Half-tail squirrel with open tail wound

[Farani]

One of my favorite squirrels, little half-tail, had been comming around for a while. A few months ago I noticed she was now down to a 1/4 tail and her tail was wounded. I watched for a while and it seemed the wound was getting better. She kept comming everyday and seemed to not be in any pain and the wound was healing. Well, it seems to be getting worse now. This morning her tail wound looks like it might be bleeding; it is very red. She is still comming for peanuts and doesn't seem to be in any pain, but I'm very worried now. How long will she be alright for with this wound? I'm willing to do whatever is necessary, be that attempting to trap her temporarily. Whatever is needed. I just don't want anything to happen to her. Thank you everyone.

[LittleBabySquirrel]

If she doesn't seem to be in any pain, and still comes for her treats, I'm sure she will be fine! :thumbsup
I see squirrels all the time around my neighborhood with bits of tail missing, and they've healed and seem to cope well. How long has the wound seemed fresh for? I'm sure if you give it some time, it will heal nicely and you can start calling her Quarter:D

[Gabe]

There are a number of ways to look at this.
Time of year is a factor. This time of year when it is cold there are no flies laying eggs and therefore no maggots to worry about.
Cooler weather also means less viable bacteria. So, chance of infection is lower.
She is easily observed by you because she is coming daily for food.
If she suddenly stops coming you will not be able to find her and help her.

Sooooo, the question is...... to continue to watch and see what happens. If she gets worse and stops coming it will be too late to try to intervene.
OR to trap and treat her. What treatment would you give once she is trapped? You would continue to feed her and keep her in a cool area to prevent loss of her winter coat. You could give antibiotics which you would also be able to give her when she is free by mixing it with a bit of peanutbutter.
These are things that I consider when I debate about treating "on site". You must weigh the pros and cons.

[squirrelfriend]

Gabe, that is very interesting info. I never thought of there being a lesser chance of infection because of cold. Makes a lot of sense.

Farani,
is there any puffiness?
Any pus that you can see?
is she lethargic at all? If so you might want to grab her now.

I know when a squirrel has a bad tail wound sometimes the part of the tail that is after the wound dies. It will turn brown, dry and flakey. The dry dead part eventually falls off. IS it possible that the dead part from before fell off but a tiny bit of extra skin came with it thus causing it to bleed a little? The end of the tail is not too hard for them to heal. I imagine that the base of the tail takes a little longer since it is thicker. I can't imagine what this feels like for them being that the tail is part of the spine. And I thought I had back pain. Keep us updated.

My squirrel Squeetie had a nasty break in her tail when I first got her. It was half way down and at a 90 degree angle. It had this big pus pocket on it. It took a while like a month or so to heal but it did all the same. She did not lose any of her tail. YOu can see her in my signature. Best of luck.

P.s. In the meanwhile keep her well fed to give her the energy to heal.

[Farani]

She does not seem larthergic and I don't see any puss. It has been this way for a long time though. I could see red and bone. It seemed like it was healing and then today it looked like it was freshly wounded and a larger area was red (/bloody?) I'll try and get some pictures of her when she comes back. She seems to have good energy... her behavior hasn't changed. I've never posted anything because she still seemed normal. But today it looked so bad I thought it was time. Thank you everyone :).

[susanw]

I think it could be possible that she is chewing it. We have had that happen with squirrels and they have had to have there tails amputated to the point where they can't reach it anymore.

[Mrs. Jack]

I wonder if rather than the original wound 'getting worse' if what happened is she got in a scuffle and someone re-opened the wound, or added to it. You know how if you rip a healing scab off too soon it looks worse than the original hurt does.. if this is the case, then it should start healing up again soon.

[TexanSquirrel]

Poor baby. I hope everything turns out okay!

[thundersquirrel]

i wouldn't catch her. i'd keep feeding her- try to become her best friend. make sure she keeps coming. catching her would be worse for her health than letting the tail heal by itself.

do any of your squirrels let you touch them? it would be great to rub some bacitracin on the tail tip, but you wouldn't want her to freak out and stop trusting you.

poor little lady. give her a nut for me. :)

[Farani]

Halftail has recently allowed me to hand her peanuts. Just this morning she put both of her hands on mine. However, she is a little highstrung and a few weeks ago gave me a little nibble lol nothing major. She is a bit of the runt and she seems to be picked on. I don't think she'd let me rub anything on her tail though, sadly.

I was able to take a great picture of her tail this morning. It does not look like fun :(

[LittleBabySquirrel]

Ohh... Ouch. Not fun at all. Well, I'm not experienced when it comes to injuries, but personally with that much meat exposed, I'd want to keep it moist with neosporin or some type of ointment.. that's gotta hurt...

