Presley - Head Trauma

[island rehabber]

Wow, poor girlie. I lack the expertise required to really interpret those Xrays, but I am thinking that good nutrition, R&R and a gentle hand may bring this girl back to normal. I don't see where the break in the jaw would be -- anyone want to edumacate me?

[stepnstone]

Wow, poor girlie. I lack the expertise required to really interpret those Xrays, but I am thinking that good nutrition, R&R and a gentle hand may bring this girl back to normal. I don't see where the break in the jaw would be -- anyone want to edumacate me?

I haven't a clue on reading x-rays either but I agree she can bounce back.
The future concern would be watching her teeth and hoping that the jaw aligns
as it fuses and heals and doesn't cause a misalignment to her incisors.

[Mel1959]

Hows this baby doing today?

[Abbi's Mama]

Hey! Sorry, it's been a few days since I've updated.
She's doing well! The swelling in her eye is coming down and she's been able to actually close it for a couple of days! Hallelujah!
After some observing and discussing, her teeth are still causing quite a problem. Not sure if it's the way she landed when she fell or if it's just were the jaw is broken, but it's like they're not quite sitting right and they're in her way, causing her mouth to bleed occasionally. So, this weekend we're actually taking her back to the vet tech friend and she's going to grind the teeth down (she's not using them right now anyway since she's strictly eating formula) and we're hoping that will allow her mouth to "sit" right and hopefully heal in the correct position so she'll be able to eat correctly in the future. *fingers crossed*
However, she's been aggressively rubbing the dry blood on her face, trying to remove it, and now the hair has came off part of her arms because of the friction? She's not bleeding, but balding lol Can vitamin E oil be put on the skin? Suggestions? (the dry blood is now off her face btw. We were leaving it alone in the beginning because we weren't sure if there was an injury underneath it, but my mom soaked it with a wet paper towel last night and everything has finally came loose).
Including pictures of her curled up (with that bulged eye CLOSED!!) and her teeth. Sweet girl.

[Mel1959]

Her teeth definitely need trimmed. Please be sure the vet tech knows what she’s doing with a grinder. Most times grinders are only used when the squirrel is sedated because the noise alone can cause distress and movement. A pair of very, very sharp clippers will also work to trim teeth. There’s videos on this forum as well as you tube to help guide you.

I’m glad you removed the blood. Because it sat on there for so long is probably why the hair has fallen out. You can rub plain coconut oil into it. Was there an injury under the blood?

[Abbi's Mama]

Her teeth definitely need trimmed. Please be sure the vet tech knows what she’s doing with a grinder. Most times grinders are only used when the squirrel is sedated because the noise alone can cause distress and movement. A pair of very, very sharp clippers will also work to trim teeth. There’s videos on this forum as well as you tube to help guide you.

I’m glad you removed the blood. Because it sat on there for so long is probably why the hair has fallen out. You can rub plain coconut oil into it. Was there an injury under the blood?

The vet tech friend had said she's going to sedate her to grind them (she's grinded other rodent teeth before...not 100% sure about squirrels).
There were no injuries under the blood, it's just where it "leaked" out of her ear after the fall. Saying that, I'm seriously amazed at how well she's doing. The blood was on her face though, and that area is fine (and still has fur) but her arms didn't have blood on them and that's where she's lost hair. But she kept rubbing her face and mouth to clean, as they do, and that's why we figured maybe she just got a bit aggressive trying to rub the blood off and wore the hair off on her arms. We can definitely put some coconut oil on those arms though.

[stepnstone]

After some observing and discussing, her teeth are still causing quite a problem. Not sure if it's the way she landed when she fell or if it's just were the jaw is broken,

Trimming the teeth may give them the possibility of re- aligning themselves, it may very well be a
result of the jaw itself. You will need to keep a close eye on the teeth as the jaw heals.
I had a little with a fractured jaw, in the beginning her teeth lined up fine.
Later down the road as the jaw bone healed / fused more her teeth became permanently misaligned.
This led to having to keep the teeth trimmed when needed and of course due to this she was non- releasable.

[Abbi's Mama]

Thanks Stepnstone!
Yes, that's my biggest concern. And I've told my mom that if the teeth don't line up correctly we'll just have to keep her and trim them periodically. The hope is to be able to release her in the spring...but if she ends up be non releasable, she has a place to stay.
I'll have more pics this weekend after the teeth trimming and such. I think that will help her a LOT.

[Abbi's Mama]

Well, little girl got her teeth clipped (instead of grinded) on Saturday and she's doing soooo much better! She's been eating more frequently and isn't having to maneuver her jaw around (I suspect she wasn't eating quite as much before because eating was painful and just wasn't worth it). She's no longer on pain meds and has gotten a bit more active, but still very much enjoys napping most of the day, especially right after eating. She prefers to cuddle with you after eating and will grunt, growl, and cling to your clothes if you try to move her into the cage lol

That left eye is looking good...still a bit off, but definitely better than before. So far she's still very complacent and hasn't offered to bite anyone. Now it's just a waiting game to see how things turn out with that jaw and if she'll be able to maintain her teeth length on her own once she's able to eat solid foods again. (Hair has come off from where blood was by her ear and on her arms, but Mel said that was expected).

Here's new pics. One of them is her teeth before and after. The before pic is much better because she was more cooperative...but the vet cut them down quite a bit, thank goodness. She REALLY needed it.

[Abbi's Mama]

My mom just sent me this picture after feeding. She's eating soooo much better with those teeth clipped! (Still just formula right now, but her teeth were getting in the way before and frustrating her).
Such a sweetie. My mom calls her Sweetie instead of Presley, so now Presley is her middle name. 🤣