This can be a really scary experience if you were there when it happened – or maybe you just came home to a bleeding gerbil and aren’t sure what to do?
1: Call your vets, if possible, to book an appointment – (they will be in pain)
2: Coat your gerbils tail with a fine powder (specialist wound powders or cornflour will do)
3: Reduce the area they can run around in short term – use a hospital cage if possible
4: Keep their enclosure as fuss-free as possible for the next few days
5: The tail will heal itself if it stays clean and undamaged
6: A vet may be able to operate to tidy up the tail, remove exposed bone, and reduce infection
All very frightening if this is your first tail slip – so at least you have the above plan for starters to act fast on.
Now, here is the longer version – to explain the details if you want a reference.
What to do if your gerbil’s tail fell off:
Well, firstly – we would organise your gerbil a vets appointment as soon as you can to get some pain killers – this can be very painful for them and depending on the situation it could also get infected.
1: Book A Vet Appointment – where possible:
Not everyone can get to a vet at the drop of a hat – and often even within a few days in some areas – but although this isn’t always possible – it is the best course of action.
It might not be too cheap either as often the best treatment is surgery and a clean amputation with painkillers and antibiotics – along with a follow-up appointment for sure.
Just to describe the issue in more detail: when a gerbil’s tail ‘slips’ the whole layer of skin is ripped off – like removing a glove that has been sewn onto your hand. Obviously, this leaves behind the tailbone itself and some underlying tissues exposed – and it is very sore!
Needless to say this ripping off action will tear open all the blood vessels and tissues in that area, expose the bones and joints to the environment, and cause a decent amount of blood loss.
‘In the wild’ of course they wouldn’t be treated by a vet and many do survive without treatment (just as they must have survived in the wild to have passed on this trait to their offspring) – but it doesn’t mean it isn’t without its risks and dangers.
When we have an animal in our care, it is our duty to offer the best care we can – so if you CAN get them to a vet – then this is really what you should do. If you really can’t treat them right now – then, it is what it is.
2: Hospital Cage & Health Assessment
In the meantime – regardless of whether you have got a vets appointment – move your gerbil into a hospital tank or any smaller container you have. Anything that would be secure for a short time that this gerbil and any of their tank mates could be left in for several hours would be suitable.
Keeping them in a smaller, sterile, secure place with just sheets of kitchen roll or paper for substrate will prevent shavings or bits of bedding from sticking to the wound. This clear base will also allow you to see the amount of blood loss more clearly.
A reduced space will help to reduce their movements – as every time they bang the tail behind them they could reopen the wound. This will also allow you to check on the wound more easily to see if it is serious-looking; also whether the gerbil is still using the tail normally (as depending on the reason for the degloving – it could also be broken).
If the tail looks broken or kinked along part of its length (more than a cm away from where it joins the body), then this could be very uncomfortable of course if it moves around a lot or hits things – so a quiet undisturbed place is more important. Breaks in the tail will heal naturally in a short time without additional treatment, but of course it won’t necessarily heal straight.
However, if it is broken where it meets the body or is hanging limp with no real obvious control, it could be broken at or in the spine. This could seriously affect your gerbil’s legs and ability to move and feed properly (they can’t eat as easily with their front hands if they can’t sit upright on their back ends). This would be more common in an animal attack or where they were accidentally suspended by their tail after leaping away from the person, animal or whatever their tail was caught on that was causing an opposing force.
If the tissues or nerves have also been damaged it could affect internal organs and make them incontinent (where they can’t wee or poo properly as the messages from the brain aren’t able to connect). This type of injury WILL need veterinary attention – but at least in the small substrate-less enclosure you can check if they are toileting normally or not at all. Any toileting is good (as long as it doesn’t have fresh blood in it) – but no toileting after several hours, could mean that something is seriously wrong internally.
3: Stem the Bleeding
Just like any small bleed in animals – coating the area in some highly absorbent powder can clot up the blood and form a sort of fake/temporary plug.
If you have some anti-bleed or ‘wound’ powder already – great. If you don’t have any to hand put in a shallow dust bath – using cornflour, chinchilla dust (not sand) or un-perfumed talcum powder instead. This should help to ‘seal; the wound temporarily and allow the blood vessels a chance to clot up and instantly reduce the blood loss.
Avoid using cotton wool, tissue paper or kitchen roll as these will all stick to the wound in tiny pieces and be of no help in stopping the bleeding on an area so huge. They work blotting tiny spots – like after vaccinations ofrsqueezing a spot – but are not effective enough on something bigger.
