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Post by bouncy on Dec 6, 2021 9:53:09 GMT
Ah, the goo taunt!
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Post by savvy on Dec 6, 2021 10:54:48 GMT
Lulling him into a false sense of security - until they try to groom that nose, lol.
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lindie
Foraging Degu
Posts: 107
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Post by lindie on Dec 7, 2021 13:31:57 GMT
I was wondering if her tail (/healing process) looks normal. She is behaving normally, she doesn't seem to be in pain. Her tail isn't warm or red.
The only thing is that I don't know what the light brown strands are which are on the end of the tail. I first thought it was wood shaving (they are on shaving) but it is not the right shape for wood shavings.
I will add some pictures of the end of her tail.
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lindie
Foraging Degu
Posts: 107
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Post by lindie on Dec 7, 2021 13:35:27 GMT
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lindie
Foraging Degu
Posts: 107
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Post by lindie on Dec 7, 2021 13:36:12 GMT
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Post by savvy on Dec 7, 2021 13:46:20 GMT
To me, they look like strands of hair and skin.
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Post by moletteuk on Dec 7, 2021 16:46:35 GMT
I think it might be tendons, or that type of thing, for controlling the tail movement, I think they are really strong so tricky to chew off, but they should get trimmed down eventually. It looks OK to me.
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Post by teemu on Dec 7, 2021 17:08:11 GMT
Those are indeed tendons. Tendons consist of collagen fibers that run in bundles alongside the tailbone on multiple sides. Because the tail and the tendons were snapped, the ends of the tendon fiber bundles ("crimps", the fibers are called) are now frayed and separated. It's essentially similar to if you cut a thick rope, you'll end up with a frayed end that has a lot of small strands sticking every which way. They'll dry out with all the other fleshy bits and will fall off or get chewed off, so no worries there!
Other than that, the tail looks like everything's in a decent condition. The skin has contracted around the bone at the end nicely, so the blood vessels have likely closed off and everything's getting along well. That's actually still a decent length of tail she's got left, too, so it'll likely still be of some use when balancing. Some degus end up with a really short stub and will have to re-learn how to climb and jump around.
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Post by deguconvert on Dec 7, 2021 18:04:49 GMT
Exactly my thoughts, Moletteuk and Teemu . . . so ditto to you both!
Don't pull on them. Maybe that goes without saying, but it is uncomfortable for the degu. I had one that degloved a tail, and I tried to remove this strange white thing, but he didn't like me for it, and I quit trying. I then learned it was a tendon. He eventually took care of it and chewed it off. OR one of his cage mates did it for him.
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lindie
Foraging Degu
Posts: 107
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Post by lindie on Dec 8, 2021 9:21:45 GMT
Exactly my thoughts, Moletteuk and Teemu . . . so ditto to you both! Don't pull on them. Maybe that goes without saying, but it is uncomfortable for the degu. I had one that degloved a tail, and I tried to remove this strange white thing, but he didn't like me for it, and I quit trying. I then learned it was a tendon. He eventually took care of it and chewed it off. OR one of his cage mates did it for him. I have not touched the 'unhealthy'/'dying' part of the tail because I don't want to disrupt the healing process and risk it get infected. I don't see the goo's chewing or being interested in the tail, but I'm not worried and don't care how long it takes, or if looks neat and beautiful in the end. I only care about the health of Clio and that it heals without getting infected or causing pain. So that's why I posted about what the strands from her tail could be. Because if the strands where a foreign object (like would shavings) it could get infected. And I can always take her to the vet. But since taking a animal to the vet is very stressful for animal I try to avoid it it possible. |
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Post by teemu on Dec 8, 2021 11:10:20 GMT
It will probably take some more time for the tail to get to the spot where they will start removing it. It's a relatively large part of the body, so time is needed until it dries and dies off and loses sensation. I suspect part of the reason they start removing it is that they start feeling like there's something foreign dragging behind them since they can't feel it any more, and it won't hurt (at least nearly enough to be a problem) when they gnaw on it.
I'm actually having some trouble finding documentation on how the process commonly goes. Does someone have experience with tails degloving, and how long it tends to take for them to remove it? I imagine it is not always the same, since the injury itself can vary, and probably the age of the animal (and other physiological differences) can affect the healing process as well.
One way to see how things are going is likely to visually inspect the fleshy parts that are showing. They should be shrivelling up over time and losing their fleshiness, so to speak.
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Post by bouncy on Dec 8, 2021 22:13:23 GMT
Don't worry about the tail. With the exception of infection, the goos will be fine looking after it themselves. They're designed for the skin to just slip off in the event of being caught by a predator. Everything else is left behind. It may take them and few days to chew everything down to start the healing process, or they may not get around to doing anything for a month!
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