Tail About To Fall Off??? / Neosporin

[ashleyrenee]

Hello everyone.
Just to make everything short with this story.
One of my little baby boys got out like lets say last month. He has gotten out twice and I have no idea how.
Thus, I have named him Houdini.
He has a problem with his tail.
Let me explain more, when me and my boyfriend lost him he was basically still in my room (where all my gerbils are) and was underneath the small entertainment center I have.
Well all I usually do is just move it over to the left in a way that I can trap and catch him.
Well my boyfriend lifted up when i just usually shove it over.
When he did that, I was trying to get my side paired up slightly with his and he noticed that when we dropped the center back down (to get a better grip) we dropped it on his tail.
David and me both freaked out and lifted it back up as quick as possible. Then as soon as i caught him i looked at his tail to see it was damaged bad.
He didnt seem like it was going to break off a first and the first couple weeks of healing it scabbed up.
Now like a month later, after I thought it would have healed up alright, it looks like you could just twist it off.
Like hte tip of his tail is dead.
What should I do?
Do i slightly twist it and pull it off or just leave it to automatically by its self fall off?
The connection from the rest of his tail to the tip (the scab size) is about a little bit bigger htan a needle.

Any advice??


Thanks you guys

[myconcordia]

I would let it be, and let it fall off on its own. We rescued a gerbil, Maxwell, a few months ago, who had been attacked by a hamster who squeezed underneath the divider in the pet store. His tail became as you described it and dried up and eventually fell off when it was ready. Maxwell's now living a normal happy gerbil life (minus half a tail).

And, you mentioned a scab--you may want to consider putting a small dab of neosporin on it so the okay part can heal. Meanwhile, to keep encouraging the dead part to dry up, a sandbath will help. You can purchase chinchilla dust and put in in a bowl (about the size of a dog dish) and let him roll around in it. This should keep things clean as well.

Hope this helps! And hopefully little Houdini feels better soon!

[ohmylokix]

No neosporin. He could ingest it. I'd take him to a vet for an evaluation.

[myconcordia]

My vet recommended neosporin (in little amounts) because it IS safe if gerbils do ingest it. I've always treated my gerbils with neosporin and I have never had a problem. They are all well and thriving or have lived to a ripe old age with absolutely no ill effects. Most likely a vet will tell you the same thing, but you'll get a bill.

[ohmylokix]

My vets told me to use it only on places that they can't reach to groom, like along their spines. She told me to only spritz it with salt water when it was an open wound-- a scab no longer needs treatment, as bacteria cannot get through the scab.

[myconcordia]

As directed by my vets, I have used it (in very small amounts) on tails, tumors, and other places that they could reach and they have all been perfectly fine. They never seemed to bother it anyways because I imagine the injured area probably feels better. It seems salt water would burn an open wound. Neosporin will help the scab heal faster.

[Ed]

Personally I wouldn't use neosporin for several reasons. The first is that it's in human dosage and isnt formulated for small animals, secondly one of it's component antibiotics is Bacitracin, which is harmful if swallowed and has caused the deaths of animals in the past. Theres many reports on the net where this has happened. here's an example.

www.ferret-fact.org/GCCautBacit.htm

Thirdly it is toxic to the kidneys even in humans, so imagine how bad that would be long term use on a gerbil, it could seriously shorten their lifespan.
Heres some basic info on neosporin and known its side-effects,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neosporin

The trouble with all ointments is that animals will attempt to lick it off, this is why a more informed vet will use an oral antibiotic, and a main component of neosporin is bacitracin, and ointments containing bacitracin are harmful if swallowed , and personally i wouldn't like to take a chance with my animals.

Even on neosporins home page they don't recommend it for use on animals,

www.neosporin.com/firstaid/neosporin.asp?sec=0&page=16

"Q. Can I use Neosporin Ointment on my pet?
A. We know how well Neosporin Ointment works for you, but we can't recommend using it on animals. Please contact your veterinarian. "

Ed

[ohmylokix]

Very diluted salt water does not sting. Well, not me, at least. I use it on minor cuts on myself as well as the animals, mainly when nothing else is available.

[Ed]

If you insist on using an ointment why not try Manuka honey? It has high antibiotic properties and works very well on staphh infections too, so ideal for gerbils with infected sore noses. If the gerbil does lick it off, he should enjoy it and there's no danger of him keeling over or an early death through over use

Ed

[angielouise]

Ooo that's a good idea Eddie - Manuka Honey is fanastic! I use that myself - never thought of it for the gerbies before . It's pricey stuff, but a little goes a long way, and at least you know it's safe. You can get it in some supermarkets, but health food stores stock it, and there is a number on the label (+5, +15, +35...) and the higher the number the better it is (and also the higher the price ). But worth the investment I'd say! Good tip!

