Tooth emergency: a tale of woe and long teeth

[merrittarnold]

Okay, I was worried about my little girl's teeth getting too long. Searched here and found some people saying they can be trimmed with fingernail clippers. Others said there was never a reason to do this; flying squirrels can take care of their teeth. Well, not always. She has chewed on the bars of her cage since day one. She has nuts in the shell, two bones, a mineral block and sticks to chew on. But she neglected her dental hygiene too long. Her upper two kept on and on growing. She could eat nuts out of shell, and soft things like apples, grapes, tomatoes, etc. Then today at lunch, I look over because she is gnawing so hard on the cage; she usually does this when she wants out; or so I thought. I realized she was trapped. Her upper teeth had grown so long, curling back under towards her tongue, that when she hooked them over the bar of the cage, she couldn't get them back off. She was frantically trying to get away from the bar. I tried pushing her nose up from outside, two of us tried turning her head sideways, no luck. I had a great view of her teeth, and if I hadn't been so worried I would have taken a picture for all of you. In my closet, here at school, I keep a set of wire trimmers. I grabbed those and was able to get them in her mouth enough to cut one tooth and not her lips. When I tried to cut the other one, the first trimmed tooth was stuck in her mouth and she couldn't push it out. I backed off and with only one long tooth, she was able to turn her head and free herself. She was eager to jump on me and snuggle, but I had another tooth to take care of. She didn't like it, but we eventually worked as a team and got them trimmed. She spent a good ten minutes chewing on the cage again to even them back out (girls don't like crooked teeth, right?)
Take this as a word to the wise. If their teeth get too long, they can NOT fix the problem. There is a point where we have to step in. My advice: keep an eye on the teeth and their diet. If they won't even attempt to shell a nut, check those chompers. They won't stop growing just because the squirrel isn't using them.
I'm hoping I trimmed them enough for her to be able to take over again, before the tooth fairy has to come in and perform another emergency toothectomy.
Glide on, baby, glde on.
Merritt

[Joan]

Thanks for you post. Sorry your furball had such a difficult time.