One of my sugar gliders literally ripped off his tail today in his wheel :(

We stopped the bleeding immediately and rushed to the vet. The only thing they did was put a liquid bandaid type thing on the nub of his tailbone and covered the actual protruding bone (which is about 1/2 inch long) with the same stuff. The vet said that the excess bone would dry and most likely fall off on its own, and would not require surgery - however, I keep reading that everyone else with these injuries says it has to be amputated.

Zan seems to be totally fine. He can run, jump, and has no balance issues. He ate like a pig as soon as we got home and drank lots of water and if not for the fact that he has no tail and has this bone hanging you wouldn't even notice anything was wrong (behaviorally).

He is sleeping comfortably with his brother, his breathing is totally normal. I was told to treat his tail with neosporin to prevent infection at the wound site and pretty much just watch for breathing changes and signs of infection.

Any advice?

Some personality things about my gliders:
They are very docile and do not bite, scratch, or otherwise injure each-other or themselves. They have never practiced any sort of self mutilation. They are very well fed and cared for.

I will be changing their pouches daily to make sure there is no debris that can possibly infect the wound and will be handfeeding Zan until he is better just to make sure he is getting enough food/water and so on. I am just totally freaking out. My daughters are in tears. We know he looks fine but we are so worried that he might be in pain :(

Any advice would be helpful. Thank you!

What kind of wheel was it? I want to make sure I never own one!


Oh that poor baby. I hope he heals without any ill effects.

http://www.sugargliderhelp.com/links/pages/Sugar_Glider_Vet_Database/Vets_who_offer_Phone_Consults_to_vets/index.html vet consult numbers give these to the vet. http://thesweetspot.forumotion.net/f8-amputation this is also good to read.
to me the letting it just fall off doesnt sound right. i recommend getting a second opinion.

It was the Wodent Wheel!

WOW! I think the vet was right. The piece already FELL OFF! I don't know what he put on it but it seemed to work and it's not bleeding or anything at all. I feel so much better now, I was so scared it would snag and make him bleed more!

OMG I am so relieved. There is a highly recommended sugar glider vet about three and a half hours from here (driving) so I am going to call them 1st thing and see what he tells me.

I just want to make sure Neosporin is okay for him or if I should use something else to treat the tail? Or should I just leave it alone and just make sure he's clean?

val is wonderful and i am sure can help if she's free. does anyone know her number off hand?

806-395-0181 Val

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Originally posted by sjones5254

val is wonderful and i am sure can help if she's free. does anyone know her number off hand?

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Val/ Something_To_Believe_In
806-274-9177

thanks guys please call her.

I can't thank you guy's enough for the fast responses.

I am a little more calm now since everything looks good. I will keep checking back for input. The vet said to wait 24 hours to treat with neosporin, and to only apply once a day.


Since he seems okay right now I will wait till a decent hour tomorrow to call Val unless I notice anything weird. Thank you so much for providing the number, I have noticed she is like the go to person on the boards! Thank you again. I am in pre-labor (enormously pregnant here) so I will be up all night with him regardless keeping a close eye and my brother is willing to drive him to the vet (the one three hours away) tomorrow if needed since I may go into active labor at any moment. So glad my entire family is as crazy about animals as I am.

I just want to have a set plan for Zan -- I love them as if they too were my children, I just don't know what I would do if something were to happen to him. We have never had any medical problems, this is the first thing that has ever happened to one of my furry family members (other than death from very old age). I am also over-emotional with the pregnancy so I am sure I am babbling like a crazy person! It's helping relieve the nerves though for sure.

dont worry you can call her now. she runs a glider rescue so i wouldnt be surprised if she stays up late like the rest of us glider people lol. if she doesnt pick up just leave a message.

/me Tosses the extra Wodent wheel she keeps for emergencies out the window

Great job on your part, you couldn't have acted faster nor in a better manner. Glad everything is ok now!

Regardless of the fact that your gliders have never self mutilated before, be sure to play close attention to both gliders and the attention they are paying to the tail. I don't think gliders self mutilate on purpose, it's a grooming thing. They groom something they feel is different or shouldn't be there to the point that they injure themselves.

Thank you! I probably could have reacted better. I swear you would have thought I walked into a scene where the texas chain saw massacre occurred. They actually asked me if I was going to need medical attention myself at the vets I was HYSTERICAL.

On the other hand I think my hysteria got me seen faster. I didn't have to wait at ALL!

I will sit next to him all night on my birth ball and we can suffer together, I don't want to handle him too much as the vet said I could accidentally make it worse so I am just watching him play now and make sure he doesn't touch it. He has not made any attempt to mess with it so far. Dargo (his BFF) is also ignoring it for now. I have one of those cone things that I bought when we first got them at the ready if he starts to mess with it I will put it on.

Okay, I am going back out there to monitor and I just can't sit on this chair anymore right now.


Can anyone recommend a wheel that will NOT do this? I don't ever want to have an experience like this AGAIN EVER! I don't care if I have to have it specialty made or ordered or how much it costs. They love their wheel and obviously that one is gone forever.

The Custom Cruiser

The Stealth Wheel

The Raptor Wheel

I'm sure there are a few more but those are the ones at the tip of my brain at the moment.

I was going to ask if you had an e-collar then I finished reading your post and gave a nice big whoosh of relief! So glad you are prepared if he does start messing with it.

Glad to hear that you have an e-collar. But an e-collar won't stop his mate from grooming it. So like you said, just watch them.

And as for wheels, I absolutely loved my stealth wheel.

Totally agree. I have a Stealth & I love it...and better yet, they love it, but from what I hear the Raptor is nearly identical but a bit cheaper.