Hopefully someone experienced will let you know your options.. thanks for looking out for her! :)

[FLUFFYTAILNUT]

Halftail has recently allowed me to hand her peanuts. Just this morning she put both of her hands on mine. However, she is a little highstrung and a few weeks ago gave me a little nibble lol nothing major. She is a bit of the runt and she seems to be picked on. I don't think she'd let me rub anything on her tail though, sadly.

I was able to take a great picture of her tail this morning. It does not look like fun :(
Oh..what a poor baby..Farani....
I feel so, powerless..as every one..when they's not a whole lot you can do..
I hopw some one..can come up with an idea..for you...
How have you been.. havent seen you in a LONG time...

ill be back..later .to see how she's doing..poor thing.:grouphug .it looks very painful!:shakehead :Love_Icon :Love_Icon :Love_Icon
Rachel....FTN......................

[4skwerlz]

That doesn't look good, Farani. :Love_Icon Poor baby, I do so hate to see a squirrel without it's beautiful tail! :shakehead I think something's going on there with the wound. It is definitely infected. If you really don't want to catch her, then you can treat with antibiotics. First you'll need to get the antibiotics and figure out the dosage. Then to give it to her, if she comes regularly every day, you can mix the medicine in some peanut butter, yogurt, avocado, or whatever she likes, and put it in a dish for her. You'll have to watch and make sure she's the one that eats it. Another way is to make a "peanut butter pill." Take a peanut and remove the nut. Smear the peanut butter/medicine mixture inside and put the shell back together. Now you can toss it to her from a distance if you have to. The shell protects the stuff inside.

Good luck.

[Mrs. Jack]

agree... I've seen two of mine with fresh tail wounds and watched them go through the process of healing.. at times they looked pretty awful, but nothing like that :/

[Sarah]

OH Poor Baby! They used to make a spray for cuts and scrapes that didn't sting. Maybe it could help while you're waiting on the antibiotics. Or could you dissolve some neosporin plus pain relief in hot water and put it in a sprayer? Good luck. :grouphug

[Gabe]

Sulfa, AKA Tribrissen or SDZ tastes like Cherry
Albon tastes sweet also.
I would recommend one of those over Baytril as Baytril is extremely bitter and will be difficult to get him to eat it.

[Critter_Queen]

I agree with Gabe. Sulfatrim will treat a wide variety of infections and has a nice smell and taste. If I'm not mistaken, it's also used in children...so is also very safe and easy to give.

[Farani]

How would I go about getting this medicine from the vet? Should I take a picture to them? Is there anything over-the-counter that would work?

[Farani]

How have you been.. havent seen you in a LONG time...


Thanks everyone for all the posts! Hopefully I can get something done here in the next day or two. I'll do whatever is necessary. I can call the vet tomorrow morning if needed.

Yeah, I've been sorta busy, and most of my forum-time has lately been spent on mac forums... I was waiting for the new macbook to come out so I was on there 24/7. But now I have my new Macbook so I'm back for good :).

[Critter_Queen]

Hopefully the vet will give you the antibiotic without any troubles. If you can't get the Sulfatrim, we'll see if we can find something OTC that would work...but the best solution is the sulfa from the vet.

Keep us posted!

[FLUFFYTAILNUT]

Thanks everyone for all the posts! Hopefully I can get something done here in the next day or two. I'll do whatever is necessary. I can call the vet tomorrow morning if needed.

Yeah, I've been sorta busy, and most of my forum-time has lately been spent on mac forums... I was waiting for the new macbook to come out so I was on there 24/7. But now I have my new Macbook so I'm back for good :).
Glad to have you back!!:thumbsup

[Mrs. Jack]

don't forget the bach's rescue remedy in case you do need to catch her to maybe calm her. :)

[Farani]

Thanks for all the wonderful posts. My mom called the vet and they said they couldn't do anything. They refered us to an animal hospital by our house. My mom called them and they told us we'd have to pay for the meds and an office visit; but, after some talking they said they'd work something out so we wouldn't have to pay for the visit! All that being said, I am going to try and contact a rehabber in my area tonight. If I can't get any help there, we will get the meds and do what we have to do to help her. I don't know if she is knawing it or if it is because of a predator and a rough life that it won't heal, but, either way, I can't sit there and watch one of my favorite little squirrelies be hurt and possibly die :shakehead:Love_Icon.

[Mrs. Jack]

best of luck farani. I wish we had the jetson's tunnel.. I'm sure myself or anyone here would zoom on out to give you a hand.

[susanw]

Good luck with her, I hope you get the help she needs!

