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Post by lacquerista on Jun 12, 2016 0:48:03 GMT
Goober got his tail got in the cage door and was pulling to get away. I got the cage open and grabbed him and it was bleeding and there's a slice all around the end of his tail, and the skin is shifting. I rinsed it under clean water and applied a bandaid to keep the skin in place, but I'm wondering if I should maybe pull it off?
Can it heal back if it isn't fully de-gloved?
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Post by yasmin on Jun 12, 2016 1:22:41 GMT
Is he still bleeding? How much of the tail is degloved?
I have not had to deal with this issue myself but I believe that it may need to come off to prevent necrosis and infection. Best if a vet does it but unfortunately it is the weekend so you probably won't be able to get him to a vet right away.
There are other members on this forum who have experience with this – hopefully they will come onto the forum soon with advice. Until then, I will do a little research and get back to you.
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Post by lacquerista on Jun 12, 2016 1:24:59 GMT
Bleeding stopped pretty soon.
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Post by yasmin on Jun 12, 2016 1:25:55 GMT
That's good. How much of the tail is degloved from the end?
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Post by lacquerista on Jun 12, 2016 1:50:15 GMT
It's only partially moving, it shifts about 3mm down. 1" from tip.
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Post by yasmin on Jun 12, 2016 2:03:09 GMT
Not sure what to do. Could you post a picture of the injury? Is it possible that it is not degloved, just cut?
If you have any regular Polysporin on hand, you could apply that to try and halt any infection. If you have a degu antibiotic like Baytril, that would also be useful to stop any infection from spreading. If the injury is painful, Metacam would help with the pain and inflammation.
How is he doing? Is he his normal self or is he puffed up, eyes partly closed? Is he chewing on the bandaid or the tail?
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Post by lacquerista on Jun 12, 2016 3:41:08 GMT
The skin definitely shifted a little. He's doing fine. Eating and cuddling his brother. Ignoring the bandaid completely.
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Post by yasmin on Jun 12, 2016 14:48:55 GMT
Happy to hear he is doing fine; surprised he is not chewing off the bandaid.  I would take him to the vet on Monday just to make sure that the flesh isn't dying off and that there is no infection. The vet will be able to make a judgement on whether or not to remove part of it and whether antibiotics should be given. Please keep us posted. |
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Post by moletteuk on Jun 13, 2016 10:50:26 GMT
I think a vet visit is probably in order for this too, I'm concerned about infection and necrosis if it is partially attached.
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Post by lacquerista on Jun 14, 2016 15:14:25 GMT
So I called every vet within a 50km radius and none had any experience with degus or de-gloved tails. Bah! But in the meantime, the bandaid is still in place and I sniff it regularly for infection. He can twitch the end still, so It's not desiccating like it would after a de-gloving. He's happy, playing on his wheel, eating and drinking and socializing. I'm going to leave the bandaid one more day and remove it tomorrow to get a good look.
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Post by yasmin on Jun 15, 2016 3:00:20 GMT
Good that it hasn't started to smell bad. Let us know what it looks like when you remove the bandaid.
You will be needing a vet eventually – many degus will require dental work to remove spurs from their molars – so hopefully you can find one that has experience with degus. If not, is there a vet with Chinchilla experience? (Degloved tails is a common issue with gerbils as well.)
Where are you located? (Check "the Vet Guide" in the Health Section).
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Post by bouncy on Jun 16, 2016 8:38:34 GMT
No experience of degloving to add, but I find the bandaid very sweet.
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Post by deguconvert on Jun 17, 2016 16:13:33 GMT
How is the tail doing today? Have you removed the bandaid? What does it look like?
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Post by Emziedee on Jun 17, 2016 18:15:07 GMT
Yes please share. I've had two nightmares about this ever since reading this thread  |
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Post by lacquerista on Jun 20, 2016 0:35:43 GMT
Sorry everyone, I was waiting to be sure before announcing anything.
His tail healed! We cut the bandaid off, and I was worried because a lot of hair and scales came off with it, and the wound started bleeding again, but the de-gloving appeared to have stopped.
I put him in the cage and he started squeaking a lot and trying to get at his tail, so I let him. But after a couple hours that stopped. The next day the wound was closed, and he wasn't bothered by it at all.
The day after that he was fine. The wound is completely closed, and he can twitch his tail and shows zero signs of distress. He'll have a small scar is all.
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Post by yasmin on Jun 20, 2016 2:42:31 GMT
Wonderful news.  |
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Post by deguconvert on Jun 20, 2016 4:30:24 GMT
That is the coolest thing! I always thought there should be the potential for healing and no loss of the tail, but it hadn't happened. Now it has!! WOO HOO!! Who knew . . . Bandaids!
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Post by lacquerista on Jun 21, 2016 18:15:38 GMT
It was one of those tiny "spot" bandaids. And it was *really* stuck on him, so nose trimmer scissors were needed to get it off.
The scar will be larger than I initially thought, more like a dent. But still no sign of infection and full use is noticeable.
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Post by yasmin on Jun 22, 2016 3:02:26 GMT
This is wonderful. Looks as though the tail was not so badly damaged that the tissue was able to recover; i.e. no necrosis. Also, your quick attention to dealing with the injury seems to have caught it in time. (Often with degloving, the whole tip of the tail comes off or the tissue is so badly damaged that it dies. In most cases, it is best to get the advice and help of a veterinarian – better safe than sorry.) |
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