Degloved tail on 3 month old squirrel, maybe calcium issue?

[vegas0917]

Hey guys! So Maple has been doing well up until this morning. I panicked because I saw her tail has literally come off, the skin, the fur, everything. There was literally her bone sticking out. I looked here and did research and think it's called a degloved tail. There seems to be a lot of causes, but I'm not sure which one did. So we cleaned the wound with water and put neosporin on a paper towel. We wrapped it on her tail and attached with a bandaid. She was chewing a ton this morning and chewing on her wound, which is why we patched it. We immediately went to the store and bought ferret sticks to chew on, a mineral block with calcium edges, sponge chews for rabbits, and a few more chewables. Her cage was cleaned this morning completely to keep bacteria from getting in. Is there anything else I need to do? Am I missing something and is there something I need to know? She has been chewing everything since we put in her new toys. She eats two blocks of Henry's healthy blocks a day and does not bury them. Am I doing this right? Is she going to be okay? Should I have done something else? Thanks for all your help guys, I appreciate you all.

[stepnstone]

Hey guys! So Maple has been doing well up until this morning. I panicked because I saw her tail has literally come off, the skin, the fur, everything. There was literally her bone sticking out. I looked here and did research and think it's called a degloved tail. There seems to be a lot of causes, but I'm not sure which one did. So we cleaned the wound with water and put neosporin on a paper towel. We wrapped it on her tail and attached with a bandaid. She was chewing a ton this morning and chewing on her wound, which is why we patched it. We immediately went to the store and bought ferret sticks to chew on, a mineral block with calcium edges, sponge chews for rabbits, and a few more chewables. Her cage was cleaned this morning completely to keep bacteria from getting in. Is there anything else I need to do? Am I missing something and is there something I need to know? She has been chewing everything since we put in her new toys. She eats two blocks of Henry's healthy blocks a day and does not bury them. Am I doing this right? Is she going to be okay? Should I have done something else? Thanks for all your help guys, I appreciate you all.

She obviously caught her tail on something, pulled and it de-gloved.
This is what it's designed to do for escape when a predator catches them by the tail.
You need to check her cage to try and determine what she caught her tail on, if she
can catch/pinch her tail on something she could do the same with fingers.

You don't need to wrap the bone, once bone is exposed you won't be able to save that part of tail.
That section will die, the bone will dry up and fall off or she will chew it off.

[vegas0917]

Okay, that makes sense. I'll do a sweep of her cage and see what did this. Do I need to clean the edge of her tail so the healthy part doesn't get an infection?

[stepnstone]

Okay, that makes sense. I'll do a sweep of her cage and see what did this. Do I need to clean the edge of her tail so the healthy part doesn't get an infection?

I would keep it clean for that very purpose but don't put
anything on it that would cause her to want to lick/chew.
Keeping it clean with a betadine solution diluted to that
of a weak tea would be good. Betadine can be found at
drug stores and is inexpensive. > Do not use Peroxide!

[vegas0917]

Okay so I did put that on her, I'm glad I got the right stuff. Thank you guys so much. I was super worried about her, but I think she'll be okay. Thank you for your help! I really do appreciate it. I do wonder, is this something that happens occasionally or was this something I could have prevented? How common is this? Hopefully I'm not the only one, right? Either way, thank you guys so much!

[stepnstone]

Okay so I did put that on her, I'm glad I got the right stuff. Thank you guys so much. I was super worried about her, but I think she'll be okay. Thank you for your help! I really do appreciate it. I do wonder, is this something that happens occasionally or was this something I could have prevented? How common is this? Hopefully I'm not the only one, right? Either way, thank you guys so much!

Your definitely not alone in this...
Did you find the degloved section of tail and where did you find it?
If inside The cage I would definitely look for pinch points, usually it's a "space" where sides come together.
Many members use strips of fleece to wrap these joints as a precaution or for future prevention.

If your really curious how often this happens go to top right of the page where it says "advance search"
and type in degloved tail. On the page that comes up scroll down and check all the forums that mention
this and tail. It's not always due to cage fault...

[vegas0917]

I figured out that her tail got pinched between the branch and the cage I have in there for her to jump and play on. I've moved it so there is a wide gap, no more pinching. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one! Thank you guys so much!