My beardie Ivan has necrosis in his tail HELP!

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hooklinebrittany

Hatchling Member
I just noticed last night, while looking at another scratch he received, that my bearded dragon Ivan has necrosis in his tail. I am sure that this is it. I don't know how it got in because there were no cuts what so ever on his tail. I don't understand and I don't know what to do or how to fix it and we JUST got him better from having a bacterial infection. I love him so much but I'm starting to wonder if it's good for him to live with me anymore because I'm not good at this at all obviously. I know that he has it because I saw other pictures of it and it is the exact same thing. I tried pinching it and it just broke off. And he didn't flinch at all! How do I get rid of this fast before it gets too far? It's only like half an inch of the very tip of his tail but I don't want him to wind up being a nub! HELP ME!
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Sorry about poor little Ivan. Do you have a picture of that you could post for us so we could see?
Did he accidentally scrape it on something in the tank, or did it get pinched in the tank lid, etc? Has he had retained shed on the end of his tail?
For now, try to keep the end clean with diluted betadine daily, & apply antibiotic ointment on the end of it daily as well. You will want to watch for it traveling upwards on the tail, in case of infection. If it is just the tip, then it is most likely from retained shed or an injury. So, we need to make sure he doesn't have any more retained shed, or it will travel up the tail.

Tracie
 

hooklinebrittany

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
I've tried to get off as much retained shed as I can. I think that was the problem. But I think that there was so much that it just killed off the end of his tail. I'm taking him to a vet tomorrow, there's so little infected that I probably don't need to. But at the same time, since I saw that it has traveled up since last night, I should probably take it there. I can use up the time slot to ask a bunch of questions that I have about him and his health anyway. A vet check up would be good for him regardless. He squirms when I try to get off the retained shed though and I'm scared that I will pull off too much skin and I don't want to hurt him further.
 

hooklinebrittany

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
I took Ivan to the vet today and they told me he has tail rot. Which I am assuming is the same thing as necrosis in the tail. Glad I noticed it when I did because it was actually a lot worse than what I thought it was. They prescribed him baytril and showed me how to inject it into his mouth at .07 every day for seven days. I already gave him his first dose and he's acting like it never happened. They said he's a stubborn lizard but a social and happy one and that he has very nice skin. Haha. :) It was nice to hear a vet say that. Sadly we will probably lose a lot of his tail. But... lizards with nubs can go on to live normal lives, right?
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Yes, lizards are fine with stumps for tails, he wont be less of a pet. I am glad you noticed the changes in the tail & took him to the vet. The baytril should clear up any infection.
Did he give you any type of cream to help his tail out like silvadene? I would continue to soak him as needed, & treat his tail with diluted betadine & antibiotic ointment unless the vet gave you another type of cream or ointment to use instead.
Be sure to get extra oral fluids into him while he is on the medication. Do you plan on giving probiotics as well along with his medication round?
Let us know how Ivan is doing.
Tracie
 

hooklinebrittany

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
No the vet didn't give me any extra ointment for his tail but I will continue bathing him in betadine and putting antibiotic ointment on it. I do give him a few chances during the day to drink water out of the sink. He loves running water the most. Today he was very accepting of his medicine, he didn't spit any out which is good. He just gulped it down like a tough cookie. :) Where can I get probiotics from? Is it good if I give him those during this? He also hasn't gotten significantly worse since yesterday which makes me confident that the medicine is working. But when I touch the dead parts of his tail he squirms a little bit. So I'm not sure that those parts are entirely dead and I'm hoping that some of it will be saved. Right now he's hiding in my hair because I touched his dead part of his tail lol. But other than that he seems like he's doing great. :)
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

That is great he took his meds like a good boy today. Hopefully it will clear up anything infection he has right now. Maybe most of his tail will be able to be saved.
You can find benebac probiotic in the cat section of most commercial pet stores. There is also non dairy soy yogurt that you can buy also which is a probiotic that would help him out.

I hope he is doing well.

Tracie
 

hooklinebrittany

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
He is doing well. I'll buy him some benebac today. But it seems like his tail is still dying. Is it supposed to get worse before it gets better?
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

So, Ivan is doing pretty well but his tail is still showing some discoloration?
Do you have any pictures you could show us?
What you can do is get a water based non toxic black magic marker to put a small mark underneath of the tail to determine at what rate it is traveling, etc. You may need to get a small portion of it amputated to control the necrosis.

Tracie
 

hooklinebrittany

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Well I'll take a picture and get back to you guys. But I can tell that even though I am giving him antibiotics, putting cream on his tail, and bathing him in betadine every night, his tail is still dying. Would I have to take him back to the vet to get some of it amputated to get it under control? Or is that something that I could get instructions for on how to do on my own without hurting him?
 

hooklinebrittany

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Just called the vet and they said that the part that is already affected by the rotting will fall off in time, and the part that isn't infected should stay that way. So they said I most likely won't have to get them to amputate it but I'll do what you said and mark the tail just to make sure that it doesn't get any worse. Also, I looked for benebac at my pet supplies store and they didn't have it. :( So what was the name of that probiotic yogurt?
Here are a few pictures. The first one is marked by me of what is infected of his tail. The second one isn't marked, just a picture. It's shiny because of the antibiotic ointment. Some of the rotting already fell off which is why his tail is already looking stubby.
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w76/complify/IMAG0260b.jpg
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w76/complify/IMAG0260.jpg

One more thing though, the vet told me to put a heating pad under Ivan's tank to maintain a constant floor level of 70 degrees for him? But... I don't want to burn him... And I heard those things burn sometimes because they can't tell the temperature on their bellies. Sooooooo... what do I do? Should I get him one or shouldn't I?
 

hooklinebrittany

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
So I'm really unsure of whether or not I should buy him a heat pad and what kind of yogurt i should buy him. Any advice?
 

discojan

Juvie Member
If you have a temperature gun, you can monitor the heating pad before putting your dragon on it. We use one with several layers of covering over it, so it is only slightly warm to the touch and 80degrees according to temp gun. We try not to leave the girls on it unsupervised. It has its own cloth cover, then we put it in a pillow case, and put a soft towel on top to make a lizard bed (i.e. lizard memory foam!) . We keep it on low if we put in the cage overnight to boost the immune system for the little one who is fighting parasites, and turn it off in the morning before the lights come on, so she'll bask.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

That is excellent suggestions for the heating pad use. :D Yes, used in that manner it will be fine.
The type of yogurt you can get is the non dairy soy yogurt, & you can get any flavor that you want or just the plain type.
How is Ivan's tail looking today?

Tracie
 

hooklinebrittany

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Ivan's tail looks like it's under control today. The vets said only to give him doses of his medicine for one week, but there's still some left and I wonder if I should keep giving it to him til it's gone just to make sure it stays away?
So today I'll go to the pet store and pick him up a heating pad and some yogurt. Is there any flavor that beardies like most?
 
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