8 Year Old Male Squirrel

[MyBushyTail]

He is feeling a good amount better now as he had been extremely lethargic and he appeared almost close to death, so now that he is feeling better and is a lot more active it is impossible for me to do this procedure on him by myself. I started giving him one almond in shell a day and he is able to open and consume it in a decent amount of time (5 minutes or less), so wishing maybe that will help grind down what needs to be grinded down. Will keep trying daily to either clip or file along with giving the almond. This definitely is turning into a two person job, especially since he is feeling better (I just need someone to hold him and I am super confident that I would be able to clip or file those bad teeth).

[Charley Chuckles]

I'm so happy to hear he's doing better 🙏
Keep up the good work 👍

[supersquirrelgirl]

Sounds good. Find the hardest nut and let him chew on it. (I can't remember the small round nut name.) Its bound to break-off soon. If you do get a 2nd person, wrap him like a burrito and quick cut the tip off. I bet filing with vibration will scare him.

Good luck - You are almost there.

[MyBushyTail]

I'm so happy to hear he's doing better 🙏
Keep up the good work 👍

Thanks. Starting to get concerned as this might be odontomas. His bottom teeth may be getting shorter, I am keeping close watch.

Not good if odontomas.

[olorin19]

Have you tried putting a brick or small concrete block in his cage?

My front porch has brick walls and an exposed concrete step down from the house. It has been used as a playroom for a dozen squirrels I have raised. And they all routinely rub their teeth on the bricks and in particular the concrete.

I was surprised when I saw my first squirrel Samwise nonchalantly running his teeth on the concrete step! But I quickly realized this was quite sensible behavior, as rodent teeth are always growing and need maintenance.

Since then, I always keep bricks and small concrete blocks in the cage - this is especially important for NR squirrels. There is also plenty of fresh green branches in the cage, so lots of opportunity for chewing to keep teeth and jaws in good shape.

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

He is feeling a good amount better now as he had been extremely lethargic and he appeared almost close to death, so now that he is feeling better and is a lot more active it is impossible for me to do this procedure on him by myself. I started giving him one almond in shell a day and he is able to open and consume it in a decent amount of time (5 minutes or less), so wishing maybe that will help grind down what needs to be grinded down. Will keep trying daily to either clip or file along with giving the almond. This definitely is turning into a two person job, especially since he is feeling better (I just need someone to hold him and I am super confident that I would be able to clip or file those bad teeth).

Hi MyBushyTail:
I may have missed this but what is the name of your Squirrel?

I have been very busy lately and have had a minimum free-time at home and on TSB as a result! I just noticed your thread and I apologized for "barging in" but I wanted to offer my commentary on Trimming of overgrown, maloccluded or fractured incisors. Many people have noted all over the the internet and here as well that Squirrel (or other rodent) incisors have no pain sensing capabilities and because of this; it is safe and effective to opt for "clipping" incisors often by wrapping the animal in a towel for restraint and utilizing diagonal cutters or other clipping devices to trim the these teeth. I would like to CAUTION anyone who is considering this to AVOID CLIPPING TEETH! I will explain my reasoning behind this statement but before doing so; my "simple" and strong recommendation is to have every rodent (or rabbit or whatever) with incisors that may need to be trimmed to be treated by an experienced Veterinarian who can APPROPRIATELY SEDATE the animal and monitor the animal's status during sedation and who is experienced in utilizing a rotary tool for trimming the incisors. Cooling is necessary when utilizing a rotary device such as a Dremel Tool and one cannot simply spray water into the mouth of an animal whose airway is not protected as the animal will aspirate (suck it into the lungs) the water. Relatively low RPM of the tool will minimize heating but heating is inevitable and cooling should be accomplished with very frequent applications of saline or plain water by dabbing the tooth with a saturated cotton ball. There are other "tricks" for safe positioning (to minimize likelihood of aspiration) and cooling that an experienced Vet uses especially if the utilize relatively high speed grinding.

