End of Fancy mouse tail hard and blackended

by MrPuffin Fri 15 Dec 2017, 5:23 pm

I am Fairly new to Having pet Fancy Mice

Had my 2 Little Buddies for about 3 weeks now
Brownie and Bear!

My Little Black Mouse (Bear) on the tip of her tail it is hard to the touch and slightly shrunken plus darker black than other part of her tail (its already dark but is slightly darker there
i tried looking it up but couldn't really find any info on it indefinately

other info she is defiantly the boss of the cage she chases Brownie (her sister) away from a specific hidey Hole with squabbles here and there but they both sleep in the upper one more often together. and she is still quite sociable with people and adorable as ever so doesn't seem to bother her but i wanna make sure she isn't in pain or that it will spread

is it possible her tail got bit and damaged it? (no bite mark on it)
should i bring her to a Vet?
is it something that is normal?
do i just leave it be?

by River Fri 15 Dec 2017, 5:58 pm

That portion of the tail has already died. What the cause of it is will be hard to tell -- what kind of wheel are you using? How serious do squabbles get?

A vet would likely amputate the tail and prescribe antibiotics. I would see a vet about it. Its's likely to fall off on it's own in time, but since some form of infection could have caused the tail to die, a vet trip is worthwhile.

by River Fri 15 Dec 2017, 6:01 pm

I believe @AnonymousMouseOwner has experience with having a mouses tail amputated. I know her Holly lost hers at some time in her life, so she may be more helpful than I.

by MrPuffin Fri 15 Dec 2017, 6:14 pm

alright thanks. i use a large 6.5" Kaytee silent wheel. although she (Bear) never seems to run on it it's mostly the other mouse (brownie) who does

any insight on finding mouse / small rodent vets?

by AnonymousMouseOwner Fri 15 Dec 2017, 6:32 pm

Yes, my Holly lost her tail. I actually decided to wait it out a bit before going to the vet, since she didn't seem to be in any pain or discomfort from it, and it fell off on it's own! It sounds painful, and doesn't look too pretty, but it didn't seem to bother her one bit. Since the tail is dead, I suppose she couldn't feel it.

I believe my Holly lost her tail as a result of a stroke, so she didn't have any infection in it. I just kept the cage really clean to prevent infection while it was healing over, and she healed just fine. If you have any reason to believe she is in pain or has an infection though, I'd definitely recommend a vet.

In the meantime, you might be able to put some Neosporin at the base of the tail, to help with pain.

When I was looking for a vet, I just called every vet that was in my county, and finally found one that accepts exotics. If one vet doesn't accept exotics, that vet might recommend you to another vet to ask.

If you think that her tail died as a result of an injury, she might be in pain, so I'd recommend getting it checked out if that's the case.