My rat has a degloved tail injury. What else should I do at home?

Question

My rat experienced a degloving injury approx 3 days ago to about 1/3 of her tail. I have been rinsing it nightly with warm saline and applying small amounts of Neosporin. I changed her bedding from paper litter to towels to avoid contamination and have been giving her appropriately dosed acetaminophen if she seems in pain. Much of the degloved portion has dried and she's been chewing off any dead parts. Aside from taking her to a vet's office, is there anything else I should be doing? Pet's info: Small Animal | Unknown - Small Animal | Female | unspayed | 0.23 lbs

Penelope Graben, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hello! I think your home care for keeping the wound clean is excellent! I love the rinsing with saline and the changing of bedding, many people forget these things. I would recommend taking Rowena into a vet when possible though. Acetominophen is a good anti-inflammatory, but not a very good pain reliever. These tail injuries often have exposed and enlarged nerves at the end, so we recommend amputation for best quality of life. They do hide pain well, but I would recommend ensuring with a vet that there is no nerve pain in the damaged area before continuing with only wound care. I hope you find this helpful! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

My rat has a degloved tail injury. What else should I do at home?

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