Mouse with damaged tail - advice please

Seaxwyn

Hello, this is my first time posting on the pets board.

I have a two-month old pet mouse whose tail has been damaged by running on the wheel. The other mice hold their tails out of the way but this one lets it knock against the centre of the wheel and it has got sore. Now the last third of her tail has gone black (originally pink) and looks as if it might drop off.

She isn't showing any obvious signs of pain - do I take her to the vet for advice or let nature take it's course?

Also, I have removed the wheel but really want to put it back as they were on it all the time. Is there any way of resolving the problem of Zephyr damaging her tail on it - she is the one that uses it most.

Very grateful for any advice.

Jamz

Maybe get a different type of wheel that removes the problem?

You could take her to the vet to get it amputated, Mice's tails are deliberately fragile so that they can get away from predators.

tiamai_d

Phone your vet and ask for advice.

The tail could simply drop off with no problems or it could get infected. In the meantime, please be extra safe by making sure the cage is cleaned out every day, not all the shavings, but the dirty wet stuff.

If you go to your local pet shop you can choose from a range of wheels, maybe there is one that will be more suitable.

Kelinik

Oh the poor love. If its gone black its dead and I'd advise getting mousie to a small pet friendly vet asap. My own vet would most likely amputate as there is quite a risk of her loosing the whole tail if she's left, plus then the wound will be much 'neater' and less likely to irritate her further. I've never had a mouse so young operated on though so that's definitely something to discuss with the vet who sees her. I would get her some antibiotics and Hibiscrub for bathing with in any event though as the last thing you want is for it to get infected!

I'm very concerned about any wheel that could cause this though, what brand is it, any pics? My all time fav wheel for meece is the medium size 'Silent Spinner' - absolutely fab, couldn't recommend them highly enough!

Seaxwyn

Thanks Kelinik - I love your avatar!

I rang the vet who advised amputation but I've decided to give it 24 hours and see what happens. She doesn't seem bothered by it and I thought the stress of a trip to the vet and an anaesthetic might be worse than leaving things to nature. But I'm keeping an eye on her and if it does look infected I'll take her to the vet straight away.

The wheel is built in to the cage - rotastak - and having inspected it I'm shocked, the middle bit has quite sharp edges and it's easy to get pinched between the wheel and the thing it pivots on.

Having said that, we've had mice in that cage before, and there are four currently, and only this one has been hurt. The others seem to hold their tails out of the way. Anyway, I'll look out for a silent spinner - thanks for the recommendation.

Kelinik

OK, but going on prevention being better than cure you could wash it with saline solution (1 tsp salt dissolved in a pint boiled water and left to cool) to ward off infection.

And you're very welcome to join us self professed mouse nutters on my website - its in my profile.

Seaxwyn

Thanks Kelinek, I'll wash her tail this evening and give it a proper assessment. It does look as if it's going to drop off quite neatly (just the last inch or so)

I love your website and I'll show it to my daughter who is the main mouse nut in this house. Though I admit to encouraging her as I love them too.

~Chameleon~

Is it a solid wheel or one of those wire ones? The wired ones are not recommended for mice/rats/gerbils - well, basically anything with a tail as they can easily become trapped in them.

If it's a solid one then I wonder if maybe you should contact the manufacturer as this shouldn't happen and could possibly be a fault design?

Good luck with your poor mousy though and I hope he/she recovers ok. I think they usually manage ok with a partial tail loss, assuming it doesn't become infected of course

tiamai_d

or contact them seeing as this is a money saving forum and you could get some vouchers? just a thought

Seaxwyn

Hi, it's a solid wheel made of one piece of moulded plastic. The middle has a cylinder which fits over a metal rod protruding from the side of the cage, and the injury was caused by the tail continually bashing into the plastic rod as she ran, and possibly getting pinched between the plastic cylinder and the metal rod - there's a few millimetres difference so the wheel sort of slides.

I'm sorry that's a hopeless description! There's a picture here http://www.seapets.co.uk/product-details/stkcode/126120/category/406.html can't find a better one.

The cages are marketed for hamsters and of course the problem wouldnt occur with them.

I'm waiting for my daughter to come and help me clean the tail now, but she's too busy attending to her guinea pig!