black toe.

[cosmic dave]

My male zebra has got a black toe, he seems to be chewing at it and I think its down to the bone above the black bit. Has anyone ever heard of this before? He does not seem to use this leg either I have been putting a bath in every day and he's washing. ???

[debbie276]

Sounds like the toe has died and he's trying to remove it. He may not be using the leg because maybe he's in pain, hopefully whatever killed the toe isn't affecting the leg also. Does the leg seem to be discolored at all?

[cosmic dave]

No it seems fine.

[DanteD716]

I had this happen before... Check his toe/leg for small threads that may have cut if circulation. I think your best bet would be to cut it off with nail clippers

[debbie276]

That's good, then the dead toe will eventually fall off and any discomfort to him will be gone.
good luck

[Rox]

My white canary got her middle toe caught on something. At the beginning I thought she had lost her whole leg, as she had it tucked up so high and was not using it at all, literally flying around and landing lopsided. While her leg went and remained quite red during this time, the toe eventually turned completely black and then fell off by itself (she also chewed on it a bit). The leg and 'stump' healed up beautifully by itself and even though she is missing a complete toe now, she moves around perfectly normally and is quite happy.

It's quite amazing how well they heal themselves.