Worried about tail

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gzambrano1124

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My 2 y/o leatherback, "Pharoah" had a bit of a retained shed on the end of his tail. It came off after several days of soaking but I am concerned about one area that is dark and edges of the scales seem to blend together. Not sure if it is just a scar or if it could be tail rot. I am paranoid about yellow fungus (lost my old girl to it a while back)... it dosen't look the same but I don't like how long this took to shed or how thick and moist some part were. Im an equine veterinarian, with a special interest in reptiles but I am not boarded in exotics and definitely know more about horses than lizards. This little guy is very important to me, so I am definitely willing to take him up to the zoological medicine dept. at the UF vet school or down to Blue Pearl or some other specialty hospital if needed but I don't think it will be necessary since I can order any meds needed. Have been soaking in dilute Betadine and applying SSD (silver sulfadiazide) ointment as well as tolfonate antifungal spray. Started him on Baytril (enrofloxacin) 10mg/kg by mouth, doing probiotics and oral fluids with the baytril. I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything... I really don't want him to lose the end of his tail and would rather treat early and aggressively than regret it a few days from now.
Thanks in advance!
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AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there, that's a handsome leather boy, hopefully this is just a band of shed that's late coming off. :) It looks nothing like Y.F, so I wouldn't be concerned about that.

Can you post a pic like the first ones [ close up ] on a white background to show the tail better ?

Sometimes tail rot is not evident at first, it can creep up under the scales then suddenly the scales come off + there you can see it. If it is the beginning of tail rot it's sometimes good to be proactive and amputate about 1/2 or so above the affected area. If it comes down to that, you can easily do it yourself. Beardies don't feel much pain in their tail, some have amputations + are eating the same day.
 

gzambrano1124

New member
Original Poster
Thank you for the quick response! here are some better pictures
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I can try to get some different angles or closeups if that would help. Thanks!
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
You're welcome. :) So is the dark area actual skin left over or is that part shed off already ? And is that where you say it's almost squishy ? If it feels mushy in that spot, it could be that it's infected under there. If you feel better having other vets look at it that deal with reptiles they can more likely tell you if there's a problem. It shouldn't be too hard to deal with, even if a bit of it needs to be snipped off.
 

gzambrano1124

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That dark spot is where some thickened/ retained shed came off. It felt a bit squishy and moist on the dorsal/ top part (like when they get that lymph fluid under a really deep shed) and the scales don't look as defined as they should be. I'm wondering if he rubbed or scraped it on some of his furniture before the shed was completely ready to come off.. just hope it will heal as healthy tissue. The ventral/ underside still looks ok to me. Anything else I can do to help him? I will see how he does with the oral baytril and topical treatments for a few more days. If it starts spreading will have to amputate but still hoping it dosen't come down to that! Thanks!
 

gzambrano1124

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Original Poster
Update: the darker black scales came off in his Betadine bath today, they lifted right off when brushing with a soft-bristle toothbrush. The skin underneath looks healthy and the tip of his tail feels normal/ pliable... but the area where that bad shed came off looks "nude" for lack of a better description. Will the scales grow back? Should I send off a fungal culture just in case? I don't want to amputate since it dosen't seem to be ascending and still feels ok.
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He seems to be doing a major shed, everywhere else looks like perfectly normal shed to me...
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Thanks in advance for any input!
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
It's still iffy as to whether it will go in to tail rot. You can continue a short soak in betadine [ you can just put some in a small cup + dangle his tail in it if he'll set with you long enough ] Then you might apply some raw honey to it. If you use honey be sure there are no loose bugs in the tank hiding anywhere.

You don't need a culture done but if you want an experienced reptile vet to have a look they can give their opinion.
 
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