I got a call from one of my glider moms this morning. Last night her glider was fine, this morning when she checked her, her tail was chewed to the bone. I had her rush her to town and we got her in to my vet. He had to do a full tail amputation. The pictures are blurry, I rushed out of the house without a camera. Had to use my phone. But in the pre surgery one, you can see that she chewed down to nothing but bone, from her bum to about a half inch from the end.

The surgery went really well, but we tried to get an e-collar on her and the second snap is too big and the third she can't breath. The vet tech tried making some soft collars, but nothing worked. She was totally drugged from surgery and could still get them all off in seconds or she couldn't breath.

Right now her parents are planning on taking turns watching her 24/7 until we can figure out something, so she can not get to her tail stitches.

Any ideas out there?

FYI: she is 4 yrs old and alittle on the fluffy side. I sent them home with my hospital cage so she is separated from her mate. I also sent a big clam bed to lay on the cage floor for her to get in and out of easily and they can see her to make sure she is not going after her stump.

T, I suggest making an ecollar. I use electrical tape to hold them on. The tape is sticky enough to hold well yet peels off easily to change out. Also it is slick so nails can't get stuck in the tape giving them a "grip" to pull the collar off.

I cut mine the size of a CD and then cut out the middle, line with the mole foam and the mole skin. I use a peice of tape on the outside flap to close it but also one going over the top (from inside to outside) where they over lap to help secure it.

Call me if I can help or pm me your number if you want me to call you.

Or forget about the snaps. Get the collar where it needs to be and staple it together.

Thanks, great ideas. I will forward your info to her parents. We were all alittle stressed ( I did NOT expect to see so much damage when I got to her ) and weren't thinking well. I knew you guys would help.

Oh my. I'm so sorry to hear this happened.

T, you can forward my phone number to her to if it will help.

Pain management is crutial too. Make sure she has torb to give, enough to give every 6 hours if needed.


Also, the reason needs to be evaluated too. The vet needs to check for parasites as well as calcium levels. If either of these are an issue, it could be the onset of HLP which can cause tingling in the tail, causing the sm'ing.

Unless the cause for the SM is dealt with, the problem will continue.

With the way it looks in the first picture, it seems as though the tail was caught on something or got tangled. Doesnt look like just a SM attack IMO.

Your best bet will be an ecollar if you are able, and I totally agree to make sure you have enough pain meds.

Good luck T but I know that you will do everything you can to get this little one through it.

I didn't even look at the photos. I think Peggy is right though. It looks more "degloved".

Does she use a Wodent wheel? If so, could this have been a case where the tail wrapped around the bar in the wheel and the glider managed to get unstuck but not until after the damage was done?

Yes, they have torb to give every 4 to 6 hours starting at 6pm tonight. The vet thought it looked de gloved also. There was a break in the tail, but that could have been her chewing on it. She has always had a Stealth wheel, so no cross bars.

Right now she is sleeping in the open clam pouch with a fleece buddy to cuddle. Has not gone for her tail once since the surgery, but the hubby is setting up a camera to watch her on their TV so everyone can keep an eye on her. The hospital cage will be in their bedroom at night to watch also. They have the e-collars ready if needed, but wanted to give her a chance to sleep and rest right now.

Poor baby. I hope it heals quickly for her so both her and her "parents" can rest easy again.

I wish they had some idea how this baby's tail was injured. It just doesn't look 100% self inflicted. Glad to hear it isn't yet another WW accident. There have been far to many of those already.

I just got a call and our little girl did wonderful thru the night. She is still alittle unsteady ( on pain meds ) but was walking in the wheel and is loving having the big clam bed all to herself.
Best news ever is, she has not touched her tail stump at all!!
Of course they are still watching her 24/7 just in case they need to get the e-collar on her, but for now she is resting, getting all the licky treats she can handle, and is doing great.

Her parents have gone over her old cage looking for anything that could have caught her tail and have not found anything except possibly a water bottle hanger that was on the top of the cage. It has been removed and they are watching to make sure her mate, who is still in their cage is OK.

Glad to hear she is doing well! Sending hugs to this little one.

Awwwwww, T, I'm so glad you were there to help with this little one! I'm also so glad to see that she's doing so well!!! Please keep us updated!

I just checked in and she still has all her stitches, has not gone for her stump at all. I wonder when she will be out of the woods, stitches wise? They are desolvable and I have seen those stay in for over a month.

I just looked at the vet bill. ( I was alittle scared to look at it before, just handed them my debit card ) My vet must have given them my discount. His tech told me once that he always makes up his own fees for my suggies. For the emergency appointment, knock out gas, amputation, bottle of Torb, & antibiodics, he only charged us $101

I love my vet!!!!

It's wonderful to have a vet who is in it for the animal, and not the money. I know they have to make a living and I don't begrudge them that. But when one vet charges $500 to neuter and another vet charges $25, it's gotta make ya wonder.

I'm so happy to hear she's doing so well!!!

HUGE THANK YOU to your vet! My first tail amputation, I got lucky too...total with everything was only $79.

Amputating a glider's tail is really very simple (medically). I actually talked my vet through the first one. I gave him the "gist" of how it should be done and he added in his medical knowledge and Sebastian healed up perfectly.

Be sure to thank your vet for all of us for showing compassion for the animal instead of his bank account. Some vets know they have us over a barrel (because how much we care about gliders) and will shake us until even our gold fillings fall out.

WOW, that's incredibly REASONABLE! It really pays to have a business relationship with your vet!

I'd take a wild stab at the stitches question and say about 10 days should get things far enough outta the woods...by then a good scab should be present.

What I need to do is grab my camera & take some "butt shots" of my stumpy-tailed babies just to give your friend some encouragement on what to expect. I have 4 that are in the same neighborhood as what this little girl is gonna be, and they're all ADORABLE. They can't glide as far as others, so they've discovered some NEW ways to get around (Mom giving them "special" consideration being on that list). Let me see what I can do...