Search

Spotlight on Vet Medicine
November 4, 2004

A Tale of a Porcupine Tail

How do National Zoo veterinarians treat the injured tail of a prehensile-tailed porcupine? Very carefully!

prehensile-tailed porcupine
A prehensile-tailed porcupine at the Zoo
Native to South America, prehensile-tailed porcupines (Coendou prehensilis) live in the trees of tropical forest, where they eat leaves, flowers, shoots, and roots. Unlike the common porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) that many North Americans are familiar with, these large, seven- to 12-pound rodents can use their prehensile tails to tightly grasp vines and branches when they climb. The flexible tails are quite long, ranging from 13 to 23 inches, while the body ranges from 17 to 22 inches in length.

These porcupines are active only at night. During the day, they can be found sleeping, in a den in a hollow tree or crouched in the branches of trees. Their quills, which have barbed tips that easily embed and work their way into flesh, protect them from predators. Despite these formidable defensive weapons, prehensile-tailed porcupines are eaten by people in many parts of South America.

Winnie is a prehensile-tailed porcupine that recently came to the National Zoo and now lives in the Small Mammal House. Soon after her arrival, Winnie’s keepers noticed that the tip of her tail was injured. They notified the Zoo veterinarians, who transported the porcupine to the Zoo’s hospital for a thorough evaluation.

Keepers wear thick gloves to protect their hands from Winnie's quills..
Keepers wear thick gloves to protect their hands from Winnie's quills..

Diagnosis

So they could closely inspect the tail wound, veterinarians anesthetized Winnie using a gas anesthesia called isoflurane.

Even though she was anesthetized, keepers wore thick leather gloves when they handled Winnie to avoid close those dangerous quills.

A physical examination confirmed the keeper’s assessment that the tail tip was injured.



The arrow points to the injured part of the tail.
Radiographs (x-rays) showed that the wound affected the last bone in the tail, and a skin biopsy that was examined by Zoo pathologists showed that the cause of the problem was a bacterial infection.

Treatment

Veterinarians surgically removed the infected tissue and placed Winnie on oral antibiotics for six weeks to aid healing and prevent spread of the infection. Because porcupines can be picky eaters, keepers hid the medication in tasty food items such as bananas. Winnie had to wear a bandage on the tip of her tail for several weeks until the lesion completely healed.

Prognosis

Winnie has a very good long-term prognosis. Her tail has healed very well and she can still use it, which is very important because the prehensile tail is so important to her ability to stabilize herself when climbing.

Come see Winnie back at home in the Small Mammal House.

Prehensile-tailed Porcupine Fact Sheet

What would you have done? Be the vet and treat this case yourself at "Vet Stories."

Note to Media: If you would like more information about this project, or any of the Zoo's animal health programs, please contact the Zoo's Office of Public Affairs.

Share