Broken Tail

[Bella's Mom]

Hello, Everyone! My poor Jacob, as if he hasn't been through enough already. Last night my boyfriend was packing for a trip. Jacob is such a little ninja squirrel. One second he's nowhere in sight, and the next second, there he is, right underneath your feet. Jacob was nowhere around when my boyfriend turned his luggage over on its side. Suddenly, there was Jacob and my boyfriend accidentally set his suitcase down on the end of Jacob's tail! Jacob freaked out and bolted, and the tip of his tail came off! I felt so bad for him and I'm really worried about him! I did get the bleeding stopped, and it's forming a scab. I have been putting antibiotic ointment on it. It was just the skin and some fur, not the bone. Since the bone is still there, is there any chance his tail is going to grow back? He is a neuro squirrel who already has balance issues. Is his shorter tail going to further affect his balance? I will post some pictures below of the part of his tail that came off, and what his tail looks like today. Thank you!

[Bella's Mom]

The part of his tail that came off.

[Bella's Mom]

Me pointing to the skin part of his tail that came off.

[Bella's Mom]

What Jacob's tail looks like today.

[Bella's Mom]

Jacob's tail today #2

[HRT4SQRLS]

It’s OK Bella’sMom. This is a common issue. It actually has a name. It’s called degloving. Squirrel tails deglove easily so that if a predator catches them by the tail the skin/fur will slip off and the squirrel runs away. The bone will dry up and either fall off or he will chew the bone off. It will be fine. I think most of us that rehab squirrels have had it happen at least once. The tail will not grow back. The shorter tail won’t affect his balance so don’t worry about that. He will be fine Mom. :hug

[Bella's Mom]

It’s OK Bella’sMom. This is a common issue. It actually has a name. It’s called degloving. Squirrel tails deglove easily so that if a predator catches them by the tail the skin/fur will slip off and the squirrel runs away. The bone will dry up and either fall off or he will chew the bone off. It will be fine. I think most of us that rehab squirrels have had it happen at least once. The tail will not grow back. The shorter tail won’t affect his balance so don’t worry about that. He will be fine Mom. :hug

Okay, thank you so much! I was reading on a website about this, and how it does happen. But then I read somewhere else that the tail could grow back if the bone is still there. You know how the internet is...full of misinformation. So I thought I would ask here because I know I will get the correct information here on TSB. With the 8 squirrels I have rescued so far since 2013, this has never happened once, until now. But I do take comfort in knowing it has happened to most rehabbers at least once.
Jacob is not releasable back into the wild because he has neurological problems. What I'm worried about now is, he's acting very skittish, he's scared and afraid of me, he doesn't like me to touch him or pet him, he runs away from me and hides from me now, and he's falling over to the left, ever since this happened to his tail. And I don't know why he's falling over to the left all of a sudden after part of his tail became gone! I can also just tell he's uncomfortable and probably in pain. He's just not acting normal. And I don't know what to do.😥 I don't mind at all that his tail is not going to grow back. He's still so cute, he's my little man, I love him so much, and I still love him, and always will, even with his tail like that.
I didn't rescue Jacob as a baby. He was already an adult when I rescued him. So we didn't form that bond with each other that is normally formed between a non releasable baby and their squammy. I rescued him on March 1st of 2018. It took a long time for him to trust me. He would only allow me to pet him. Only recently, and I mean just a few days before this happened to his tail, did our relationship and bond grow closer and stronger. He finally wanted to be with me all the time, he was always right underneath my feet, and he finally started cuddling with me! And now he doesn't want anything to do with me. I feel like what little bond we were starting to develop is just completely gone, and has been ruined forever, over this tail incident! And I am so sad and heartbroken!💔
But thank you so much for your response, and reassuring me he will be okay.♥️

[CritterMom]

Boy, we do understand. I accidentally put my foot down on my little :Love_Icon squirrel's tail when he was a teenager and did the same thing. He will grow new hair on the tip, and if he is anything like my boy, it will take all sorts of new shapes at each molting! Sometimes P had a tail that was squared off on the end. Lots of times it forked like a little devil's tail. At the end of his life it had turned into a corkscrew which was so cool looking - I used to twirl it all the time. He really will be okay.

