Tail Mutilation :(

[Mena]

Gusgus is about 19 years old. I've had him about 10 years and he's always been an on again/off again fur biter. About 4 years ago I left him with a babysitter and ...he got heat stroke. I came home after a week away to find him bright red, on his side and with a bloody tail. Took him to the vet, got him taken care of but the incident caused him to start chewing his tail. The vet gave him anti anxiety meds which cleared up the tail biting after a month or so.
Fast forward to last December, he out of the blue began to chew his tail again. It horrible, bloody and the bites are very deep. I've taken him to see 3 different vets about this and the end result is a big idk. We tried the anti anxiety meds (no luck), treated for mites and pain. Tried the cone but the minute it comes off he's back at his tail and at some point he needs to be able to chew his toys or he's going to have teeth issues next!
Bottom line is he's hurting himself daily with no end in sight, the vets aren't helping and he's dang old. He sleeps more, misses jumps, falls off his shelves etc. I need a second opinion from another chin lover, but would euthanasia be in his best interest at this point? I check for infection every day, keep it clean and treat with a topical antibiotic but this has been bad for 6 months now...

 

[mercynursie]

I don't know if amputating the tail would be an option?

 

[stren003]

Mena,
I have had a tail chewer for 2 years now. Same thing....lots of deep bites, horrible bloody cage and body, infection, bone sticking out, ect. Tried traditional methods of antibiotics and pain relief, but the chewing continued. Finally had the tail amputated almost completely off because it was so damaged and raw. Chin was fine for a few weeks, but then started chewing the stump out of the blue. Here is what I did/do......
I made little fleece bandages- one strip to go from the bottom of the tail, up over the tip and back to the bottom, and another strip to wrap around the first strip, but wrapping around the tail twice, so up and down then side to side around. I cut two long skinny fleece strips to tie the bandage into place on the tail, it needs to be snug, but not so tight it cuts off circulation. I changed it every 4-5 days. I will tell you, this was not fool proof, sometimes she would pull the bandage off during the night and chew the stump into a pulp again, it did not matter if she had pain meds or not....it was a behavioral thing the vet said. We had this pattern for almost 2 years, the vet had no better ideas because long term cone use was not an option and the tail could not be amputated any further down due to nerve damage potential.
I bought a product off amazon called Collasate spray that my vet recommended it's a wound dressing that has icky taste stuff in it to spray the bandage and discourage her from pulling the bandage off. Three weeks ago, she pulled the bandage off and has left the tail stub alone.....for now, but I have everything ready just in case she starts again. Talk to your vet about getting wound care supplies to heal the tail under the fleece bandages you make and see if this helps solve your issue. I know it has been time consuming and frustrating for me at times....but the other option was that she would chew and bleed to death, so it was worth it for me. Hopefully this post gives you some ideas. Good luck!
Shannon

 

[Mena]

Thank you! I'm scared to amputate, his balance is already pretty bad and I'm scared he'd start going after his legs. But I will try fleece bandages and wound dressing. Fingers crossed. <3
I hope your chinnie stays better !

 

[Snickers]

I had 2 that chewed their tails. One which was years ago got her tail amputated. I had a 4 month old doing it this year but she stopped doing it. I was debating since it would have cost about $400.00 but glad she stopped.

 

[fuji9991]

What is the chinchilla's housing situation. Are they alone a lot? What if you go a second cage to move them into a new situation at times in a more active space. Maybe some legitimate stress will occupy the mind away from made up stress. Just an idea.

Wow 19 that is awesome!!

 

[Snickers]

The 1st tail chewer (which I had tail amputated) I moved her and cage mate to another cage this is when I noticed her tail being chewed on. I didn't know if it was her and her cage mate. We went to the vet. He gave me some metacam and antibiotics. He said if she doesn't stop might have to amputate. She was fine for a month then it started again. I decided to have it done. I did end up putting them both in to their original cage. Not sure having it amputated and/or putting them back in original cage but it worked. It has been 9 yrs now.

 

[IkiKolohe]

Aloha Mena -

Just wondering how Gusgus is doing?

Thinking of you,
Tina