# Help emergency-gerbil injury



## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

Went to feed the gerbil about 10 mins ago and she has half a tail missing!!!My mum put the cage on the floor -it used to be on top of a chest of drawers.I don't know if the cats got to her, or the dog, or she caught it on something.There was a bit of blood smeared on the cage walls-all 4 of them.She is active and running about and eating and drinking normally.I don't know exactly what time this happened as I haven't seen her today until now-she was fine last night.It's about half the tail missing plus the bit left has a raw end of about 1cm where the skin has come off.Do I need to take her to the vets right now?Can it wait till the morning?I have bathed it in salt water.She doesn't seem to be in pain as far as I can tell.She is grooming herself right now and searching for food in her bedding.She is fine climbing,but loses her balance a bit coming back down.I have taken 2 photos with my phone so will attach them in a second.Should I give her Baytril just in case?Or an antiseptic cream?
Please excuse the blurriness of the pics.


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## CRL (Jan 3, 2012)

i had the same with a rat. i left it till morning and went to the vet then . they did operate and remove part of his tal, which they will probably do here. give baytril and metacam if you have any. just watch her.


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

Thanks CRL I don't have any metacam.Is there any human equivalent I can give?I have calpol and kids nurofen if they're any good?Also aspirin and paracetamol?Is that a silly question?


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

yowch, I wouldnt give her anything, she should be ok till morning if she isnt bleeding too heavily, then I would get her to the vets, she might need it stitching. Hope shes ok, let us know how she gets on at the vets wont you hun


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## CRL (Jan 3, 2012)

if you dont have it dont bother. just get him/her to the vet in the morning.


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

It's not bleeding at all which means it must have happened earlier in the day.It didn't bleed any when I washed it with the salt water either, just a tiny bit that came off the stump but it wasn't fresh blood.I'll take her to the vet as soon as I take the kids to school and will update when I get back.She's eating broccoli right now.I have moved her cage into my bedroom on top of a baby changing wooden stand so a decent height.


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

It looks like it's degloved itself. Maybe she's trapped it between bars etc?
Poor girl.


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## GerbilNik (Apr 1, 2011)

I replied on the GWA facebook page. As has been said by blade above, the tail has degloved. Unless it continues to bleed or looks infected there is no need to go to the vets. The boney part of the tail will blacken and fall off itself and the tail will then heal itself. It's an escape mechanism in Gerbils where a predator may grab the tail, which will then come off and allows the Gerbil to escape. I'd say it's likely something or someone has grabbed the tail at some point.


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

Hi-I took her to the vets anyway(I didn't go online this morning)-as you said it has degloved but part has been ripped/bitten off. The vet said the nerve endings were dead as she was happily waving the tail around etc but to keep an eye on her in case the nerve endings regenerate in which case it'll start to hurt.She said it should go black and drop off,or at the very least go black, so if it started bleeding i was to go back.She recommended Baytril for 14 days but in the water-0.2ml per 50mls of water-she said not to give more water than that at a time to make sure she drank it all.She said no intros with other gerbils for 2 months at least(excessive perhaps).She seems perfectly OK and was very good and didn't bite me or the vet this morning.I hate not knowing how it happened  
Feeling very low and wondering if Mum is right and I have too many animals to look after them properly


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## GerbilNik (Apr 1, 2011)

The problem with putting baytril in the water is that it tastes awful so will likely discourage the Gerbil from drinking it and as well as the fact they don't drink much. I know you are only doing what your vet has advised, but for future reference it's best to always ask to give it as is and not in the water.

Yes it will likely go black and then fall off. If it has been ripped it's likely that perhaps your cat has got it so only thing you can do is try and ensure the cat can no longer get near the Gerbs. Don't beat yourself up about it happening. Accidents happen but we learn from them and do better for it.


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

Yes I thought that about the water too but she said she didn't want to give her much and 0.2mls a week would be plenty.


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## GerbilNik (Apr 1, 2011)

polishrose said:


> Yes I thought that about the water too but she said she didn't want to give her much and 0.2mls a week would be plenty.


I'd make sure she's actually drinking then as like I mentioned before it can really put them off taking in the water.


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Can you not put the required dosage on a soaked biscuit? Then offer it to her that way? Or something wet and yummy off a tea spoon?


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

I don't know how I'd work it out. Vet said 0.2 mls for the week in a water bottle. Dividing that by 7 makes um 0.03? Can't even measure that unless someone knows how many drops that is?


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## kodakkuki (Aug 8, 2011)

polishrose said:


> I don't know how I'd work it out. Vet said 0.2 mls for the week in a water bottle. Dividing that by 7 makes um 0.03? Can't even measure that unless someone knows how many drops that is?


could you pop into the vets again and ask them for a .5ml syringe- they are the same length etc as the 1ml, just half the width... it should make it easier to measure out... i've had to use them before for freakishly small amounts!


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## HazelandDan (Apr 22, 2012)

Our Jess is on baytril at the mo... using a syringe and administering it orally does seem the best way to ensure she gets the full correct dose. She doesn't really enjoy it, but she reluctantly accepts it with the knowledge she gets an almond afterwards.

Jess is tiny - only 60 g and she's getting 0.05ml of 2.5% baytril from a 1ml syringe daily. It's about the perfect mouthful. Thankfully she seems to be making great improvements, so I guess this method is working well for us.


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

Little update on Damon-her tail is looking better-not as red raw and the end part has shrivelled up quite a bit already.She is digging again which is good as she wasn't doing it yesterday.Eating and drinking normally.Should I wash it with salt water/hibiscrub or just leave it alone?


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## GerbilNik (Apr 1, 2011)

No just leave it as it is. Just ensure you keep her tank extra clean while it heals. If it's starting to shrivel up it shows it's beginning to die off as it should.


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

Looking more shrivelled this morning.She's starting to make her tunnels again so I assume she's feeling happier.Should I give her a sand bath or should I wait until her tail is totally done?


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## GerbilNik (Apr 1, 2011)

polishrose said:


> Looking more shrivelled this morning.She's starting to make her tunnels again so I assume she's feeling happier.Should I give her a sand bath or should I wait until her tail is totally done?


Hiya, I'd leave the sand for now just incase. Give her time to heal then give her all the sand you like lol


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

Thank you


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## GerbilNik (Apr 1, 2011)

polishrose said:


> Thank you


No probs


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## Kallumap (Dec 12, 2012)

My Dwarf Hamster got her foot bit of by my terrier (through the cage) whilst I was cleaning the others cages, I filled her cage up with kitchen roll and checked on her regularly. She was fine, (obviously in a lot of pain bless her) overnight it scabbed and by a couple of weeks it was a fully healed stub. Such a strong girl! She was running on her wheel like normal. Hope your rats okay!


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