[Bella's Mom]

Boy, we do understand. I accidentally put my foot down on my little :Love_Icon squirrel's tail when he was a teenager and did the same thing. He will grow new hair on the tip, and if he is anything like my boy, it will take all sorts of new shapes at each molting! Sometimes P had a tail that was squared off on the end. Lots of times it forked like a little devil's tail. At the end of his life it had turned into a corkscrew which was so cool looking - I used to twirl it all the time. He really will be okay.

Awwww! Poor little guy. But that sounds so cute about his tail, and I'm so glad he was okay after that. Jacob is doing a little better today. I'm sure his tail is just going to take some time to heal. But thank you so much for reassuring me he will be okay. I just hate it when the little sweetie pies get hurt, but so happy to know he'll be okay! Thank you so much for your response!😊

[SquirrelGirl31]

Awwww! Poor little guy. But that sounds so cute about his tail, and I'm so glad he was okay after that. Jacob is doing a little better today. I'm sure his tail is just going to take some time to heal. But thank you so much for reassuring me he will be okay. I just hate it when the little sweetie pies get hurt, but so happy to know he'll be okay! Thank you so much for your response!😊

I just recently had this happen to one of mine.
I thought it was healing fine but then this morning I saw fresh blood in his cage.
I started freaking out when I noticed it was coming from his tail.
I saw he had blood around his mouth and little paws.
Is this normal for them to chew on it and should I be worried about the bleeding?

[CritterMom]

That isn't real good. For them to chew off the dead bone is normal but not to continue into viable areas. If this continues you are going to have to come up with some way to prevent it from happening until the thing heals. Hopefully he just went too far and this was a one time thing...

[lukaslolamaus]

My neighbor brought a little squirrel gir to me December to treat for MBD, we named her Sophie.
She went home after a few weeks and continued treatment at home and made a full recovery.
We were aware that she always carried her tail oddly and a few months later she chewed off part of her tail. We think she possibly had nerve damage, we never found an injury.
She started healing and was doing fine.
Her family dropped her off with me to squirrel sit for a weekend her tail started bleeding, there was blood everywhere.
I don't know if she was chewing on it or bumped it to cause she bleeding, but after that incident she kept chewing on it.
We were considering a cone, but that didn't work.
We ended up giving her gabapentin and that stopped the chewing and everything healed.

[SquirrelGirl31]

My neighbor brought a little squirrel gir to me December to treat for MBD, we named her Sophie.
She went home after a few weeks and continued treatment at home and made a full recovery.
We were aware that she always carried her tail oddly and a few months later she chewed off part of her tail. We think she possibly had nerve damage, we never found an injury.
She started healing and was doing fine.
Her family dropped her off with me to squirrel sit for a weekend her tail started bleeding, there was blood everywhere.
I don't know if she was chewing on it or bumped it to cause she bleeding, but after that incident she kept chewing on it.
We were considering a cone, but that didn't work.
We ended up giving her gabapentin and that stopped the chewing and everything healed.
It’s scary seeing all that blood. I felt like I was in a crime scene.
I got it cleaned and put some Neosporin on it. I also tried some Vaseline so he might not want to chew it.
He was playing and jumping around like crazy so I think otherwise for now he is okay.
Is there something like the med you mentioned that I can get over the counter?

[lukaslolamaus]

It’s scary seeing all that blood. I felt like I was in a crime scene.
I got it cleaned and put some Neosporin on it. I also tried some Vaseline so he might not want to chew it.
He was playing and jumping around like crazy so I think otherwise for now he is okay.
Is there something like the med you mentioned that I can get over the counter?

It definitely is scary seeing all of the blood!
I doubt that there is something similar over the counter.
Gabapentin is used for nerve pain and seizures. I was in luck and a friend of mine had a pill on hand.
If your baby stops chewing the tail from here on out it may not be necessary, but I thought I put it out there.
I don't have any on hand or I would send you some just in case it is needed.
Sophie just wouldn't stop.

