My rats tail is degloved

Question
Hello, about 23 days ago my 2 year old nephew picked up my rat by  its tail and a little less than half of the the skin came off. Ive never heard or seen anything like that and completely freaked out. I took her to the emergency room immediatly and she was making loud screeching sounds in the car on the way there from the pain. The doctor said he would have to amputate and the whole bill came to $985.00 I could not afford that so i just paid for antibiotics, painkillers and fluids. I took her home and have been keeping her cage really clean and it has been healing on its own pretty rapidly. The exposed area dried up and turned dark and there hasnt been any sign of infection. the rat was back to her active self within a week. However it has been more than three weeks and the tail has not fallen off. The exposed area is dried up, thin and dark except for where it meets the healthy skin  there is like a bump that still is moist sometimes. I'm  really nervous and don't know if i made a mistake by not amputating it. Is this normal and should i expect the tail to fall off or is my ratty in danger ?

Answer
It's normal, and that vet is insane for telling you it needed to be amputated to the tune of nearly $1,000 -- that's just graveyard robbery. It will eventually fall off on it's own, just keep it clean and keep her on a clean, non-dusty bedding. If it gets infected, you may need antibiotics. If it doesn't fall off, she may eventually chew it off herself. Don't stress over it, this happens more often than you'd think!

:) Good luck.