David Watkins makes them and you can find him on FB and he has an album posted with his various wheels. I'm not sure how you go about ordering from him or if he has a website but I'm sure if you PM him on FB he can give you details.

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Originally posted by JazzNZoeysmom

Totally agree. I have a Stealth & I love it...and better yet, they love it, but from what I hear the Raptor is nearly identical but a bit cheaper.

David Watkins makes them and you can find him on FB and he has an album posted with his various wheels. I'm not sure how you go about ordering from him or if he has a website but I'm sure if you PM him on FB he can give you details.

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i have a stealth but i hear the same thing about the raptor and recommend that one all the time here is the link to order a raptor http://mygliderwheelsandmore.com/

Thanks for adding that link Shadow....I may have to check it out myself. I need another wheel.

I'm glad your baby is o.k!i hope he heals fast!! Does anyone know how their tails get stuck? I have a wodent that i keep out of the cage (i have a stealth inside the cage) for them to run on if they feel like it during play time. Bandit loves the wodent and ive heard of this hazard before but how does it happen? I know it has something to do with the middle bar, does the fur get caught?

I had the same wheel in my male had got haung up in it to were i took him to the vet in they cut the wheel apart to get his hand out in the vet said if he did anymore movement it would of broke his hand really bad so as soon as we got home i trough the wheel out in i ask my vet she told me a open wheel wih no cover would be best cuase that wheel put together with string in the middle in thats what his hand sliped under it was to tight on him in they wrap it up after they got him free so it could heel. I was scared cause i didnt know what to so i just took him in hop in the car in went staright to my vet.He was crying all the way there in trying to keep him still was hard cause he wanted free he just kept trying to pull his hand out of it so i held him tight in close to my chest so he wouldnt feel alone

quote:

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Originally posted by prettyinpink5808

I'm glad your baby is o.k!i hope he heals fast!! Does anyone know how their tails get stuck? I have a wodent that i keep out of the cage (i have a stealth inside the cage) for them to run on if they feel like it during play time. Bandit loves the wodent and ive heard of this hazard before but how does it happen? I know it has something to do with the middle bar, does the fur get caught?

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I've wondered that also. Like you, I have a wodent in my room...Zoey LOVES it. She's the only one that will get on it but she definately does! She'll run a few laps then hop off, play then hop back on for a few laps, repeat.

And she curls her tail all the way around so it touches her back. She just hopped on it and I cringed....as much as she loves it I think I'm gonna have to toss it.

Oh no!! I'm sorry to hear. Did the wodent wheel have the guard around the axle? I ask because I just got a wodent wheel not to long ago, some people have used them and similar type for years and say as long as it has that guard (plastic thing) around the axle it's safe, but now I think I'm going to take it out tomorrow. The girls hardly use it anyway, I really wanted it for the nail thing anyway. Skadoosh runs in the orange wheel A LOT! Lulu maybe does a little, but neither of them spend much time other than a few steps here and there in the wodent, so it's not doing them any good filing nails down anyway. I hope to replace it with a new green wheel with the mesh track, much like the orange one.

Oh hey, does anyone know anything about the Flying saucer sold at Sugar Glider Super Store?

TJ my gerbils have one and they hate it. You can get a eco raptor for $25.00. www.mygliderwheelsandmore.com

Yes, the wheel DID have the guard on it. I still have NO idea how it got caught in there!!! He must have been running and jumping or something crazy. We have had the wheel for two years and nothing ever happened before.

He still seems fine, just came back to update. He still seems totally fine and I am just amazed and hope he continues that way. He and Dargo are both playing normally - especially now, it's usually their most active time. Sadly for them they are not getting tent time tonight as I don't want Zan's butt touching anything.

Going to order a new wheel - love that these don't have anything inside!!!

He has a tiny bit of swelling which I was told to expect. He seems to pee and poop just fine too which is something else I was told to watch for since the tugging could have hurt him or caused internal swelling and he still seems able to glide in the cage which is good but it makes me so nervous that he will bump his butt.

I will keep updating :) Thank you all again!

So sorry you're having to go through this on top of labor!! Sounds like you did all the right things and really quickly though.
I have a Raptor and love it. Threw the Wodent away after reading a similar post. It's a shame companies sell it and claim it's safe.

So glad that Zan seems to be healing so quickly!

Prayers for you and your new bundle of joy. I hope your labor goes well!

I think you reacted just the way you should have! Great job getting him right to the vets office!

I am not expert but in your shoes I would watch them very closely and when you do go to bed I would put your little guy in a hospital (travel) cage with a pouch that smells like his home of course. The reason would be to keep him from being overly active and to keep his mate from over grooming, just in case. Then when you get up and keep an eye on them put them together again.

There are a few lines of thinking on this from what I have noticed. Some believe the separation is safer but more stressful socially, where as keeping them together is more risky but less stress socially.


As for the vet.... no pain meds? No precautionary anti-biotics? Gliders get infections so easy and can look wonderful and go down fast. I am not saying it to worry you, I am sure your a mess of worry already, just that if you take him back to that vet, have him call the back up vets to get more information.


I think wanting to take him 7 hours round trip is wonderful and I would too but in your situation, waiting on baby.... maybe it would be best to stay close to home and have your vet contact a more experienced one in these matters.


Thinking of you and yours!

Chris and I had 2 Wodents before our Casey issue, but when we were bought 2 new cages, we went with better wheels. I am so glad we pitched ours when we got 2 stealths. I had asked her if she wanted to save them for back-ups, but she said "Hell No!". Guess she read some issues people were having with the middle bar and this story is just more gasoline to the fire. I am truly sorry for your accident, and Chris and I are sending out the best good vibes we have for your little one to heal.

My wodent wheel is OUT of the cage!!!! Again, I'm so sorry to hear of your poor glider's injury. I wish a quick recovery for him.