Possible tail rot? Retained shed? NEW BEARDIE OWNER!

Hello!

I just got my 2 month old boy 8 days ago. His name is Ash He seems to be acclimating to my home pretty well, is usually active and a good eater. I have had minor issues with him pooping but so far he has gone at least every other day. He's got a good disposition and is curious as hell haha. But on to the subject at hand...

His tail has been in shed since I got him, and he does have a nip at the very end. I was expecting the shed to start to work it's way off but it doesn't seem to be flaking up at all. The end of his tail seems dark too, which has me nervous...especially since Ash is my first beardie ever. I have given him a few baths, one today where I scrubbed his tail gently with a baby toothbrush. I also applied some vitamin E oil to hopefully give it some moisture.


What do you guys think? I appreciate any input!!

Welcome to the forum, and congrats on Ash! He's very cute!

First of all, he may not poop every day, or every other day. In fact, don't start getting alarmed about him not pooping until a good 5-10 days have gone by, as some dragons do wait that long. Usually a younger beardie like Ash at 2 months will go more often than an adult, but there is no worry at all until at least the 10 day mark. And bathing him for the shed is fine, but otherwise baths can really stress them out and are only needed when shedding or if they're dirty. Once a week is plenty for baths (they don't get hydration while soaking in water, not through their vents or skin, so if you heard that it's a myth and totally untrue, they get hydration the same way we do, through their mouth, however they typically do not drink from a bowl or bath as they don't really have a concept of standing water, they get their hydration from their live insects in Ash's case, and in adults that are over a year old they get it from their fresh greens/veggies and live insects.).

As far as his tail goes, the darkening of the color is totally normal, most dragons have a darker colored tail just like that. However, I can see the bite at the end of his tail, but not well. I can tell by the overall color of his tail that it's going to shed, but it doesn't look like it's ready to shed yet, so don't keep trying to brush it off, it will come off when it's ready to, which sometimes can take a couple of weeks or longer. Never try to help him shed at all, don't pick at it or peel it off, you'll only cause damage. Usually the skin/scales will actually be a bit lighter than that right before it's ready to start flaking off, but his is just simply not ready yet to come off, and this has nothing to do with the nip at the end, nor does the natural darkening towards the end of his tail. So his only problem that I can see is the nip at the end (the darkening is not at all being caused by the nip, it's not "Tail Rot" or anything of the sort, it's natural and will most likely always be that way, so no need to worry about that)...

The nip at the end is the only issue, and I can't tell from that photo if the wound is still open or not, but I believe it's not still open, and he will probably just lose that nub at the end eventually, it will most likely just fall off. Or it may stay like that permanently. After the tail completely sheds then you'll know more about what's going to happen to the tip. But again, his tail is definitely going to shed soon, but not yet. And brushing it in a bath every day is unnecessary, just let it be and it will shed off soon enough. He's fine.

I believe you're right, it's not an open wound. My breeder informed me that he was bitten by one of his clutch mates as a little baby and said the same thing, that the little nub would likely fall off. But it definitely eases my nerves to hear that his tail looks okay! I'm a bit of a helicopter mom hahah. I'll ease up on the baths and everything! Can't wait for that thing to shed. ?

I totally understand, they do worry us to death, trust me, I know...My year old girl is just ending a full-body shed, and this is a good example for you as to what can happen if you try to brush off their shed before it's ready to come off...She's a similar color to your dragon, she's a bright orange, maybe a bit more red/coral in color, but her tail looks exactly the same. Her tail was the first part to turn lighter, but the last part to actually shed, which by the way is not uncommon because the skin on their tails is thicker than anywhere else. Anyway, her tail was at about the same point that your's is, then it turned a light gray, and I was sure it was going to finally come off any day (I think her tail took over a month this time to shed). Well a few days ago I turned her lights on, and she either rubbed her tail on something because it was itchy, or she actually chewed on it, which is what I'm thinking, because she literally ripped a large chunk of skin/scales right out of the top-middle of her tail. It's ugly. She still hasn't completely shed the tail, but now I'm having to clean the open section with Hibiclens and then put antibiotic cream on it, it was bloody and everything. So that's what happens when it's not ready to come off, even a day early. Little jerk, just has to cause a problem and worry me, they can't just be "okay", lol...

Hello,

The tail definitely looks like it is going to shed. It may take awhile for the tail to shed so
hopefully it will be smooth sailing for him. He is a great looking dragon!
I agree, eventually the end will most likely dry out & break off & will be just fine. It doesn't
look infected at all.

Tracie

Cali-Cal had the same problem, and she died, but it doesn't look too similar, so I think that you're good. I've done a lot of research on this, but yours seems to be pretty similar to what this one beardie had, I suggest you read the PetCo pamphlet on beardies. It doesn't seem very helpful, but it is. :study: -a book"worm" :lol:

Post by beardielover800 » Fri Jan 19, 2018 2:18 pm

Cali-Cal had the same problem, and she died, but it doesn't look too similar, so I think that you're good. I've done a lot of research on this, but yours seems to be pretty similar to what this one beardie had, I suggest you read the PetCo pamphlet on beardies. It doesn't seem very helpful, but it is. :study: -a book"worm" :lol:

Click to expand...

I believe what your beardie had was tail rot. Usually happens when the tail is damaged, retained shed cuts off circulation, ect. And then the infection works its way up and kills the organs of the bearded, resulting in death. However the beardie here definitely doesn't have that, most of the time it takes weeks or a month or so for it to shed. One of my juveniles shed lasted about a month and a half.

Also those petco pamphlets aren't the best for correct info. I mean they have some correct info like 20 gallon being the minimum for a baby beardie, the temps are somewhat good, along with a few things they recommend for the insect portion of the diet.

However they say only 10-12 hours for lighting when they need 13-14 hours of light, 10-12 would be more winter time hours and I'd suggest only down to 12 hours and only for an adult/burmating bearded.
They also suggest one of the most dangerous substrates which causes impaction as it builds up in their digestive tract over time. That being calci-sand.
They also say they benefit from a commercially available bearded dragon diet, however most of the time those diets lead to bad bowl movements, and not the healthiest beardie. Im sure some of the canned diets would be fine as a treat or backup food, however the pelleted ones which is what I mostly see in stores cause problems most of the time.

beardielover800":3nz8s5cj said:

Cali-Cal had the same problem, and she died, but it doesn't look too similar, so I think that you're good. I've done a lot of research on this, but yours seems to be pretty similar to what this one beardie had, I suggest you read the PetCo pamphlet on beardies. It doesn't seem very helpful, but it is. :study: -a book"worm" :lol:

Click to expand...

Yeah, unfortunately your dragon must have had a bad infection in her tail, which spread into her blood stream. I'm very sorry that you lost your dragon. However, the OP's dragon has no issues at all with her tail, that is simply the common, natural darkening that they have towards the end of her tail.