calcium/phosphorus ratio the diet is not balanced. The fact that your girl has made it to seven years speaks to the fact that she has some calcium in her diet. Fruits veggies and nuts is not balanced. Please believe me, I am not trying to dis you, I want to help you help your girl. She needs a rodent block of some kind as the main staple of her diet. We see many tragic endings here because of diet.

I do not know if the pain in your girls mouth is MBD but I do know her diet is not stellar.

Have your vet get a head X-ray to rule out an odontoma of the incisors. That could also be causing enough pain that she does not want to eat.

If she is not eating try to see if she would be willing to take formula.

She is not eating tonight,what kind of formula.

[Maxine]

OK so I posted yesterday about my 7 year old squirrel. I noticed this morning I see blood on her privates! What is it and what do I do? I'm taking her in tomorrow hopefully this vet knows what to do because she is miserable!

[redwuff]

Can you get a picture of what you are seeing? Is she peeing blood as in pink tinged urine. What symptoms are you seeing that says she is miserable? What did you see in her mouth when you looked in it?

You asked about feeding something...some ideas are; pecan flavored ensure, making up a formula that babies eat and if your girl is hungry but can’t eat. One formula is 3 parts goats milk (not cows milk) 2 parts full fat yogurt, and 2 parts heavy whipping creme.

[Maxine]

I have not been able to look in her mouth. I picked her up and saw blood on her privates. She hasn't eaten since Saturday morning. I started her on the tums this morning in case she is starting mbd. She is staying curled up in her house

[redwuff]

Please look in her mouth. She could have incisors growing into the top of her mouth. Were you able to read the MBD treatment protocol. It is really important to do that. If your girl is not eating, then is she drinking?

[Maxine]

I am taking her tomorrow to a vet that will do anything needed to her teeth. She did drink water last night and I am doing the protocol for mbd. It is a spot of blood not alot. But I am also going for the ensure you mentioned and syringe feed her that. I think it maybe some type of bladder infection

[redwuff]

Please look in her mouth. She could have incisors growing into the top of her mouth. Were you able to read the MBD treatment protocol. It is really important to do that. If your girl is not eating, then is she drinking?

Sounds good bout vet. UTI’s do suck and make one feel awful. Do you have any antibiotics?

[Maxine]

I only have cephalexin