Squirrel stopped eating and one side of face seems to be in pain

[Pippathesquirrel]

Hello everyone,

I rescued an injured baby squirrel about 3 1/2 years ago. Unfortunately there are no rehabilitation services for squirrels where I live so I ended up keeping her. She is very well cared for and loved. I give her only calcium: phosporus balanced vegetables and she also gets Henry's Healthy blocks as her main source of food. I do not believe there is any concern for MBD. About 2 days ago, I noticed she would make a weird squeaking nose when I'd offer her certain foods like dried mealworms. I didn't think anything of it at the time. Last night she started squeaking when I would offer any food. Even foods she normally LOVES, she rejects and won't eat. I noticed she was rubbing one side of her face and when I would try to touch there she would squeak. I have plenty of pumice stones and wood blocks in her cage for her to file her teeth on. She is still moving around, jumping and drinking water, but she seems to only want to curl up in her nest. She spent the majority of the day in there today. Normally, she loves coming out and running around the house. I didn't see any visible swelling or injury. I am just at a loss for what to do. There is no vet in my area that will see a squirrel as they are considered "invasive". I am so worried so I thought I would turn here to see if anyone had any input. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks

[Tuff]

Hello everyone,

I rescued an injured baby squirrel about 3 1/2 years ago. Unfortunately there are no rehabilitation services for squirrels where I live so I ended up keeping her. She is very well cared for and loved. I give her only calcium: phosporus balanced vegetables and she also gets Henry's Healthy blocks as her main source of food. I do not believe there is any concern for MBD. About 2 days ago, I noticed she would make a weird squeaking nose when I'd offer her certain foods like dried mealworms. I didn't think anything of it at the time. Last night she started squeaking when I would offer any food. Even foods she normally LOVES, she rejects and won't eat. I noticed she was rubbing one side of her face and when I would try to touch there she would squeak. I have plenty of pumice stones and wood blocks in her cage for her to file her teeth on. She is still moving around, jumping and drinking water, but she seems to only want to curl up in her nest. She spent the majority of the day in there today. Normally, she loves coming out and running around the house. I didn't see any visible swelling or injury. I am just at a loss for what to do. There is no vet in my area that will see a squirrel as they are considered "invasive". I am so worried so I thought I would turn here to see if anyone had any input. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks

Has she been through her heat cycle? I’m just grasping at straws here. Can you video what she is doing? Post it to YouTube then copy the link and paste it in your comments. Can you list exactly what she is being fed daily? Is her poop normal? I know lots of questions but it helps us help them and you.

[Spanky]

I agree it would be helpful to provide a more complete description of her diet. Meal worm Ca:P ration is between 1:7 and 1:11; how many and how often does she eat meal worms?

Are you able to examine her teeth?

[Diggie's Friend]

Pumice is a form of volcanic rock that contains glass; this can abrade soft tissues in the mouth and pit the surface of the grinding teeth.
It isn't a source I would recommended be used for tree squirrels to gnaw on.

[CritterMom]

It does seem to perhaps be a tooth issue. Since actually being able to try to examine molars on a fully conscious squirrel is an issue, I would try to do this through elimination. If you can give us a pretty close idea of her weight, you can give her a dose or two of infant ibuprophen. If she has some sort of inflammation, it will be relieved with the ibuprophen and then return when it wears off. Make sure you get the infant strength, and that you get ibuprophen, not acetaminophen.

Can you give us an idea of where in OR you are - anywhere near Portland?

[Pippathesquirrel]

I do see a little swelling on one side of her face this morning. It's just under her eye. She ate a couple tiny pieces of her squirrel bar, but I could tell it was painful for her to eat. She is still moving around okay and drinking water. I really hope she will be okay

[CritterMom]

If this is a tooth, it will need to come out, and swelling by the eye SCREAMS tooth issue. Is the Portland area a place you could reasonably get to?

[Pippathesquirrel]

Thanks to everyone who replied. To the last reply (Thank you!): I am in Portland. I would guess she weighs about a pound - any idea the dose of infant ibuprofen for that? I only give her a few dried mealworms every few days or so. I read that they are a good source of insect protein for squirrels, I didn't realize that's not the case. The pumice stone came from the pet store rodent section and I also read those are good for sharpening their teeth. She has had one for 3 years and never had a problem, but again I want to do what's best for her so if those are not good, than I will discontinue use of them. Anything else you recommend? I also give her wood blocks chews. Her typical diet is a Henry's block in morning and evening. Lettuces including radicchio, endive, butter lettuce, maybe a small piece of butternut squash once a day and a small piece of fruit like blackberry or blueberry. She is very picky and only eats her vegetables some of the time. I give her a quarter almond once a day. I also try to collect pine cones, beech nuts, and other outside items I have read are okay for squirrels when I can. She has been completely fine and healthy for the last 3 years up until now so I'm really not sure what caused this.

[CritterMom]

Thanks to everyone who replied. To the last reply (Thank you!): I am in Portland. I would guess she weighs about a pound - any idea the dose of infant ibuprofen for that? I only give her a few dried mealworms every few days or so. I read that they are a good source of insect protein for squirrels, I didn't realize that's not the case. The pumice stone came from the pet store rodent section and I also read those are good for sharpening their teeth. She has had one for 3 years and never had a problem, but again I want to do what's best for her so if those are not good, than I will discontinue use of them. Anything else you recommend? I also give her wood blocks chews. Her typical diet is a Henry's block in morning and evening. Lettuces including radicchio, endive, butter lettuce, maybe a small piece of butternut squash once a day and a small piece of fruit like blackberry or blueberry. She is very picky and only eats her vegetables some of the time. I give her a quarter almond once a day. I also try to collect pine cones, beech nuts, and other outside items I have read are okay for squirrels when I can. She has been completely fine and healthy for the last 3 years up until now so I'm really not sure what caused this.

I would get rid of the pumice chews. The wood blocks are okay but honestly, they LOVE chewing just plain old interior pine lumber - the stuff at Home depot that is available in 1 inch thickness and many widths. Instead of just laying it in the cage, attach it firmly TO the cage, so they can bite into it and tug like heck and it doesn't move. It is why the door frames in my bedroom look the way they do...:tap

I will PM you ibuprophen dosing and some other info.