I've ruined Spice's beautiful tail!

[treeman]

I feel so stupid and awful! I was squatting forward on my toes while cleaning Spice's brand new cage. She was jumping and running all over me and her tail must have slipped under my shoe! I didn't even notice anything except in hindsight I recall her taking off with speed. I watched her run and play and it wasn't until 5min later when I was sweeping the floor that I saw a BIT OF TAIL!! :Cry She doesn't seem to notice but I DO!! :Cry She had a perfect tail and I have ruined it!!!!! :shakehead This is TERRIBLE!

[gs1]

this happens with at least a ?third of the squirrels here... it's very easy ...and it's sad ...i'm glad that she's not in pain...that's a really good thing... also their tails are meant to break away because of predators....... i'm sorry i can imagine how awful you must feel....... :grouphug

i think that shoes are very dangerous to wear around small animals... so many times i accidently semi-kicked my rabbits as they ran underfoot and i thanked God every single time that i wasn't wearing shoes...they didn't really notice but shoes would have made it so much worse.

:grouphug :grouphug :grouphug

[JakesLittlePrincess]

I'm sorry your baby's tail is messed up. This happened to our N/R Bushy who, because of that is now Little Bushy. She probably didn't notice because their tails are designed to detach if a predator grabs them. Unfortunately our shoes happened to be a predator.Just make sure there is no blood or keep it clean if there is a wound. I know it is hard to see this as I was in tears when it first happened. :grouphug

[treeman]

NO MORE SHOES!!! never again!:frustratedx She lost about about 1 1/2 inch. No blood, not a drop! I am SO mad at myself! She's just running around like it's nothing so I think she's ok. Awful, Terrible, Horrendous DISASTER!! :hissyfit :madd :madd :hissyfit :hissyfit :hissyfit :hissyfit

[island rehabber]

NO MORE SHOES!!! never again!:frustratedx She lost about about 1 1/2 inch. No blood, not a drop! I am SO mad at myself! She's just running around like it's nothing so I think she's ok. Awful, Terrible, Horrendous DISASTER!! :hissyfit :madd :madd :hissyfit :hissyfit :hissyfit :hissyfit

awwww...poor treeman. She'll be fine. Think of it as a distinguishing characteristic for her. As gs1 said, it happens a LOT around here and we are just a small cross-section of the world. :tilt

[treeman]

Thanks, everybody. Y'all make me feel a bit better about it. We always said that Spice did have an extra-long tail (wishful thinking)...it's unfortunate, but I've learned my lesson about shoes and tails now. Hopefully, that's it for lessons...I don't know how many more Spicey can take! :shakehead

[Hannah]

I'm sorry about Spice. But I hope your can forgive yourself, since it was only an accident. And a minor accident at that.

[treeman]

I didn't know it when I took these pics, but they were taken right after it happened. She did bleed a little when she got back in her cage but she has since stopped and already removed that bony part herself. :Cry

[island rehabber]

It's still a beautiful tail. :)

[CritterMom]

Somewhere toward the beginning of Mister P's thread http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20569 you will find where I did much the same thing - and about the same amount. If you are running short of ways to express your horror, recrimination and self-loathing, feel free to borrow; I am pretty sure I hit on all of them.

You can also see what happens when it grows out. P''s tail looks pretty normal - it was SO long and beautiful before that even losing an inch and a half doesn't show that much. At rest it looks like a normal tail. When he blows it out and starts snapping it around, you can see a triangle-shaped separation - looks like a lion's tail. There is a small bulb at the end of the bone that you cannot see but can feel.

He will be fine a lot sooner than you will, trust me!

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

oh she is beautiful,
the tail doesn't make the squirrel

[treeman]

WoW, Crittermom! That IS exactly the same! Mr. P is super cute too :Love_Icon Spicey has NOT removed the tip like I said before, but she is paying it no mind. She ate her dinner and was really happy to eat a cherry tomato for the first time.