[4skwerlz]

Good luck, Farani. Just to give you some backup, my wild squirrels get hurt all the time, and my motto is always, "wait and see." They nearly ALWAYS heal on their own. However, that tail looks bad. If it were one of mine, I would definitely intervene. Hugs and prayers....:grouphug

[Crazymunk]

Ouch..that looks nasty. Good luck. :grouphug

[Beene]

:grouphug Good luck to you and your squirrel!!! :grouphug

[susanw]

Farani, any news on half tail?

[anneke]

I've been following this thread and wondered if there was any news?

[Farani]

Sorry, been a busy weekend. But there is good news! I didn't see Half-tail today, but every day before she has been coming and her tail is looking 100% better all on its own! I'll definitely keep watching her closely and if its necessary I'll get the meds. But for now it looks like everything might just be alright :D:D

[anneke]

Great news!!!:crazy Her wound sure looked pretty raw. Hopefully it will continue to heal.

[Farani]

I forgot I managed to snap a photo on Friday. Looking at it now, it doesn't look as good as I thought it did. Without using a camera, just naked eye, it looks much better. I guess all I can do is still keep an eye on it. If it doesn't start looking better soon, meds it will be. It does look less enflamed. Maybe that's what I'm noticing.

[Farani]

Well it's been a long time since I posted about half-tail. I wanted to help her but felt uncomfortable and unsure still of what to do so I decided to wait. She was showing up every so often and her tail wasn't looking all that better. Well we had a big snow a while back and all the squirrels were MIA for about 2 days. After this, I hadn't seen little halftail for 2 weeks!!! I had felt horrible and felt the worst had happened. I even had a dream 2 days ago where she came back. Believe it or not, it was either the morning that I had the dream or the next morning, and half-tail showed up!!! Everyday I was worried and felt sad, but she's back! And her tail looks sooo much better!! Looks like the fighter just needed some time! No squirrels came today because we had another deep snow last night. But the next time I see her I'll try and get some pics of her!!! Thanks for all the help everyone!

[krawls]

I am happy to hear Half-Tail has returned! I was wondering how she was doing. Yay Half-Tail! :thumbsup :wahoo

[FLUFFYTAILNUT]

Glad to hear the GREAT NEWS!!!:thumbsup :D

[Squirrelly]

:thumbsup That is GREAT news to hear!!!:wahoo :thankyou

[Apple Corps]

Farani - SUPER NEWS :jump :jump

We have had that experience several times - gone for weeks or months - big worries - SURPRISE - they are back mjs mjs mjs mjs

[Sarah]

Wonderful! A great way to start the year! :grouphug :grouphug :grouphug

[Orbitz83]

Hi everyone,

About four months ago, I had a squirrel show up in my backyard with half a tail missing and a bloody stump at the tip where it was cut off or had fallen off; the squirrel seemed okay otherwise and still stops by for peanuts and attention :) We named her "Shorty" and now she's part of the family...

Today, another squirrel (either new or returning) has shown up with only half a tail and it's NOT "Shorty"- the only difference is that I do not see any bloody stump or blood at all for that matter...no visible signs of trauma or anything else, so I'm stumped there.

My question, if anyone can help me...Is, how common is this problem? I had never before in my life seen a squirrel missing half a tail until "Shorty" showed up four months ago. Is this something I should worry about or is it more common than I'm realizing?

Thank you!

[CritterMom]

It is pretty common - a few of us have accidently done it to our own squirrels:shakehead .

The tail is basically designed to break away. Actually, it "degloves" - the skin and fur come off leaving the bony stump, which dies and eventually drops off. They can get them stuck in things, between branches - and often it is the result of a run in with a predator - the predator gets the tail but the squirrel gets away.

You will notice when they are investigating something new they will double the tail up over their back so the tip is extended in front of their head - we call it "sending in the tail!" If whatever they are investigating turns out to be a predator, chances are they will go for the closest thing - that tail tip.

[Jackie in Tampa]

On the other side of the coin...someone may be trapping..
or preditor cats...:mad: {owners fault, not the cat's}

Over the years I have seen alot of wilds lose their tails as Critter mom has mentioned, most do fine.

[Orbitz83]

Thank you so much for the help!

I was curious if it was something to worry about in my neighborhood or if it was more common than I thought. I love my squirrel friends...and to be honest, I spoil them lol:D

I also had a blind squirrel last year, which was also weird as I have never, ever seen a blind squirrel in my life. Both her eyes were white; and she looked as though she was living a rough life. Her skin was really tore up and she had scratches all over her face and body...she still managed to make it over for feeding time ever day for a few months and then she disappeared. I miss her!