[pepandmax]

To chime in--I was originally instructed to use a triple antibiotic ointment (like neosporin) by a vet student at my animal hospital when I had two gerbils with infected noses. When the clinician heard of that, he immediately instructed me to discontinue the neosporin, as 1) it is a product formulated for humans, 2) because it all would be groomed off and ingested, doing not much good anyway, and 3) an oral antibiotic would be much more effective. Please do not use human medications for gerbils.

AshleyRenee, just allow the tail to do what it needs to do. It might not be ready to fall off yet (or at all), so pulling it off could cause more damage than good! Also, though it's been a month, any time there's an injury (or reinjury, in the case of a tail falling off), there's a chance for infection. I would keep an eye on his tail and get him a course of (oral) antibiotics if you see any inflammation, redness, discharge, etc.

Nicole

[ashleyrenee]

Okay. Eddie I wouldnt be useing Wikipedia as a reliable source because its not. It changes its information if someone reports something. So dont ever use it as a reliable source. Thats what my english teacher told me when I was in school.

Two. I cant afford a vet bill with the money I have. I just took my little kitten to the vet to get her shots.

Ill check into that Manuka Honey. Thanks Eddie and angielouise.

Pepandmax, Its not red or anything and I wasnt going to pull it off but wait for it to fall off itself.
If anything serious happens, I will take him to the vets to get the right antibotics.

Thanks everyone.

[caz]

Aww poor fella I hope it drops off naturally Ashleyrenee!

Caroline

[doomgerbiluk]

OK I just read this thread properly.
Let me tell you a tale of a tail.
Dibbler is one of my lovely black gerbils, he has c(chm) which fades his coat and he looks slate.
Anyway he lived in a largish colony.
The colony lived in a vivarium and one day I took a picture of the vivarium and when I looked at it realised there was a gerbil hiding in the little house. All the others where at the front of the viv seeing what was going on so it did seem odd that this one wasn't joining in.
I lifted out the house and was met with a very sorry sight. Dibbler was very skinny and dehydrated, his back and tail covered in wounds and scabs, obviously a victim of severe bullying.
He was also extremely shocked so I put him in a warmed hospital tank and gave him slices of strawberry. I felt that in his severe condition a trip to the vet (which is a 2 bus journey) would probably kill him. I had some ABs (my vet always gives me extra and trusts me to know when to use them) but he didn't seem to have an infection so I stuck with a probiotic and vitamin supplement.
After a week Dibbler had put on weight and seemed so much better but his back was a mass of scabs and his tail dead. I resolved to let the scabs drop them take him to the vet to have his tail amputated. When the scabs dropped off the tail did too. He had chewed at it some so I suspect it partly self-amputation. that must be a year ago now and the old guy is a very healthy animal, although he and his companion, Creeper, live side by side in a split as they seem happiest that way. Dibbler will not tolerate any gerbil near his stump.
I hope this reassures that tail loss (or partial tail loss) is distressing but not the end of the world and your gerbil will probably lose the dead part without problem. The main risk is infection so I would take on board Eds idea and use the honey, the extra sugars in small quantities may even aid healing!! Just remember that too much sugar is as bad for gerbils as it is for us!!

And a few pics of Dibbler :

[Ed]

Ashlerenee,

Yes I realised that , but checked over the subject matter and found it correct, I also thought because it was wrote in laymans terms It would be easier for you to digest the information.

However if you need further references, try the pdf that GlaxoSmithKline Inc. put out on the product, where it also states that

www.gsk.ca/en/products/prescription/neosporin_pm_04252003.pdf

"Due to the known ototoxic and nephrotoxic potential of neomycin sulfate, the use of PrNEOSPORIN® in large quantities or on large areas for prolonged periods of time is not recommended in circumstances where significant systemic absorption may occur."

They go on to mention that,

"Following significant systemic absorption: aminoglycosides such as neomycin can cause irreversible ototoxicity; neomycin sulfate, polymyxin B sulfate, and bacitracin zinc have nephrotoxic potential; polymyxin B sulfate has neurotoxic potential."

So in laymans terms its saying it can cause irreversabe ear damage, all three ingredients can cause kidney damage, and thats it's also neurotoxic as well.

also they dont even recommend it on children because of dangers of kidney damage,

"A possibility of increased absorption exists in very young children, thus
PrNEOSPORIN® is not recommended for use in neonates and infants (<2 years). In neonates and infants, absorption by immature skin may be enhanced and renal function may be immature."

So just imagine the damage it may do to a small gerbil.

and there's much more in depth literature available on the net that you can check for yourself.

Now I understand that you've paid for shots for your cat and it may appear that some pets are more equal than others, but the Honey would be far far safer to use if you cant afford a vet bill for your gerbil. The gerbil should improve fine without any vet intervention, and the tail should wither on its own and be fine, but if you are worried of an infection the honey would be a good preventative to use.

Ed