If your gerbil grooms off the coating – it isn’t a problem, just leave enough of the powder in there on the ground anyway, and it will still help.
The tail could bleed on and off for a few hours, but obviously, if it hasn’t stopped after that time or it is really bleeding a lot, then keep them warm with a heat mat/pad and/or move them into a warm place if they aren’t already.
Make sure they can stay hydrated with fresh fruit or veg, a pop in some cardboard to chew as this could distract them from their tail.
4: Keep Their Enclosure Fuss-Free:
Ideally, after they have spent a few hours in the hospital enclosure (and/or been to the vet already) and you are happy they have stopped bleeding – you can look to put them back in their own enclosure.
Now it would be best if before you did that – you thinned a few things out for them – to avoid further injury and to help keep them warm. If you know what they damaged their tail on also make sure that if that was in their enclosure that it is totally removed.
So, take out the wheel for starters – this could re-open the wound for sure. Ideally, also cover any underfoot bars with cardboard, and ‘hem’ in any side bars that the tail could slip outside of when the gerbil is just turning around. Best bet would be to actually block off or remove any cage toppers for the first few days – unless that is the only place they can access water or it makes up virtually all of their cage and can’t be securely removed or safely blocked.
Remove anything that has been well chewed and could have sharp edges if possible, and lower the level of the substrate by at least half – don’t throw it away or replace with new stuff – just keep it in a bag for a few days to add back in later (unless it is dirty of course in which case fresh substrate might well be the better option).
By keeping the space cleaner, clearer and less cluttered you will have a better chance to watch them too over the next few days. Not only can you access them more easily to check them or give them any medications – you can just see them more clearly incase they re-open the wound or get themselves in a pickle.
5: The Tail Will Heal Itself
If the tail was only degloved towards the tip, and or isn’t showing any obvious break – then it should easily heal itself within a week or two.
If there is still exposed bone that wasn’t able to be removed with surgery – your gerbil will chew that off within a few days. The stump itself should start to scab up afterwards and all will be forgotten. The gerbil won’t fuss over the remaining tail at all.
However, things don’t always go to plan (especially if it was a cat attack – cats often carry nasty things in their saliva and often cause infection in small animals that they bite). Signs that the tail isn’t healing a few days in include – but aren’t limited to the following:
- The exposed bones do not fall off or disappear within a few days (risk of whole-body infection)
- Any swelling near the wound (an early sign of an internal localised infection)
- Any redness or heat (also an early sign of localised infection even if not swollen)
- Repeated bleeding or a wound that keeps reopening (sign of pain, skin problem or infection)
- Any leakage of clear, yellow or sticky fluids from the tail (causes dehydration thru fluid loss)
- Excess grooming of the tail by the gerbil or looking at it all the time (a sign of pain)
- Changes in behaviour of the gerbil (could be a sign of pain, shock, or bullying)
Any of the above signs aren’t good, but keeping them in a clean, smaller, safe and warm space can always help reduce further pain or infection.
Feeding them easy-to-eat food (nothing in shells or too watery) and making sure they are hydrated (with more than one water source where possible) will always help. If you can – offer small bits of bread soaked in milk formula, homemade nutritious smoothies or some scrambled egg too.
Good care though can’t always clear an infection – so if you haven’t seen a vet but there is one or more of the above signs in your gerbil lasting 3 or more days with no improvement or where it is getting worse – then perhaps now is the time to get it checked out.
Only antibiotics can clear a bad infection – so by getting some oral antibiotics and oral painkillers/anti-inflammatories – you could have this sorted in no time and get your little gerbil on the mend once and for all.
Can A Tail Injury Cause A Gerbil Declan?
Yes, it can unfortunately – but luckily – often doesn’t.
If the injury – or the reason for the injury – unsettles the clan in any way – either through fear, or weakness or behavioural changes of the injured gerbil – then the clan can become stressed and their bonds can break down.
Taking just the one gerbil out of the main enclosure, or taking only the one gerbil to the vets can make things worse in an already deteriorating clan – so best always keep them together. If they don’t get on together – then they wouldn’t have done so apart anyway.
For the best results – always try to keep them all smelling the same, all exposed to the same new things, and all handled by the vet. Just like you coming home smelling of perfume or aftershave – it raises suspicions!
Watch out for the normal declan signs (link) including sleeping alone, chasing, sitting up high for no reason or wounds around the face or tail.