Missing front top teeth!

[CaseyF]

Hi Everyone!

This is "Happy"... he's been coming to our house now for about a year. He's pretty friendly, and I see him almost daily at the feeders enjoying his seeds.

On Wednesday (7/10/19), I noticed that one of his front top teeth was extra long... he looked snaggle toothed. I left a bone out for him in case he needed something to gnaw on to file it down. Then yesterday, he was eating sunflower seeds at the feeder and I noticed the tooth was gone completely. He seemed to be able to eat just fine with the one. This morning, I saw him in the tree and offered him a pecan. He took it and went further up the tree to eat it. I noticed he wasn't coming back down for more yet... he was still working on the pecan. He finally gave up and just dropped it. I offered him some apple slices, which he took and was able to eat. He was also able to eat a pecan that I had soaked in water.

I'm pretty far from a rehabilitation center, and none of the vets in our area will see squirrels. Do I just continue to leave out or give him things he can eat? Do I try and trap him to take him somewhere? I'm so afraid they will just euthanize him. From what I've read, they have to have those front teeth to survive, and they may or may not grow back. I have no idea what caused him to lose them like that. He is the sweetest little guy and I just want to do what's best for him! I'm happy to do whatever it is to get him the nutrition he'll need.

Thank you for your help!

[Mel1959]

Can you give your area in Texas? We do have members in Texas that might be able to help you with a rehabber or a squirrel friendly vet.

I just recently had the same thing happen to one of my released squirrels. I took her to the vet and after an X-ray it was determined that the roots were good so the vet believes the teeth will regrow. It was necessary to do a slight trim of the bottoms and I am to take her back for a second slight trim in two weeks before re-releasing her.

I have been offering her soft food like avocados, partially cooked sweet potatoe and squash as well as fruit.

It’s only been a little more than a week since she was at the vet and I can already tell that she’s eating better.

I’m traveling right now so I may not be able to log back on, but someone else might be able to help you until I can recheck the thread.

[CaseyF]

Thank you so much for your reply!

We live in a somewhat rural area about 2 hours from Houston. I’m not sure how I would go about trapping him. He’s friendly in that he’ll take food out of my hands, but I don’t pet him or anything like that. We have so many squirrels that just leaving a trap out probably wouldn’t work. Any suggestions? He was a little standoffish today... he wouldn’t come down out of the tree to get his pecans and apples when he typically comes all the way down to me.

In giving him soft food, how much do I need to provide to him a day? I’ve never been too sure how much a squirrel needs to eat in a day to avoid malnutrition.

It just breaks my heart when one of my little squirrel friends is injured or unwell. 😭