Degus tail has come off! (Degloved Tail)

[fb1928]

One of our 5 month old degus was just running around on the floor when my partner suddenly heard a loud squeak and he realised he accidentally stood on the end of his tail and half his tail was on the floor, I guess in the panic of being stuck the degu ran degloving his tail. You can see the bone sticking out his tail and it is bleeding. We have put him in a separate cage on his own as normally he lives with his other 6 brothers. Do we need to clean his tail? If so with what? Is he okay to go back in with his brothers tonight? What else do we need to know or look for? Thanks

The best picture I could get,he's not one for sitting still..

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[moletteuk]

You can leave it alone and it should dry up and either fall off or get chewed off, but you need to keep a close eye out for any infection, perhaps you could get a dry anti-septic spray for it. Or, you can take him to the vet and they will amputate and sew up the end, which costs quite a bit but reduces the risk of infection but does involve anaesthetic. Either is a valid choice.

If you decide to leave it take the sand out and try and keep the cage super clean. Signs of infection would be inflammation, redness, heat and lastly pus. Personally, I would put him back in with his brothers, you don't want to have difficulties re-integrating him again and they are unlikely to do much harm to the tail.

[uglibug]

I agree with molletteuk, it is probably best to keep them all together. If he will let you, give his tail a gentle clean with some cooled boiled water and then just keep it clean. One of our girls degloved the end of her tail and the others helped to clean it and remove the end for her. Most will recover relatively quickly, just keep an eye out for infection.

[animalmadchloe]

Tail amputation costs near on 200 at my vets and I've had to pay it twice ;(. How has your got on? I found that mine had help in removing the exposed bone it was pretty gross