tail problem

[clarkie]

my squirrels tale looks like a trainwreck it was fine up until a couple weeks ago now the base and tip are really furry but the rest of it is only like a quarter inch long and im wondering why, the rest of her coat is fine and i dont ever see her chewing it can anybody tell me why this is???

[Nancy in New York]

Can you post a photo? It could be any number of things...what comes to mind first is molting or diet. Are you seeing any red patches on the tail? This is the only spot where you are noticing anything? Are you talking about a grey squirrel? How old is he, and what are you feeding him. Can I also assume this is an indoor squirrel?
Glad that you found this board!