Split End Of Tail

[Guest creedsmom]

Creed hit his tail and split the end portion of tail. It bleeds when he hits it and reopens it again. Bandages don't stay on. I've wrapped it with ace bandages with tape but they fly off. Any suggestions on how to keep bandages on tip of tail so he doesn't keep hitting it and opening it again and again.

[Guest boondog]

Oh, yes--Happy Tail. If you do a search on "happy tail" you'll get all kinds of suggestions. My personal favorite is foam pipe insulation that you can buy at a home improvement store. I put that around the bandage for extra padding and tape it on. Many people use hair curlers. I have found that elastikon is the best tape you can use. I've tried the "drug store" stuff and it just doesn't work well.

 

This is greyt too: Happy Tail Bandaging

 

BTW, welcome to GT! We'd love to know more about Creed!

Edited August 19, 2008 by boondog

[Guest charmsmom]

I tried a bunch of stuff with Charm. LOTS of blood showers on the wall....What I finally did was to just pad all the corners in my house, rather than try to keep a bandage on the tail. His tail healed in about a month and the fur even grew back.

[Batmom]

I do similar to the Grassmere site, but I use vetwrap for the outermost layer (rather than their white tape) and keep going a good 6" up the tail from the injury site. THEN I add a layer of Elastikon -- extra sticky tan athletic type tape -- and continue to half an inch above the vetwrap, so it's stuck to the hair of the tail for that half inch (most of the way, it's stuck to the vetwrap).

 

I keep it bandaged like that until the scab falls off revealing nice pink unbroken skin beneath. Then I keep a light bandage -- just vetwrap and maybe a sticky tape anchor -- on it for 2-3 MORE WEEKS to give that scab time to toughen up.

 

Hugs and luck!

[Guest crazy4greys]

I use the pink culrer method, found in local drug stores.

 

Cut the curler in half like a hotdog bun. Put on some neosoprin and wrap with a peice of gauze and put the tail inside leaving room at the tip so the tail is not right at the end.

 

Start wrapping it at the end of the curler all the way up to the tail and onto the tail with elastikon. It will stay on until you take it off. Change every 4-5 days.

Edited August 19, 2008 by crazy4greys

[Guest creedsmom]

Oh, yes--Happy Tail. If you do a search on "happy tail" you'll get all kinds of suggestions. My personal favorite is foam pipe insulation that you can buy at a home improvement store. I put that around the bandage for extra padding and tape it on. Many people use hair curlers. I have found that elastikon is the best tape you can use. I've tried the "drug store" stuff and it just doesn't work well.

 

This is greyt too: Happy Tail Bandaging

 

BTW, welcome to GT! We'd love to know more about Creed!

 

[Guest VelvetEars]

I was going to suggest the curler as well.

 

Also, periodic soaking in warm water with epsom salts will speed healing.

[Guest Baloos_Mom]

We used liquid bandaid on the tail and then pipe insulation almost all the way down the tail (tail inside of course) and taped it to the top of the tail with some really good medical tape. Worked like a charm but others have also used a pill bottled taped to the tail to protect it.

[onrushpam]

I use the outer portion of a super-size Tampax applicator (made of cardboard and rounded on the end). Don't smash the rounded part up against the end of the tail.

 

I put it on with two longish pieces of elastikon, run up the sides of the tube and up the tail a good ways.

Then, I wrap with regular adhesive bandage tape... tight and close together and the tube, and then like a candy-cane quite a ways up the tail.

 

It will stay on until you take it off, except sometimes the end of the tube breaks off.

 

This allows the wounded tail to "breath" and you will only need to change it when the end of the tube comes off. It usually lasts a week for me.