Into and potential tail rot question?!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Hello!! I wanted to introduce myself first before launching into questions haha. My boyfriend and I are new beardie owners and our little guy is named Jeff! ? He has a 20 gallon exo Terra tank with a 125w solar glo light and I've put a picture of his set up below. We've been feeding him small crickets dusted with calcium x 5 days and multi vitamin x 2, along with mainly turnip greens for the first week but I introduced him to more greens, green pepper and yellow squash today. I mist him daily and he's gotten a bath once but I plan to do it again tomorrow.

97530-6434113881.jpg
97530-8450417556.jpg

His eating and BMs seem fine, but I noticed this kink in his tail when I got him last week and I'm concerned that it could potentially be tail rot? It seems to have gotten more dry over the week of having him, the end almost looks like a twig and not scaley. :( I know many people say it's stress or just shedding, but I started the betadine water and Neosporin treatment anyways to be on the safe side. Any opinions? Thanks!! ?

97530-8136047576.jpg
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Welcome to the forum! The tail looks like it has some damage. Usually from being bitten by a tank mate when they are young. It's pretty common and in most cases doesn't pose a long term threat. It may stay that way or the end may shrivel and fall off which is OK as long as it heals over cleanly. Watch out for the shriveled areas to expand or become wounded looking which may indicate infection and require veterinary treatment. Otherwise it should be fine.

I like that the big tree gives lots of levels for him to choose from and get closer to and further from the basking light. That flat platform would make a nice basking spot too. Is he able to get up on top of that easily?
 

Melondropsie

Member
Original Poster
Hey CooperDragon! Thanks!! Yea he seems only a month or two old and was in the tank with a slightly larger dragon, so potentially from being housed there. :( Do you think the betadine and neosporin is helpful or useless since there doesn't seem to be an open wound? We're still watching it closely in case it seems to worsten, thanks for the advice!

And yes the big tree is almost too big for his cage! He seems to move up and down it pretty easily and has jumped back and forth from that and the smaller basking rock. I got an IR thermometer gun and it reads 105-110 at the top branches, so he likes to bask up there frequently. :) I'm not sure what material the smaller rock is, but it gets up to 120 after the light is on all day so we've been misting the surface to reduce the temp and we're going to rearrange so the light isn't quite directly above it. I can't wait until he gets bigger like your baby, hopefully my new owner nervous-ness will wear off by then! :lol:

CooperDragon":evi5mv5s said:
Welcome to the forum! The tail looks like it has some damage. Usually from being bitten by a tank mate when they are young. It's pretty common and in most cases doesn't pose a long term threat. It may stay that way or the end may shrivel and fall off which is OK as long as it heals over cleanly. Watch out for the shriveled areas to expand or become wounded looking which may indicate infection and require veterinary treatment. Otherwise it should be fine.

I like that the big tree gives lots of levels for him to choose from and get closer to and further from the basking light. That flat platform would make a nice basking spot too. Is he able to get up on top of that easily?
 

Melondropsie

Member
Original Poster
Hey! So the bulb we have is an Exo Terra Solar Glo, which supposedly has UVA, UVB, visual light, and heat all in one. I've been reading more on different bulbs but some reviews I saw said this bulb would be sufficient. We try to keep the top off of the tank (with supervision so he doesn't jump out) so he gets the direct effect of the bulb rather than it being blocked by the top screen. Do you think we still need a tube UVB light? Thanks!

talktothetail":2b88yhoh said:
Where is your UVB light?
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
That sounds good. I'd keep applying the neosporin for now and keep a close eye on the crimped/black area to make sure it isn't spreading up the tail. Hopefully it won't progress. The MVB you have is fine and it looks like it's at a sufficient distance with a good gradient and your basking temps are good so it shouldn't be a problem.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,899
Messages
1,255,685
Members
75,965
Latest member
williamyoung
Top Bottom