Tail Broke Off!

[DoubleGi]

Hey guys,

I want to preface this by saying that I know squirrel tails come off as a defense mechanism and they can usually be fine without a portion of it.

So I have two squirrels that I’ve been caring for about 3 weeks now. A boy and girl pair, they’re about 7 weeks old and super healthy as can be.

Well I came home from shopping today and found a piece of the girls tail in the cage. It’s about an inch of tail and only muscle and fur, no bone.

My question is, will this muscle and fur grow back or will it just close over the wound? And if it just closes over the wound, will she grow fur in that area or always have a visible wound? I know bone doesn’t grow back but I can’t find information on the muscle and fur.

I haven’t had to deal with a case like this before so I wasn’t sure. I just want to make sure that her rehab isn’t ruined by this.

Thank you.

[Spanky]

They will be fine as far as rehab and release.

Please inspect the cage thoroughly for "pinch points" because it is likely that the tail became stuck in a pinch point resulting the de-gloving. Any pinch points (especially prevalent in collapsible cages) needs to be corrected. I have seen posts of folks wrapping thick materials in those pinch point corners to prevent the pinching.

The muscle and tissue will not grow back. The exposed bone will die and fall off, the squirrel may even gnaw it off. One risk is that the squirrel will over do it and self-mutilate, so be vigilant.

Losing a inch is not an issue and they'll be just fine!