Emergancey!!!!!!!! (mouse with black Tail!!!):(

Sat Jan 21, 2006 6:16 am

i jst got home from holidays to discover one of my mouses tail has gone hard and turned black!!!!!(only the tip is black and hard(tip of the tail i mean))

Wat is it, is it a deisease...is it deadly and most of all can Spike Give it to my other guys?

Plz help im really worried!!!!

Snagrit

Sat Jan 21, 2006 6:31 am

It really depends. Simply put, if the end of the tail has gone hard and black, it's probably also shrunk a little, and may have a red area just above the black bit - either way, it's died. This could have been because it got trapped, injured, degloved (i.e. the skin got pulled off) or it could be down to a bad infection.

He needs to see the vet, especially if you don't know why it happened. The dead end may well need to be removed surgically and it the cause was an infection or infection is present, he'll need some serious antibiotics to resolve it.

Without knowing how long he was left, or what setup you have (such as open wire wheels, other pets etc) I can't tell you why it happened. But either way, he needs to see a vet. The best case scenario is - if left untreated - the dead part of the tail will fall off in a few weeks but it will be an infection risk (if not already infected) and is very likely to be causing him pain. The worst case scenario, if untreated, is that yes, it could kill him - either through severe infection or the necrosis (dead tissue) spreading further and further. So do get him checked out, try to figure out if he could have injured himself on anything or trapped his tail, if he could have had something wrapped tightly around it like a thread, or perhaps had a bite or injury from another mouse or a different pet like a cat or whatever.

_________________
Andy & The Rats

~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~

~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~

Sat Jan 21, 2006 7:13 am

Thank u...but can he give a infection to my other mice?

_________________
Rats r my Soul...Mice r my Heart!!! wink

Sat Jan 21, 2006 7:36 am

Like I said, it really does depend - most infections of the kind that could cause or be the result of this kind of injury usually need some other trauma or wound to set themselves up. But on the other hand, the bacteria could cause problems in other mice even if they don't, depending on the bug. I'd say it's probably unlikely, but without knowing the precise cause, I can't say with any certainty. It's also possible, if the injury was caused by some problem with their cage or an aggressive cagemate etc, then it could result in an injury to the others - as bad or worse - even if it wasn't spread directly.

_________________
Andy & The Rats

~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~

~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~

Sat Jan 21, 2006 7:44 am

Thanks!! i feel alot better now noing that all my otehr guys dont hav it!!!
I will get him to a vet tommorro!!

Snagrit

_________________
Rats r my Soul...Mice r my Heart!!! wink

Sat Jan 21, 2006 7:47 am

Well as I said - it's likely they don't, but without knowing the precise cause of the necrosis, it's impossible to say. Do you have any open wire wheels in the cage?

_________________
Andy & The Rats

~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~

~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~

Sat Jan 21, 2006 7:50 am

nope...

_________________
Rats r my Soul...Mice r my Heart!!! wink