Tail Rot, Dislocated Tail, Infected Vent?

Hi,

Our Bearded Dragon "Dragon" is only a few months old. We got him for our 3 year old almost 2 months ago. He is obsessed, carrying him around everywhere (issue there with humidity/heat?). About a week ago our Nanny told us our Son was playing rough with it and it was cut. It had a very small cut, <1mm that has healed, we think maybe it was a scratch. However after that, now:
- the tail now looks like it has tail rot on the last 1", dry bony dark section
- holes in its tail (which at first I thought were cricket bites I've seen on the forum)
- I'm not sure if I'm imagining but the tail looks like it's dislocated where the tail meets the body
- slight blood but mostly a clear liquid coming from the vent. Not an expert on lizard smells but it reminds me of infection.

Other than the above Dragon is acting and eating as normal. Can we manage this through getting the tail humidity, treating the holes/vent with organic honey (Seen on this forum), etc., anything else you'd recommend?

Or do we need to take it in, how critical do you think this is, etc.

Thanks in advance. Pictures attached (hopefully).

Regards,
Darren

Hi Darren,

Poor fella. That really is out of the scope of home care at this point. That looks like more than rough play to me. Do you have a cat too? It looks like a cat attack or another animal attack to be honest.

He really should see a vet. Has he black bearded at all?

I'd really recommend not letting your son hold him unattended anymore. At least not until your son is a bit older and knows about being gentle with small creatures. Hopefully it wasnt just more rough play with your son, but fact of the matter is the dragon is/was badly hurt. The most important thing right now is getting the dragon back into good health and staying safe.

-Brandon

If ever a reptile needed rescuing , it's this one .

Urgent vet attention is needed .
I'd say very likely has a broken spine in the tail , and internal injuries ( a bloody vent is a very bad sign ). Did the kid hit the dragon with toy ? or stomp on it ?

This child needs to learn the pet lizard IS NOT A TOY.

Keep the dragon away from the child , who should never be allowed to do more than look at it. Child has to earn the right to handle it / interact with it physically.
If the dragon survives this attack , a lock on the enclosure to stop child from getting the dragon out of the tank when you are not there to hold it for the child.

I'd be sacking the nanny too , not supervising the child properly. Nanny is responsible for this.

Sorry but a 3 yr old should not be handling a baby dragon especially w/ no supervision --- the dragon needs to go to the vet ---- please be responsible and take it to the vet
Karrie

Wow a 3 year old? Poor dragon. I was very cautious when allowing my son to handle our dragon when he was a baby, our dragon is much bigger now so I don’t keep quite as close of an eye on things when my son handles him, but still am watching always. MY SON IS 11. I would never even think of allowing a 3 yr old to handle a dragon unless it was for a very short amount of time and I was right next to them the entire time.
Babies and animals do not mix. Please take this poor dragon to a vet, if he survives please do not allow the 3 yr old to handle him again.

Hi Darren, that's a lot of damage done but it's amazing the dragon is still eating, so that's a little bit of positive in the situation. The brittle part 100% needs amputated and you can only hope that the other wounds will heal with honey, silver cream + probably antibiotics. Do you have a good reptile vet to go to, with experience ? Your little dragon needs one ASAP, the tail end must go and the other wounds be treated. Even then if the other areas become infected the rest of the tail may need amped. BTW, is there a cat in the house ? As the other posters mentioned, best not to let your son hold him anymore at all, he's not understanding that he's hurt the dragon pretty badly. If you need help finding a reptile vet, give your general location , or see if one of the other posters here can direct you . There is a reptile vet directory that you can look to if someone posts it.

Thank you all for the feedback - criticisms are fair. Except on the Nanny, this is 100% our fault as she was operating as we do. No cat in the house. There are 3 dogs, but are kept separate. If they were part of the interaction that led to the injury, I would think the Nanny would have mentioned, but I'll ask to be sure.

