# Degloved tail.



## SarahY

I currently have a mouse with a degloved tail tip, so I thought I'd share a picture for those who've never seen it. I don't know how she did it, but she is in good health and high spirits so I'mnot concerned.










As you can see, the skin has come away and the bone is left visible. The torn skin has healed up nicely. Usually the bone would fall off eventually but sometimes not. Sorry I couldn't get a better picture, this is a very friendly mouse who kept insisting that she sit on my shoulder :lol:


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## moustress

Awww! I've seen this thing with meeces that injured their tails somehow; I waited for the bone to dry, applied a little lidocaine, and snipped off the end, and applied a little antiseptic...when the part of the tail is dead it doesn't bleed...and that was that. Never seen, don't want to see the whole tail skin come off...just the thought...ugh!

Anyway, I'm glad this little love is doing OK.


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## BlackCat99

:shock: poor mouse! glad she is doing ok though!


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## Frizzle

When I was a kid, I caught a mouse and played with it much to roughly. It degloved as I was holding it up by its tail tip. I remember quite vividly the bright red muscles on the bones; I assumed the mouse ate the end off because the next day the exposed bone had disappeared. Blah. I still feel super bad for that poor mouse. : / One of my younger sisters let a cat "play" with it and it got eaten. Probably for the best.

I kinda wonder why the skin just doesn't grow back over it? I suppose at that point the bone and muscle is dead, the end of it scars over?


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## MoonfallTheFox

There is not enough skin for it to heal, so it does not regrow. The end dies and it remains unless removed.


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## Rhasputin

I would think it would need to be removed, right?
It could cause infection if it dies and is not removed. .


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## MoonfallTheFox

I think, although I might be wrong, that sometimes small parts can dry up and fall off by themselves without incident, but I would not risk it myself.

Larger degloved portions usually need to be amputated but it is a very simple surgery.


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## Laigaie

When my two blues were attacked by a cagemate, and their tails were so very damaged, they amputated the degloved portion themselves after the rest had started to heal up. Bone pain (or tooth pain) is the most terrifying thing to me, so I'm very glad I didn't have to deal with the exposed bones for very long.


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## Emfa Mouse

That's creepy :shock:


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## Pumpkinsmousery

It looks so weird, I've never seen anything like that before. the only thing ive seen is when it slowly starts to die from the tip of the tail. When things like this happen what is the best thing to do? Ive had it with mice and rats a couple of times and never known what to do


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## moustress

That can happen from a variety of causes. It's called cold tissue disease, and it's from poorer circulation in the extremity. It can start when the skin on the tail gets injured, most often started when skin is dry or irritated/injured allowing an infection or inflammatory process to get started. If it progresses onto the body at all it can be fatal. Amputation is an option. Mange is one possible cause, treating with Iver-on or something other such product doesn't hurt. Some breeders regularly treat for pests as a prophylactic measure.


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## Laigaie

Another cause is very very low humidity. With rats particularly, this causes a constricted band or patch on the tail, and the rest of the tail past this often dies and falls off.


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## SarahY

Here's her tail now:










Most of the bone has either fallen off naturally or been nipped off during grooming and the tail is in good health


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