Now to mention the very real risks of clipping incisors and once again; I would NOT recommend clipping! I am not alone with this as virtually all Veterinarians who specialize in Rodent (or similar species) do NOT trim incisors, they grind them with the animal safely sedated! Clipping incisors will frequently lead to longitudinal (lengthwise) fractures of the teeth or other splits of once healthy tooth material and much of this can occur without being noticed. There is also some evidence that with repeated clipping of the incisors, the pulp (the portion of the tooth that contains nerves and blood vessels) may become extended beyond the gum margin and would be more likely to become traumatized by further clipping. Also, it is difficult if not truly impossible to keep the forces of the clipper confined to directly across the tooth and there can be force transmitted to the root region and damage to the root and/or the surrounding bone may also result! Any injury of the tooth or transmission of forces into the root and bone may also result in pain to the animal even though the region being clipped does not in itself contain nerves or blood vessels! Clipping may appear very simple and in some ways it is but its use conveys great risk! Another related item is that while the cause or causes of odontomas developing are uncertain; there is some evidence that tooth trauma may in some cases play a part and frequent or regular tooth clipping may conceivably play a part in later development of an odontoma. I know that it is usually an luxury of sorts to have the services of a Veterinarian! I just wanted to point out some potentially significant risks that I see to the common practice of trimming incisors! CM metioned an option of filing the tooth and this would IMHO be far safer than clipping!

Again, these are strictly MY comments, recommendations and suggestion only! I am NOT a Veterinarian nor am I a dentist!

Thanks and regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[BigNibbler]

only scanned this thread... perhaps pieces of wood, branches, and the only nuts I serve are black walnuts.
Though some will figure out how to SPLIT the halves, in which case, stop.

[MyBushyTail]

7/9/2025 update -

No luck yet.

I check his teeth once a day, every day...

...and...

...the tooth's edge is still the same.

This morning I measured the jagged edge and it still is only 1mm long. As of today it has been 27 days since I first noticed this jagged edge and at that time it also was only 1mm long. I guess somehow he is gnawing it down but not enough to even it out? I really don't know what is going on?

He is fighting me, like crazy, more and more every day while examining his teeth and fighting me even harder if I try to file it down.

He continues pffffffting a lot, pawing at his teeth a lot and wiping his mouth/teeth a lot all over everything. It is super obvious that they are bothering him.

[olorin19]

Have you tried putting a brick or small concrete block in his cage?

My front porch has brick walls and an exposed concrete step down from the house. It has been used as a playroom for a dozen squirrels I have raised. And they all routinely rub their teeth on the bricks and in particular the concrete.

I was surprised when I saw my first squirrel Samwise nonchalantly running his teeth on the concrete step! But I quickly realized this was quite sensible behavior, as rodent teeth are always growing and need maintenance.

Since then, I always keep bricks and small concrete blocks in the cage - this is especially important for NR squirrels. There is also plenty of fresh green branches in the cage, so lots of opportunity for chewing to keep teeth and jaws in good shape.

I made this suggestion a few weeks ago - have you tried this?

A brick or concrete block provides the opportunity for a squirrel to file its own teeth.

[MyBushyTail]

I made this suggestion a few weeks ago - have you tried this?

A brick or concrete block provides the opportunity for a squirrel to file its own teeth.

I have not tried the bricks but he does have pumice blocks.

I also have black walnut trees in my yard that have 100's of walnuts but they are still green and I wasn't sure I could give him some being still green.

[olorin19]

I have not tried the bricks but he does have pumice blocks.

I also have black walnut trees in my yard that have 100's of walnuts but they are still green and I wasn't sure I could give him some being still green.

I do not believe black walnuts when green are an issue. I have given them to NRs and squirrels being raised for release and never seen a problem.

Chewing on branches, nuts, etc. may be enough generally to keep teeth properly worn down, but my guess is that your situation will require something harder. I would also guess that concrete block or brick might help file teeth done more readily than pumice, as it is likely harder. There is no harm in trying, and easy enough to get a small block or brick.

