diff --git a/litellm/exceptions.py b/litellm/exceptions.py
index 51810c5643f..c1bd70cfe25 100644
--- a/litellm/exceptions.py
+++ b/litellm/exceptions.py
@@ -60,17 +60,17 @@ class AuthenticationError(openai.AuthenticationError):  # type: ignore
 
     def __str__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
     def __repr__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
@@ -106,17 +106,17 @@ class NotFoundError(openai.NotFoundError):  # type: ignore
 
     def __str__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
     def __repr__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
@@ -157,17 +157,17 @@ class BadRequestError(openai.BadRequestError):  # type: ignore
 
     def __str__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
     def __repr__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
@@ -220,17 +220,17 @@ class UnprocessableEntityError(openai.UnprocessableEntityError):  # type: ignore
 
     def __str__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
     def __repr__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
@@ -266,17 +266,17 @@ class Timeout(openai.APITimeoutError):  # type: ignore
     # custom function to convert to str
     def __str__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
     def __repr__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
@@ -305,17 +305,17 @@ class PermissionDeniedError(openai.PermissionDeniedError):  # type: ignore
 
     def __str__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
     def __repr__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
@@ -357,17 +357,17 @@ class RateLimitError(openai.RateLimitError):  # type: ignore
 
     def __str__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
     def __repr__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
@@ -399,17 +399,17 @@ class ContextWindowExceededError(BadRequestError):  # type: ignore
 
     def __str__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
     def __repr__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
@@ -442,17 +442,17 @@ class RejectedRequestError(BadRequestError):  # type: ignore
 
     def __str__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
     def __repr__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
@@ -495,9 +495,9 @@ class ContentPolicyViolationError(BadRequestError):  # type: ignore
         Transform the error to a string
         """
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
@@ -537,17 +537,17 @@ class ServiceUnavailableError(openai.APIStatusError):  # type: ignore
 
     def __str__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
     def __repr__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
@@ -587,17 +587,17 @@ class BadGatewayError(openai.APIStatusError):  # type: ignore
 
     def __str__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
     def __repr__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
@@ -637,17 +637,17 @@ class InternalServerError(openai.InternalServerError):  # type: ignore
 
     def __str__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
     def __repr__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
@@ -678,17 +678,17 @@ class APIError(openai.APIError):  # type: ignore
 
     def __str__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
     def __repr__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
@@ -717,17 +717,17 @@ class APIConnectionError(openai.APIConnectionError):  # type: ignore
 
     def __str__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
     def __repr__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
@@ -755,17 +755,17 @@ class APIResponseValidationError(openai.APIResponseValidationError):  # type: ig
 
     def __str__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
     def __repr__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         return _message
 
@@ -1005,9 +1005,9 @@ class MidStreamFallbackError(ServiceUnavailableError):  # type: ignore
 
     def __str__(self):
         _message = self.message
-        if self.num_retries:
+        if self.num_retries is not None:
             _message += f" LiteLLM Retried: {self.num_retries} times"
-        if self.max_retries:
+        if self.max_retries is not None:
             _message += f", LiteLLM Max Retries: {self.max_retries}"
         if self.original_exception:
             _message += f" Original exception: {type(self.original_exception).__name__}: {str(self.original_exception)}"
diff --git a/litellm/router.py b/litellm/router.py
index b275c264ebc..27d3e2152aa 100644
--- a/litellm/router.py
+++ b/litellm/router.py
@@ -5792,6 +5792,12 @@ class Router:
             if num_retries > 0:
                 kwargs = self.log_retry(kwargs=kwargs, e=original_exception)
             else:
+                # No retries will occur; stamp the exception with the actual counts
+                # (0) before raising so error messages reflect reality instead of
+                # carrying a stale value injected by the @client decorator.
+                if type(original_exception) in litellm.LITELLM_EXCEPTION_TYPES:
+                    setattr(original_exception, "max_retries", 0)
+                    setattr(original_exception, "num_retries", 0)
                 raise
 
             verbose_router_logger.debug(
diff --git a/litellm/utils.py b/litellm/utils.py
index e1ad1db63ef..f62d5ef030b 100644
--- a/litellm/utils.py
+++ b/litellm/utils.py
@@ -2088,9 +2088,19 @@ def client(original_function):  # noqa: PLR0915
                     except Exception:
                         pass
 
-            setattr(
-                e, "num_retries", num_retries
-            )  ## IMPORTANT: returns the deployment's num_retries to the router
+            # Only set num_retries on the exception for non-router calls.
+            # When the router is in use, it manages retry counts itself and stamps
+            # the actual attempted count via setattr after the retry loop completes.
+            # Injecting litellm.num_retries here for router calls causes misleading
+            # "LiteLLM Retried: N times" in error messages even when zero retries
+            # occurred (e.g. TimeoutErrorRetries=0 in retry_policy).
+            _is_router_or_proxy_call = "model_group" in (
+                kwargs.get("metadata") or {}
+            )
+            if not _is_router_or_proxy_call:
+                setattr(
+                    e, "num_retries", num_retries
+                )  ## returns the deployment's num_retries for non-router retry logic
 
             timeout = _get_wrapper_timeout(kwargs=kwargs, exception=e)
             setattr(e, "timeout", timeout)