[gs1]

it was crittermoms screams that were running through my mind as i was posting the above reply .... she was beside herself.... ofcourse i would have been too .... maybe squirrels should come with a warning that their tails are detachable.... :grouphug

[treeman]

Luckily, I did know that squirrels could "drop" a piece of tail and it not be a major injury. Spice's sister, Sugar (escapee :Cry), had lost a piece and had other injuries from having a tree fall on her. I found TSB while trying to assess the injuries. I can only imagine what my TERROR would have been if I hadn't a clue. Yet, I didn't realize just how easy it is to de-glove the tail. Sugar fell 30ft inside a big tree! I didn't consider it could happen from Spice bolting with the tippy-tip of her tail underfoot!!

Sugar & Spice have been a real challenge for me. My first pair were SO easy. They were summer-babies, I got them in perfect health, and they were able to be released at 14-15wks with no problems. I had many misconceptions about the potential difficulty-level when I received this the second pair. I am more accustomed to working with livestock, cats/dogs, and my one raccoon. I'm finding that squirrels are amazingly fragile animals in a captive setting. Spicey needs to get to the trees before some horror befalls her in my death-trap human house!!

[treeman]

And y'all are right, Spicey still has a beautiful tail! :Love_Icon In the light of morning, you wouldnt notice her tail was a bit shorter if you didnt know. She is acting no different. I, on the other hand, am far more traumatized than she. I'll be super nervous when I take her out for her daily romp!

[CritterMom]

P's tail is actually kind of cool. It is squared off instead of round; the tips are white, then a distinct black band, then regular tail.

I crawl around on the floor alot with him and you have to be careful where you put your knees when you do that, too. Yes, they are accidents looking for a place to happen!

[stosh2010]

I crawl around on the floor alot with him and you have to be careful where you put your knees when you do that, too. Yes, they are accidents looking for a place to happen!
My Rama Rota will run down the stairs behind me...silently and lightning fast. I have to constantly be looking over my shoulder--EVERY TIME I use the stairs.
Once he darted between my legs , and I never saw him till he was past me..YIKES !!!!!

[sdreamcatcher]

I am always so careful not to touch the boys' tails and I am sooo careful closing cage doors, etc. I did find a tail tip outside from a youngster last October; either the day Angel died or the day after. It wasn't hers, or the other babies. Just recently I did see another youngster with the very tip missing; it's very hard especially now since the rest of this little ones fur has grown back. I have named him/her Tippy and it gives me a way to tell this one from the others. We did have a male missing half a tail a couple of years ago, but I haven't seen him in a while. So in wilds it's fairly common. I worry about it too with my boys. I guess we all want to release them with complete tails, no holes in ears, etc (Butchy now has a tiny hole in his left ear from a fight he and Joey had). I am glad your little girl is ok, but understand how traumatic that must have been. She is very pretty :).

[sdreamcatcher]

My Rama Rota will run down the stairs behind me...silently and lightning fast. I have to constantly be looking over my shoulder--EVERY TIME I use the stairs.
Once he darted between my legs , and I never saw him till he was past me..YIKES !!!!!


Joey does this, races after me on the floor, when playing I have taken to shuffling my feet so I don't step on him; he is so fast and soooo quiet!!

[Scooterzmom]

Tail be long, tail be short, when we love them it matters not one bit :Love_Icon Besides, it can often give them character :D Spice is as cute as ever.

I had one wild at my old home who used to visit all the time and because the missing tail made it look from the rear like she was hopping around we called her Wabbit ... she was adorable.
160918

[JakesLittlePrincess]

Eeek! I finally get to see a pic of Wabbit! Very cute! Spice is adorable no matter what!

[Kristal]

NO MORE SHOES!!! never again!:frustratedx She lost about about 1 1/2 inch. No blood, not a drop! I am SO mad at myself! She's just running around like it's nothing so I think she's ok. Awful, Terrible, Horrendous DISASTER!! :hissyfit :madd :madd :hissyfit :hissyfit :hissyfit :hissyfit

Nibbler lost almost this much when he was little. It will heal up fine, and the way that the fur grows over it makes it really impossible to tell. Also, some squirrels have shorter tails than others just naturally. She won't be at any social disability for tail displays or have any balance problems or anything.

[treeman]

Thanks everyone...your posts really meant a lot to me. :grouphug I could have really beat myself over the head with this and that wouldn't have helped me or Spice. She's doing great and is turning into a 'little lady' more everyday.

Y'all are the best!!! :bowdown