'ratty" tail

[juliusanewyork]

i have had my chipmunk for over a year now..she was an abandoned wild baby near death when i rescued her and became her mom. she eats a large and varied diet..but her tail has never been nice and bushy..she has no parasites(fleas,ticks) lives in the house only. but she is in a window and has exposure to good light when natural is  not available. in addition to most nuts,fruits,seeds,and vegetables she eats baby food(her favorite) every day. also she uses a salt lick..and gets lots and lots of exercize. has a bright shiny coat and bright eyes and is a sweet girl. but her tail is a bit ratty~ anybody got any ideas on what might be causing this? in the pics on here everybodies tail looks nice and bushy.help! thanks juli

[Nate]

Hi welcome to the board, what a beautiful part of the world New York state is, especially this time of year.

Can you upload a photo of her showing her tail, it's probably OK though. I've had a few chipmunks with not so bushy tails, wouldn't say they were ratty though. As you may have seen their tails can inflate sort of, when they pump more blood in their tails get bushier. I've seen mine do that when they are trying to look a bit bigger, under threat or to ward off others.