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Post by stephisme on Apr 15, 2012 16:05:26 GMT -8
I posted a few months ago about my gerbil having a black little lump near the tip of her tail. A few days ago we noticed it was gone but the tail was shorter... so I am that part fell off. Now today I am noticing the tip is black and hard.
I read online tails break off and such but it just worries me. I tried to take a picture but it's hard to see and she doesn't really stay still very long lol.
We do take her out every day and very often she will jump high and stuff... We actually built something that was over 2 feet tall and she managed to jump over it! But she always seems okay after, no limping or anything.
She is eating fine, drinking fine, pooping fine lol
We clean her cage every 2-3 weeks and give her a lot of bedding (aspen) to burrow with.
She has been recently sleeping in the potty jar which is worrisome with this whole tail thing going on.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks once again!
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Post by Sunny&Sandy on Apr 15, 2012 18:51:43 GMT -8
Without a picture it's really hard to say. One of my gerbils formed a lump on his tail a few years back. The vet did a biopsy on it and found it was not cancerous...the gerbil lived a long life after that and we never really did know what caused the lump.
Part of the tail coming off is not unheard of in gerbils, especially if there has been some kind of accident unbeknownst to you. However, it's the black and hard description that concerns me...my dog once had a melanoma that was black and hard like your description. If you have a good gerbil vet, it wouldn't hurt to get an expert opinion in case there is something serious going on.
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Post by stephisme on Apr 16, 2012 13:49:24 GMT -8
Thank's for getting back to me. I am really worried about the tail... the whole thing is kind of weird though and I know the tip isn't normal but I am not sure about the rest. It seems the whole tail (beneath the fur) is black... not really hard though other than the tip.
I know it sounds silly but does anyone have any pictures of a gerbil with an injured tail? So I could maybe compare it. I am going to try to get a picture tonight but it's kind of hard to see.
I did call up a vet that showed small animals on there site. The woman on the phone sounded kind of annoyed when I said it's for my gerbil and said "well it's $300 JUST to walk in the door so you decide what you want to do!" The other ones I called said they would look at her but they don't normally deal with small animals and that they hoped she was tame. She is tame but she won't sit still... the only time she will sit still is if she falls asleep on you and the second you go to look at the tail she wakes up. I don't understand why they seem to be so negative regarding gerbils and such, I had the same issue with my mouse.
Thank's for your response I am going to look into it more.
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Post by stephisme on Apr 16, 2012 17:08:43 GMT -8
I got some photos of the tail... it's the tip of the tail. Attachments:
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Post by johanne on Apr 16, 2012 23:18:46 GMT -8
I'm not sure what was going on with the lump, but now the only problem is a lack of hair on the tail tip. It should grow back and she'll be fine  |
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Post by stephisme on Apr 17, 2012 4:13:35 GMT -8
Thank's for the reply! So the tail is normally supposed to be like that under the hair?
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Post by johanne on Apr 17, 2012 11:33:59 GMT -8
Well, probably not, but there's nothing you can do about it. I didn't quite follow the whole story with the lump and all, but gerbil tails are generally self-healing. If part of the end is damaged so badly that it can't heal normally, it'll dry up and get chewed off. She'll just have a slightly shorter tail. You might want to look further up on the tail under the hair, see what the rest of it looks like, how far up the black part goes. And keep an eye on it, watch for changes. If the lump was cancerous and it already spread, the situation won't be as simple. I was going on the assumption it was an injury.
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Post by catnut on Apr 17, 2012 15:21:20 GMT -8
could it be swollen? Does she let you touch it or does it feel warm? I'm sorry you can't find a vet who treats gerbils near you,I don't know how much they charge where you are or if there are any other vets near you who may be used to small animals who may be able to help you. I would guess most vets would try baytril incase it's an infection,if it gets worse,i would definately take her to the vets. I had one gerbil who lost half her tail but it was before I had her as she was a rescue but she never had a problem with her tail,she had a swollen foot issue.
Tammy
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Post by stephisme on Apr 17, 2012 18:58:00 GMT -8
Thank's everyone for the input. It does not appear to be swollen and it does not feel hot. It really doesn't seem to bother her, I never really see her even touching it... she's always too busy throwing stuff around the tank lol. Although I can't touch it for long she does not seem hurt by it when i do touch it, like she won't flinch or anything. I do have a picture of how her tail looked a few months ago when I first noticed the black dot, except then there was also hair on the other end. I am going to post the before picture now. I actually have the 3 photos I posted on this site when I first noticed it and freaked out lol. I believe it looks the same now but without the hair it is more noticeable. It did look like some kind of accident happened back then and she was escaping quite a bit back then and running under the sofas and stuff. I want to say you all here are very kind and understanding. A lot of forums are not as friendly as you guys Attachments:
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Post by johanne on Apr 18, 2012 0:30:05 GMT -8
The pics aren't really clear (either that or my eyes are worse than I thought they were, which could be, lol). It doesn't look like there's a tumour there or anything like that. I'd guess it's an injury but can't say for sure. If it's an injury, it will sort itself out. If it's something else, you should see other changes with time.
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