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Post by gracie on Dec 17, 2004 14:25:24 GMT -8
Amie and i are at Pawses house right now and just about an hour ago we were handling her 3 gerbies (Sterling, Paws and Pheonix) and Pheonix can not go in the same section of the cage as the other 2, and we had Paws an Stersie in a dog kennel and Amie was holding Pheonie and he took a dive and got through the bars... Paws was worried cuz she wasnt sure how the other 2 gerbs would act and while he was half way under the bar she grabed 4 his tail and missed the base and the fur and skin of a part of his tail slipped right off like a glove. it was scary and at first we didnt know what to do, but then we decided to ive him special treatment. we put antiseptic spray on to stop the bleeding and then made the tail numb by putting an ice cube wrapped in toilet paper on his tail 4 a while so he wouldnt feel much pain. we want him to get lots of rest. since we are all having a sleepover we plan to stay up all night (not telling our parents) taking shifts and giving him lots of rest and extra care but not handeling him at all. we made him a resting house so he can get lots of relaxation. do u have any helpful sugestions? can we save his tail? From, Gracie, Amie, Paws(the person... not the gerbil) and Phoenie
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Post by andrea on Dec 17, 2004 15:16:05 GMT -8
Hi Don't panic. We had a bushy tailed jird lose his tail when he escaped and decided to hide in the springs of our sofa bed The gerbil will clean it up, it will look kinda gross becuase it will "chew" at it to clean it up. But it will heal will no interferance from you. He will be none the worse off from having a shorter tail as it is a natured defense mechanism in these types of rodents that have arial predeters. Unless it doesn't heal or gets infected you don't need to worry about seeing a vet. It should heal by itself fine. Don't stop him or his tank mates from chewing it, its there way of cleaning it. Main thing is its not your fault, sometimes these things happen. Andrea
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Post by gracie on Dec 17, 2004 15:18:34 GMT -8
Thanx so much Andrea! And Doom on the FurryforumUK!
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Post by andrea on Dec 17, 2004 15:32:12 GMT -8
Heres couple of pics for you. The first pic is a normal bushy tail jird, you can see how long his tail is: This picture you can see the one with the broken tail is a lot shorter. He was not impressed with the camera... This picture shows the pink end where it has healed up Andrea
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Post by gracie on Dec 17, 2004 15:39:33 GMT -8
ouch that looks painful! Poor li'l guy! Did thebone stay out for a bit?
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Post by andrea on Dec 17, 2004 15:41:53 GMT -8
The bone was exposed for a couple of days, but it soon dried up and we assume dropped off, it them healed up like a normal cut. It its painless and gives him no grief now .. He only lost his pride.. He hasn't learned though and still keeps trying to escape.... Naughty Bushy
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Post by paws on Dec 17, 2004 16:58:08 GMT -8
Poor little sweetheart! (The Jird, and Phoenix) Phoenie is verytolerant, and lets us watch him.
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Post by amie on Dec 18, 2004 0:52:28 GMT -8
EWWWWW! it just fell off! did we make i worse by putting the ice cube on it and soaking it in cold water to remove the pain?? we are going to put a bandage on him because a bit of bone is still sticking out (he's not fiddling or anything and hes going to be in his resting house)
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Post by gracie on Dec 18, 2004 2:15:28 GMT -8
we decided not to put the bandage on him becaƻse he might chew it off. we also decided not to put him in his resting house, we want him to forgive us and we want to get him use to the other gerbils incase this happens again, so we dont have to panic.
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Post by doomgerbiluk on Dec 18, 2004 2:21:27 GMT -8
thats good now the remaining tail can heal no bandages please, a little antiseptic spray is quite enough
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Post by paws on Dec 18, 2004 8:14:21 GMT -8
Thanx! YOu helped us not boil over.
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Post by Ritzie/Admin on Dec 18, 2004 11:27:02 GMT -8
Sorry to hear, but it will heal good and fast! She will be fine! Sometimes when you need to grab them quickly it can happen that you grab their tail. That is their defence to escape from predators!
Loss of Tail Symptoms: The skin of the tail has come loose or is gone. The tail's vertebras don't have any skin over them and can be seen.
Causes: It is possible that you pulled the gerbil by its tail. Also unsafe exercise wheels can be the cause. As you probably know the Mongolian gerbil's tail is very fragile. The tail's skin will come loose very easy, which is a escaping method when the gerbil has been taken by its tail by a predator. The skin will come loose and the gerbil can escape.
Treatment: The tail's vertebras will dry out and fall off in a couple of days. The remaining tail will heal by itself. In some cases the whole tail has been pulled off and than it is good to visit a vet to check if there isn't more damage. The gerbil will adapt to the loss of its tail and won't have any problems with its handicap.
Prevention: Never pull at the tail of your gerbil and never pick your gerbil up by its tail. If you need to, than always pick the gerbil carefully up at the base of its tail, never at the end. You can also pick your gerbil up by grabbing its body or by shovelling it up with your hands. If you want to give your gerbils an exercise wheel, you have to be sure that it will be a safe one. The best wheels are those with a closed back and a closed tread.
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Post by paws on Dec 18, 2004 12:35:46 GMT -8
Thankyou very much everyone who helped us. I now I kind of overreacted. I'm a bad gerbil mother. I should have known my little Pawsies wouldn't hurt him. :-[in fact he started cuddling him when he landed in the cage! Last night the 3 slept in a little bundle only with the splitter between them! ;D Can I remove the spitter soon?
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Post by paws on Dec 19, 2004 23:49:59 GMT -8
he's a stumpy little tail gerbil now! He looks cute like that thouhg! :Dv
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Post by paws on Dec 19, 2004 23:50:41 GMT -8
>D>D>D
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