Hi, List,
Just realized that with AOL this didn't get posted to the List, but sent
to Donna directly. So I'm resending to the List, and will try to make sure
this doesn't happen again unless I do it on purpose.
Sorry, Mo:
Hi, Donna,
This happened to our Mario shortly after we got him. Without knowing any
better, my daughter tried to catch him by his tail and the end of it slipped
right off in her fingers! (I believe this is a defense mechanism to avoid
predators in the wild.) We took him to the vet, who prescribed anti-biotics
in Mario's water to avoid infection, but that was all. Mario moped around for
a few days (maybe from pain and maybe from being separated from his cagemate
Luigi because of the medicated water), but he did, in time, recover fully.
The exposed bones did eventually shrivel and fall off. For the rest of his
life, his tail was about one inch shorter than Luigi's (which was about the
best way to tell them apart, since they were both Agoutis), but it never
seemed to bother him after it healed.
Good luck to your friend and her gerbil. As long as she treats to avoid
infection, the gerbil should be fine.
Bye for now,
Mo