[SquirrelGirl31]

It definitely is scary seeing all of the blood!
I doubt that there is something similar over the counter.
Gabapentin is used for nerve pain and seizures. I was in luck and a friend of mine had a pill on hand.
If your baby stops chewing the tail from here on out it may not be necessary, but I thought I put it out there.
I don't have any on hand or I would send you some just in case it is needed.
Sophie just wouldn't stop.
I had Jack out of his cage and playing earlier and he seemed great.
I went and checked on him a bit ago and he must have been chewing again. More blood.
I’m so worried about him.
I don’t have many resources available. Any suggestions? Is this due to it healing?
I have been applying Neosporin and even some cornstarch to help clot the area.
Vaseline is not stopping him at all from chewing it.

[lukaslolamaus]

:bumpOh goodness, I'm sorry he's been chewing on it more.
The only other experience I have with tail injury is when my release Sabrina lost half of her tail after having babies and I wasn't able to bring her in because she had babies and I never witnessed her chewing on it.
From what I understand tail injuries like this happen often and usually resolve on their own, but every squirrel is different.
Hopefully someone more experienced than me can chime in.

[SquirrelGirl31]

Oh goodness, I'm sorry he's been chewing on it more.
The only other experience I have with tail injury is when my release Sabrina lost half of her tail after having babies and I wasn't able to bring her in because she had babies and I never witnessed her chewing on it.
From what I understand tail injuries like this happen often and usually resolve on their own, but every squirrel is different.
Hopefully someone more experienced than me can chime in.

I’m hoping that I’m just being paranoid.
Thanks for your response.
It’s so nice to have this group to turn to!

[lukaslolamaus]

I’m hoping that I’m just being paranoid.
Thanks for your response.
It’s so nice to have this group to turn to!

Could you post a picture of the tip of the tail, how much of his tail did he lose?

[SquirrelGirl31]

Could you post a picture of the tip of the tail, how much of his tail did he lose?

I tried to get a pic of the other side of it but he wasn’t cooperating. I would say about an inch. You can see the little nub on the underside.

310612

[SquirrelGirl31]

Jack stopped chewing on the injured part of his tail. At no point has he seemed bothered by this injury and he has been his normal playful hungry self.
However, ever since that day I have noticed he doesn’t use his tail like other squirrels anymore. Never lifts it or seems to move it. Almost like he doesn’t even have one. It twitches a lot and when I touch it he doesn’t seem to care/notice.
Is this a concern??

[lukaslolamaus]

I'm glad that he stopped chewing.
I just don't know, but I would be worried too.
Sabrina lost half of her tail, but her tail movements were normal after she healed, she had issues with balance for a while, but adjusted over time.
With Sophie i noticed that she was carrying her tail oddly from the start. She curled it up while eating, but was always dragging the bottom half of the tail and the fur started thinning before she chewed off a little less than half of her tail. Sophie never had balance issues, she is my recovered foster girl, and I think she must have injured it when she was much younger. We never saw a visible injury.
She still doesn't move her tail as much as Sabrina did, but curls it while she is eating.
Can you take a video of him while he is playing and upload it to YouTube or other platform? I always upload my videos as unlisted so only people with the link can watch it.

[SquirrelGirl31]

I have wilds that are missing half their tails and they survive. It is not ideal but a squirrel can survive while missing part of his tail.



I'm glad that he stopped chewing.
I just don't know, but I would be worried too.
Sabrina lost half of her tail, but her tail movements were normal after she healed, she had issues with balance for a while, but adjusted over time.
With Sophie i noticed that she was carrying her tail oddly from the start. She curled it up while eating, but was always dragging the bottom half of the tail and the fur started thinning before she chewed off a little less than half of her tail. Sophie never had balance issues, she is my recovered foster girl, and I think she must have injured it when she was much younger. We never saw a visible injury.
She still doesn't move her tail as much as Sabrina did, but curls it while she is eating.
Can you take a video of him while he is playing and upload it to YouTube or other platform? I always upload my videos as unlisted so only people with the link can watch it.
I will try to take video tonight! Thanks!
He seems to move great and he climbs up and down me just fine. I’m just worried that if I were to release him that he wouldn’t be able to survive out there.