My wife found a vet that has experiences in reptiles, but if anyone has any recommendations in the Knoxville, TN area I'd appreciate it.

What would a dark beard imply? I don't think it has been darker than normal.

Good that you found a vet and hopefully someone here will have a recommendation if you need it. A dark beard in a younger dragon can mean stress or pain. Not to be mistaken wth a young adult /adult male in breeding mode that may often have a black beard during mating season.

Check this website for a vet near you
www.https://arav.org/
Karrie

Hi there,

I'm glad you have a vet nearby. Luckily dragons are tough creatures and can come back from things like these.

It's possible the dogs could have got ahold of him. It almost looks as if there are puncture wounds which would be from teeth or claws most likely. And like mentioned, a black beard would be a potential sign that the dragon is in a lot of pain.

How has he been acting today? Any appetite or energy?

Please do keep us updated on the status and how he is doing. We are all rooting for the little guy

-Brandon

Hi All,

An update on Dragon. My wife took him into the Vet who my Wife said seemed very knowledgeable about Bearded Dragons:

- X-ray was done
- no break in the tail
- no internal bleeding
- infection in/around the vent. This infection is likely the cause of the holes in the tail as well
- tail may or may not have to be amputated, but it is not a done deal (good news). All of the tail might recover. How much of the tail is at risk will depend on how the infection recovers.
- Other than the infection the Vet thought she looked alright, responsiveness, appearance etc.
- Dragon got an antibiotic and anti inflammatory shot, and will go back on Saturday for another, and maybe more down the line.
- Daily hot baths with an orange (don't know the name) disinfectant
- recommended feeding Dragon more calcium, beta carotene, vitamin A

We're looking at moving her cage to somewhere less drafty and with more natural light. My wife is also getting an extra heat lamp to make the cage a bit hotter.

Other than that our Son won't be allowed to hold her unsupervised, and nobody holding her much at all until she recovers.

If you all have any more suggestions or thoughts I'd appreciate it.

Thanks,
Darren

Is her beard back to normal color or is it still black? Can you go over the set up of the husbandry - natural light is good but he is going to need good lighting in the tank that is why I asked about the husbandry ---------------and I am so glad hes going to be ok --- thank goodness --- if you can post pics of the tank and lighting that would be great --- you will have to use the image uploader again to down load new pics - thanks
Karrie

Good to hear that there are no breaks. Still, the tail should have been snipped off right above where the brittle part ends. It would be pretty much painless to do and could save the rest of the tail. The vet should know + have done that. That part will never recover, 100% no doubt but it MAY fall off on it's own. Still, snipping it off would have insured that the rot does not travel upwards so this is a gamble. Hopefully things will turn out for the best and yes, your little dragon is a trooper.
The orange stuff is probably like betadine or iodine solution to be mixed with water. Soak for about 10 minutes in lukewarm-warm water not hot.

I'm surprised about no broken bones ( but hatchling bones are very flexible and plastic , dodged a bullet there) , no internal injuries ( pretty hard to assess from an external examination …. keep an eye on the hatchling JIC ) , the infection in the vent is very serious .


Handling - only to bath and maybe continue MUM bonding . I imagine the little hatchling is a likely scared of the child, they remember who hurts them ( but will eventually learn to trust the hurter with time if they are gentle and careful with them ).

Keeping hatchling warm overnight using a CHE in the tank is good idea, this will do the following things :
> boost the dragon's metabolic rate 24 hours per day
> boost it's immune system 24 hours per day
> accelerate healing of injured soft tissues..

Hello,

Wow, all things considered, the vet assessment is surprising. I agree though, that the
youngsters are more flexible so he is lucky there that nothing was broken.
I hope that the tail wont all be lost & will heal up well. Do you know which antibiotic he
was given, by chance, just wondering?
The vent infection definitely needs to clear up, as that cannot feel good at all.
Which type/brand of UVB lighting are you using?

Please keep us posted on his progress.
Tracie