Thanks again for your help, it is much appreciated :)

[Orbitz83]

Jackie,

Thank you! ...my name is also Jackie :)

...Yes, we do have a lot of outdoor cats around our neighborhood, we even have one that comes into our backyard and sits on the fence watching our squirrels. Whenever I see it, I scare it away but unfortunately, I cannot be home 24/7 to do that.

I was just worried that this was uncommon and there was someone doing it to them on purpose, which I hope is not the case. Since we moved into our home three years ago, I've become attached to all of the squirrels that we get coming through. I enjoy their company and can watch them forever, they're really entertaining :)

I appreciate you both for taking the time to comment and put my mind at ease.

Jackie K.

[Jackie in Tampa]

For in the future..
sometimes white eyes is not birth blind, I have heard it is sometimes related to nutritional deficiencies..and can be corrected the ssame way, with nutrition...
maybe a simple chemical imbalance:dono

Worth trapping and treating if the sq will tolerate it...and re release him in same place..
sometimes you have to treat in the wild..
it's hard to do nutritionally, but if you are feeding seed, that would have to be replaced with better nuts and veggies..
it's not easy to get wilds to eat veggies, but they will!
I have wilds that love my daily salad bar, avacodo is the first thing consumed...:D of course!

:Love_Icon one more thing...
the first sq that ever touched me, y hand and my soul, was a short tail named Bobbi...she introduced herself to me here, where I live now..
she would watch me work in the yard..and since her tail made her identifiable, I knew it was her..everyday!
I bought a 99cent bag of peanuts and my life changed...honest to God.
Bobbi and I had lunch and happy hour everyday..she started bringing her cousins, I started learning SQUIRREL.
It was only a few years later when I was given my sq Rocky..the true connection:Love_Icon
Bobbi lived within ear shot of us for 8 years. She shared many litters with us..she is buried here and is thought of and talked about often:Love_Icon
:Love_Icon Rest in Peace Big Girl



PS, I orginally thought her to be Bob!:D :wave123


sorry for the long winded thread jack..:sanp3


and Welcome to TSB!!!!

[Orbitz83]

I appreciate you teaching me that, I never knew why she was blind and was taken back by it- I had never seen that before. I'm still trying to learn the ropes with these little guys/gals.

I have a few squirrels that I have names and am easily able to tell apart from the others because of certain markings and such.

I have one Squirrel that we named Orbitz (we call her that after the Gum, because of the slogan "Dirty mouth? Clean it up!"...she has a marking on her face by her mouth that looks like it's dirty) lol...we can tell her apart from the others because she seems to have a skin problem? She's constantly scratching herself to the point where she bleeds and the fur has fallen out around the wound. I'm not sure what to do about that either. I have tried calling the Wildlife Foundation near us a few times and have talked to volunteers that keep telling me the same thing "trap her and bring her in"- we have tried doing so a couple of times with no success, so I'm not sure what else to do for her :(

Thank you all for being so friendly...and I'm happy to have found others that loves these little fellers as much as I do. People tell me I'm obsessed because I spend a lot of money on feeding them and I have taken hundreds of pictures of them. For Christmas, my bf got me the BirdCam2.0 that I have just been using to take pictures of them :jump

[CritterMom]

Take a pic of the dirty face with an eye toward letting us see the wound you are speaking of. She may have mange - if she does, relief is a $3 tube of ivermectin away. You put a teeny bit on a pecan and toss it to her, repeat a week later and you're done!

[Orbitz83]

Thanks! I'll be sure to try that. That's probably what it is, since her fur looks at matted and messy. Of course, I make sure to pay extra attention to her when I can because I feel bad for her. Like I said, I've tried to seek help from the local Wildlife Center but they weren't much help at all :thinking

I was told by many people that there's not much I could do for them since they're wild, and that it was nature. However, I want to help them and will if I can. I'm a softy :)


This is Orbitz :)

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/406180_3055190017099_1183794302_33360814_134372577 6_n.jpg

[Jackie in Tampa]

I have seen many injured eyes turn white too. Head traumas, most times lost vision completely.


There is a difference in the catarac'y eyes that are nutritional and injured eyes, they just look different, hard to describe, but both white.:dono

[Orbitz83]

Yeah, I'm not sure what she had but I'm almost positive that she was completely blind. Watching her walk on along the fence, she was always really slow and sloppy at it, unlike the other squirrels- as though she had to feel her way around. Also, I was able many times to get really close to her as long as I was quiet doing so. She made her way back every day for about a month or two and then I never saw her again :( I like to think that she just found a home with bigger suckers than me and their spoiling her rotten haha:D

[CritterMom]

So does that look like mange to anyone else?