yes half-tail. my 5 year old little cousin wandered away from my brother and his friends and went to visit my rats. i saw him in their near the cages and told him to go back and play. my rat vala had just had babies and their eyes were just begining to open. the next day when it was time to feed the rats i walk to the cage and notice the mom has moved the nest all for one baby. i go to move the baby and i notice how cold it is. its still alive. and thats when i notice half his tail is smushed unger the wire cage. when i lift it off of him the tail goes with it. so as carefully as i could i detach the tail from the cage. when i look at the tail , half of it is hanging by a thread. so i disinfect a razor and the tail and operate. one quick snip andhe now has half a tail (hence his name). another good cleaning and a little bit of cuddling and warming up and he's ready to go back to mommy who grabs him back lol. its a sad begginning to such a young life but he is now in my care coveted by a very good buddy of mine