[MyBushyTail]

October 6, 2025 update: No changes at all. His teeth are still exactly the same as they were the first time noticed and it has been several months now. Overall he is doing extremely well.

[MyBushyTail]

It's looking more and more, by his actions, like he may have odontomas. Other than this mouth/teeth issue he still is doing quite well. Will update when I can.

[MyBushyTail]

Odontomas?

Picture of bottom incisor teeth taken this morning at 430AM. Could not get a good enough picture of his top incisors this morning but will continue to try to get that.

Odontomas, mouth, molar, jaw etc etc problem?

Symptoms:

1 - He is pfffffting a lot.
2 - He is fingering at/fussing with his incisors a lot, mainly the top incisors (they seem a tiny bit longer than normal but they have always been this way). The bottom incisors seem pretty short (but they too have looked this way for a while).
3 - He is wiping his mouth on anything and everything.
4 - He cannot or will not open hard shell nuts other than almonds. A month or so ago he was eating the black walnuts from my black walnut trees.
5 - He has not opened hard shell nuts like filberts, pecans and walnuts since around March 2025.
6 - He is sleeping a bit more, sleeping quietly and sleeping soundly.
7 - He has weighed 2 pounds for a very long time, like several years. This morning I also weighed him and he is still 2 pounds.
8 - This morning, as of yet, he is not very interested in eating with is not his normal routine.
9 - No eye or nasal discharge.
10 - So far no abnormal breathing issues.

I had researched a bit more and read that the early symptoms of odontomas are:
1 - Noticeably short, blunted, or backward-growing top incisors.
2 - A runny nose or "cold-like" symptoms.
3 - Redness around the eyes or watery eye.

He does not seem to have any of the above symptoms.

His top incisors are orange, they appear correctly aligned but are longer and not really razor sharp. They are not misaligned, shortened, uneven or worn down flat.

Continuing with my above research and read that the advanced symptoms are:
1 - Respiratory distress: Obstruction of the nasal passages can cause sneezing, difficulty breathing, and a "reverse sneezing" sound.
2 - Difficulty eating: The inability to properly chew and wear down their constantly growing teeth can lead to reduced food intake, weight loss, and emaciation.
3 - Facial swelling: Infections and abscesses can form due to the irregular tooth growth, causing swelling.
4 - Poor grooming: Chewing problems can interfere with normal grooming, leading to a poor coat quality.
5 - Discharge: Infections can cause pus to leak from the affected area.

Again he does not to have any of the above symptoms, maybe just a little bit of the difficulty eating when it comes to hard shell nuts.

Odontomas or some other mouth issue?

Any advice is appreciated.

[MyBushyTail]

Very poor picture but was the only picture of all four incisors from earlier (430AM) that I had also taken. Figured I would post it anyways since it is of his bottom and top incisor teeth.

The tops look uneven in this picture but they aren't. They are even but a bit on the longer side.

The bottoms in this picture show a different angle.

[Charley Chuckles]

It's hard to say if it is odontomas I'm not sure you can do anything but try to keep him pain free as possible the only cure is surgery. However my Conker lived healthy life for 13 years had all four odontomas, upper left had surgery it grew back had surgery again I never had anymore surgery done and he lived many many years after that, however one day he could barely breath and I had to have him put down 😕
I wish we could solve what causes them I only know chewing on bars or repetitive chewing, I often wonder if all the antlers and hard nuts we give can cause it. I know they have to chew as their teeth keep growing but do they do more chewing because of boredom 🤷
Outside squirrels are always chewing but not always hard material just chewing for survival.
If his teeth stop growing and get shorter that's a good sign of odontomas as they grow in the jaw and nasel area.
Sorry I'm not giving you happy news but not all odontomas grow fast as in my Conker's case.
Only x-rays can determine what is going on.
Many prayers to you both 🙏🙏❤️