Fred's Oral Issues

[KCullen]

Fred is an 8 weeks old eastern grey squirrel who came into our care at about 3.5 weeks. He was perfectly normal until around weeks 5-6, when he appeared to get a squirrel pox bump on his left front paw, followed by what appeared initially to be another one on his left upper lip. We cleaned him, used smz, etc. Paw healed fine, but he has been very resistant to chewing food. Usually by 8 weeks they're nibbling Henry blocks, Tekland blocks, twigs, etc experimentally. He would nibble my finger when it was good time as he is very active & I would check his lip. He began to have issues "drooling" formula (on Fox Valley now) and moved the silicon nipples around much more than usual in his mouth to reposition them. While cleaning his face & paws after his night feeding, I realized he had a bolus of white tinged with faint green in his upper lip where his bottom incisors are irritating his upper lip. Clean, but swollen after removal. His upper incisors are behind the bottom ones. I have a call in to the wildlife vet we use, but an appointment may not be possible for a week or so. I haven't had issues with malocclusions so far in my years of squirrel rehab, so any advice would be appreciated. I wasn't sure if this should be posted in the specific "Teeth" ailments section or here, so if moving is necessary I understand. He wouldn't let me get a good pic of his upper incisors, but he's a very good boy.

[CritterMom]

Aw, this poor baby. Yes, those lowers are way too long. I have no idea if keeping them trimmed would help the uppers come in properly or not. Did he come directly from the wild to you or was he with someone else first? I am wondering what his face looked like at intake - their heads are the largest, heaviest part of them when they are wee babies, almost guaranteeing they injure their face and often the area the teeth are just starting to form...

[KCullen]

We got him from another local rehabber who was overwhelmed with numbers after I ran in to her. He seemed fine when she took him in at a week or so old. I've included pictures of him when we took him in, plus another collage over the next couple of days. He had been interested in nibbling initially, & he has a good appetite. Hopefully these help with his head? I don't have any of his early teeth as the bottom incisors looked slightly uneven initially, but usually they wear down & straighten with use, so I didn't record them.

[KCullen]

Fred is 188 grams. Could someone please help with infant ibuprofen dosage &/or some specifics for trimming his teeth? I can't get him to the vet for a couple of weeks (we did contact them!) and he's upset, rubbing his mouth on my hand, trying to bite at my fingers or the bars in his enclosure, which is not usual behavior. He seems to know I'm trying to help when I open his mouth and rub his little face.

[CritterMom]

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