SirBeardie
Member
So, like many of us, I'm isolated at home. My beardie usually lives in his 105 gallon tank at my office, but as I'm cooped up in my apartment, he's cooped up in his 40 gallon "weekend cottage" on my desk. This isn't a big deal in itself, since he gets plenty of time out and about, except for the fact that the tank has one of those piano-hinged mesh lids. A couple of days ago I was taking him out to feed him when, unexpectedly, the lid came slamming down and sliced about halfway through the end of his tail, maybe 2-3cm from the very tip.
Putting aside how sickened I was with myself that I could let this happen to my beloved pet, I determined that the tail tip was still somewhat connected and immediately washed the injury with antibacterial soap, daubed it with triple antibiotic ointment, and attempted to bandage/splint the tail with gauze and medical tape in the hope that with enough time the torn flesh will knit itself back together.
At first he seemed completely unfazed about what had happened. He promptly gobbled down his lunch and spent time out of the tank exploring and playing. The next day I removed the first bandage and repeated the wash/ointment/bandage cycle. Again, he seemed fine as he chased his feeders around on the floor and spent some time glass surfing on the sliding door to my balcony.
Immediately after I placed him back in his viv, however, he vanished into his hide, stuffed up the entrance with paper towels, and hasn't come back out. Now, he does this very often when he doesn't get his way (ie, put back in the tank when he wasn't done exploring the living room or basking on the windowsill or whatever), so in any other circumstances I wouldn't be worried. But I noticed he pulled off his bandage and kicked it out through the hide entrance, and so for the last two days I've done my best to just get in there and apply ointment to the tail break by feel.
I know that the odds favor him losing the severed portion of the tail, and for my own part I'm prepared to accept that. I am vigilant for signs of infection but I'm not overly worried about it in this case, given the attention I'm paying to keeping the wound clean. I'm just curious to know if anyone else has even seen something similar and managed to get their dragon through it with all parts intact. I'll follow up with another post shortly including some photos.
Putting aside how sickened I was with myself that I could let this happen to my beloved pet, I determined that the tail tip was still somewhat connected and immediately washed the injury with antibacterial soap, daubed it with triple antibiotic ointment, and attempted to bandage/splint the tail with gauze and medical tape in the hope that with enough time the torn flesh will knit itself back together.
At first he seemed completely unfazed about what had happened. He promptly gobbled down his lunch and spent time out of the tank exploring and playing. The next day I removed the first bandage and repeated the wash/ointment/bandage cycle. Again, he seemed fine as he chased his feeders around on the floor and spent some time glass surfing on the sliding door to my balcony.
Immediately after I placed him back in his viv, however, he vanished into his hide, stuffed up the entrance with paper towels, and hasn't come back out. Now, he does this very often when he doesn't get his way (ie, put back in the tank when he wasn't done exploring the living room or basking on the windowsill or whatever), so in any other circumstances I wouldn't be worried. But I noticed he pulled off his bandage and kicked it out through the hide entrance, and so for the last two days I've done my best to just get in there and apply ointment to the tail break by feel.
I know that the odds favor him losing the severed portion of the tail, and for my own part I'm prepared to accept that. I am vigilant for signs of infection but I'm not overly worried about it in this case, given the attention I'm paying to keeping the wound clean. I'm just curious to know if anyone else has even seen something similar and managed to get their dragon through it with all parts intact. I'll follow up with another post shortly including some photos.