Notice anything a little off about Rudy?
Well, okay. He's finally gaining some weight.
But wait. It's those jaws. They don't quite line up. Rudy was orphaned when something happened to his
mom and he fell from his nest. The trauma to his face caused his teeth to grow in misaligned.
As if Rudy's life wasn't tough enough.
Something happened to his mom and siblings. I try to get as much information
as possible from people who call but often they aren't sure themselves. Sometimes, people are less than forthcoming because
they haven't sought help for the little one until the baby has become sick. That makes it tougher to know how
to care for the orphans.
The best I could determine
is that something or someone killed his mother and in the process, the baby boy fell on his face. When I got Rudy, his face
was blood soaked. I got him back and cleaned the blood with half peroxide and half water. Blood pooled making it look like
he had scabs. But his little nose kept bleeding for about 24 hours that it became apparent he had a nosebleed. A head
trauma. Thus the name Rudolph for the red-nosed reindeer, or Rudy.
Losing your mom makes your start in life pretty tough. Enduring the physical trauma is yet another strike, as if wildlife
in Florida don't have enough stress on them all ready.
Rudy barely weighed 75 grams, about 25 grams underweight for a squirrel who was probably six weeks old. His eyes appeared
as though they just opened, which would make him about 30-35 days old. Yet he had characteristics of an older squirrel: his
tail would stand up. That doesn't usually happen until eight or nine weeks.
A word here: when wildlife lose their mother and endure trauma, they will seem to age quicker, such as eyes opening weeks
sooner than they normally would.
This little
guy had to take have taken a blow to the face because, besides the bleeding, his little system was backed up. That's normal
-- having a little one constipated upon intake. And the little ones generally can't, and should not, be fed until their
bowels are moving. Other than a spine injury, being fed the wrong things, like milk from the refrigerator, would cause bad
constipation and then their little systems would shut down altogether. Rudy was
backed up big time.
After his nose stopped bleeding and enough mineral oil -- poor little guy -- he got regular and
he did begin taking formula in normal amounts. Once adjusted to the formula, squirrels that age usually eat with great gusto.
But that first week was a toughie. Normally that age doesn't require 2 am feedings but he could eat normally at some meals
then very little at others so he could not go too long between feedings.
Normally upon intake, I keep a little one that tiny in a box with a heating pad and baby blanket to snuggle with. Just for
a few days so he or she can calm down, have some peace and be in the quietest spot. No matter how young wildlife are, the
little ones are conscious on some level that they have lost their mother and they do feel fear, thirst, hunger, pain
and are a bundle of nerves. It is unnatural for wildlife to be handled by people. Because they are young doesn't change
that.
But Rudy didn't seem to be progressing as I
would expect, so I decided he would do better with light and moved him to a small interim cage I have where there is a big
window and he can hear the birds and squirrels at the feeders. There he came out of his shell.
Even so things still seemed off. Rudy didn't gnaw hardly on things -- a natural
and a given for baby squirrels. They chew on anything and everything, like a puppy when they are teething. They have to: their
teeth will become overgrown if they aren't gnawed down. Yet Rudy was not very good at working on the myriad of chew toys
I have for growing squirrels. That's a problem: even though they still taking formula, they need to start working
their teeth, even if it is just on some cherios. They don't eat it, just grind it up.
Growing squirrels also start supplementing their formula diet with food -- chopped up apples,
raisins, seeds, granola and such. It seemed to me Rudy was not eating anything other than formula. I tried tempting him
with a treat that is just that -- a treat and not a staple: a half pecan. He could not resist it. But I noticed the little
guy making little beeping noises while eating.
I checked
his teeth. No wonder. He was in misery with the mess growing in his mouth.
Rudy's facial trauma ended up causing his teeth to grow in misaligned. I felt his teeth with my finger when I got
him in, he was just growing them. But even so I should have monitored daily as I weigh them daily. I just don't want
to add to the trauma by too much and unnecessary poking and proding. On formula, Rudy was getting his calcium and his teeth
were sure sprouting in. His uppers had grown in bent inward toward his throat. One lower
was normal and the other was like a saber tooth. It was so high it poked his muzzle leaving it red and puffy.
I trimmed his saber tooth and that let Rudy eat without pain. No more
beeping, poor little guy. Over the weeks his eating got better as the redness and swelling went away. He began gnawing on
more and varied and challenging items. And he gained weight.
While monitoring his teeth every few days the uppers broke off to normal size and I'm glad to report as of January 2006
Rudy is keeping his lowers gnawed down. If he can't gnaw to grind his teeth down, he won't survive in the wild.
Glad also to report he's able to eat everything I've fed other little ones I've had the blessing of rehabbing
and I hope Rudy has a wonderful life ahead of him in the wild.
