Live food ate tip of tail

We had a friend pet sit, they knew to remove uneaten live food but failed to do so.

Over the period we were away this lead to the crickets eating part of the Bearded Dragon’s tail, quite badly. Subsequently the remaining flesh/scales have come away and has left c.1cm of the skeleton tip exposed.

Obviously this could be painful and a source of infection etc.

Will skeleton tip fall off naturally and allow the wound to heal? Or should I take it to the vet to get the tail tip amputated?

That's really bad .... suggest you apply concentrated betadiene to the injury daily , let it dry on the tail and make sure there is not loose substrate in the tank, replace any loose substrate immediately with clean kitchen paper toweling.
Keep the injury clean.

Yes a vet should assess the injury. ( don't know without seeing close up images of the injury if surgery is necessary.

This could cause tail rot if untreated, which then spreads to the rest of the body and kills off the organs.

If you can get any raw unpasteurized honey that would be great for him/her!
Of course you'd have to hand feed all the bugs to make sure they didn't harm her/him while she/he has it on the wound.
Keep the enclosure pretty clean as well, spot clean daily, no particle substrate (shouldn't be used anyway), make sure nothing other than the honey gets on the wound.

If this doesn't work and you notice that the tail has suddenly turned dark, dried up, and basically dead looking then I'd rush him/her to a reptile specialist vet.
http://www.anapsid.org/vets/#vetlist This is a pretty good list of vets that you can find in your area.

kingofnobbys":38k7xvon said:

... suggest you apply concentrated betadiene to the injury daily ...

Yes a vet should assess the injury. ( don't know without seeing close up images of the injury if surgery is necessary.

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Thanks for the advice about the antispetic, that's a good idea.

I'll take a photo tonight & upload it but will make an appointment to take the little fella to the vet as well.

Thanks again.

I agree with the others. This needs to be watched very carfully and the main risk is infection while the wound is open. In addition to betadine you could use plain neosporin (without pain reliever) or manuka/raw(unpateurized) honey to protect the wound. If you go with honey be extra careful not to leave feeders in the tank as they will be attracted to it. It has proven to be quite good at protecting and healing wounds. If you have an experienced reptile vet in the area then a visit is a wise move at the very least to be sure everything is healing properly. If the tail heals over without infection then it shouldn't cause any long term problems.

Images below...

https://ibb.co/k6TYzR


https://ibb.co/hPf2tm

Any time that bone is exposed, whether it be a reptile, a bird, a dog, a human, doesn't matter, the chance for a horrible infection or several infections is very great, and should almost be expected. And when the injury is caused by crickets, who are dirty insects that do carry a variety of bacteria no matter where they come from or how they are kept, you can pretty much expect your dragon to develop a very bad infection in their tail that is going to turn into Tail-Rot in time without antibiotic treatment. So yes, you need to find an experienced Reptile Vet ASAP and get her on antibiotics.

I'd request a culture be done and sent-off to identify any specific bacteria that are present and out-of-the-ordinary so that the dragon can be put on the correct antibiotic immediately, but either way I highly suggest that you get the dragon to a vet now and get proper treatment, because you're going to end up spending a lot more money if you wait and don't get her on proper medication for that exposed bone, because chances are that the exposed bone is going to die and she's at risk for septic infection, and you'll end up having to have an amputation done later if you wait too long. Plus yes, exposed bone is going to be extremely painful for her and she needs at least some prescription Metacam to help with the pain, if no a narcotic like Tramadol.

Hi there, that little tip will fall right off and it may or may not become infected. You can actually take a pair of sterilized scissors and get that end piece off right now if you want, it's just dangling. Then put the raw honey on it right away, it's an excellent antimicrobial and wards off infection because it is a barrier to the bacteria. I raised many clutches of babies + there was always a baby that would get a tail nip every year, not one ever became infected. That doesn't mean that yours won't but it's more likely to not get infected if you just keep it clean now + apply the honey. You can use the betadine as well like was mentioned.

AHBD":qm38w9f5 said:

Hi there, that little tip will fall right off and it may or may not become infected. You can actually take a pair of sterilized scissors and get that end piece off right now if you want, it's just dangling. Then put the raw honey on it right away, it's an excellent antimicrobial and wards off infection because it is a barrier to the bacteria. I raised many clutches of babies + there was always a baby that would get a tail nip every year, not one ever became infected. That doesn't mean that yours won't but it's more likely to not get infected if you just keep it clean now + apply the honey. You can use the betadine as well like was mentioned.

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I respectfully disagree with you, exposed bone is nothing at all to mess around with in my experience and opinion. The OP can take this however they decide to do so, but I wouldn't feel right without restating my opinion on this one. Respectfully, of course.

It'll probably be fine but if the O.P. wants peace of mind they can go to an experienced reptile vet and hopefully find one that knows what he's looking at. It's a gamble these days.

Just wanted to say thank you for all the advice, I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

In the end I took Blizzard to our local vet, they recommended topical application of antiseptic & that the damaged tip would fall off in due course.

It has done & appears to have healed nicely and Blizzard is suffering from no after affects.

Thanks again.

There you go, that is what usually happens with a piece that's dangling. Keep an eye on it but it should be fine.