Tail-rot after having been bitten sometime ago?

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phobosdthorga

Juvie Member
Hello all! After posting about his tail in the first post here initially: https://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=237452

The reply was to just keep a close-eye on his tail and monitor the situation. Well, his tail has gone from this when I initially got Iggy 6 days ago:

full


To now just this morning (there is some sand on and between his scales above the bite, I gave him a squirt with the water bottle for a few minutes):

full


Is this a sign of tail-rot? I hope not because I don't want my proud Dragon to lose any of his tail :( But the answer I originally received was that his tail-tip was likely bitten some months/weeks ago as he was growing up in the pet-shop, by a fellow hatchling. If you want more details on Iggy himself then you can find that here: https://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=237464
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
It still looks O.K, not infected but best to keep him on newspaper or non adhesive shelf liner. The sand can cause some problems there if it has even a slight open wound anywhere and it can make it hard for you to see exactly what the tail looks like at that spot.
 

phobosdthorga

Juvie Member
Original Poster
AHBD":1atngua9 said:
It still looks O.K, not infected but best to keep him on newspaper or non adhesive shelf liner. The sand can cause some problems there if it has even a slight open wound anywhere and it can make it hard for you to see exactly what the tail looks like at that spot.

Thank you for the quick response and following advice. Newspaper would just be far too much maintenance for me, sorry :( I am planning on getting him some playsand from Bunnings next week for the following few weeks as an interim substrate, or if the tiles are cheaply available, those instead. My budget has been kind of overloaded since getting Iggy and I kind of assumed getting all the equipment I have now would do the job for a while; how wrong was I x_x I really should have done more research beforehand.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
phobosdthorga":3mz1p0xa said:
AHBD":3mz1p0xa said:
It still looks O.K, not infected but best to keep him on newspaper or non adhesive shelf liner. The sand can cause some problems there if it has even a slight open wound anywhere and it can make it hard for you to see exactly what the tail looks like at that spot.

Thank you for the quick response and following advice. Newspaper would just be far too much maintenance for me, sorry :( I am planning on getting him some playsand from Bunnings next week for the following few weeks as an interim substrate, or if the tiles are cheaply available, those instead. My budget has been kind of overloaded since getting Iggy and I kind of assumed getting all the equipment I have now would do the job for a while; how wrong was I x_x I really should have done more research beforehand.

Secondhand wall and floor tiles are fine to use and lots cheaper.
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
Seriously, sand harbors tons of bacteria, fungi, and parasites, and as this is NEVER good, your beardie has an open wound on his tail. If you're worried about tail rot then you absolutely need to keep him on tiles, shelf-liner, newspapers, or paper towels, because you are almost guaranteeing that the end of his tail will become infected if you put him on any type of loose substrate! And once the infection sets in he'll need antibiotics to stop it and the infected portion amputated. You can easily prevent this by using only a solid substrate...

And how are paper towels or newspapers too much work for you? All you do is throw away one when it gets soiled and put down a new one, lol. If you use sand it's a hell of a lot more work because it gets soaked every time they poop on it, all the fluid leaks down into the sand and you have to scoop it all out every single time that happens. And it happens with food too. Showing a photo where the wounded part of his tail that you're worried about becoming infected is completely covered with sand seems counterproductive...
 

phobosdthorga

Juvie Member
Original Poster
EllenD":1dh3wkap said:
Seriously, sand harbors tons of bacteria, fungi, and parasites, and as this is NEVER good, your beardie has an open wound on his tail. If you're worried about tail rot then you absolutely need to keep him on tiles, shelf-liner, newspapers, or paper towels, because you are almost guaranteeing that the end of his tail will become infected if you put him on any type of loose substrate! And once the infection sets in he'll need antibiotics to stop it and the infected portion amputated. You can easily prevent this by using only a solid substrate...

And how are paper towels or newspapers too much work for you? All you do is throw away one when it gets soiled and put down a new one, lol. If you use sand it's a hell of a lot more work because it gets soaked every time they poop on it, all the fluid leaks down into the sand and you have to scoop it all out every single time that happens. And it happens with food too. Showing a photo where the wounded part of his tail that you're worried about becoming infected is completely covered with sand seems counterproductive...

I guess tiles are the top priority then for me, and I'll see if I can acquire any this weekend. If not, I'll just use newspaper. Thank you though for explaining this to me, clearly :)
 

phobosdthorga

Juvie Member
Original Poster
I'm going to have to get a heat-reflector first because right now, he has partially buried himself whilst asleep due to how cold it gets here at night:

95175-9921568860.jpg
 

phobosdthorga

Juvie Member
Original Poster
So it's been a few weeks and I'm still quite concerned about Iggy's tail with how it continues to thin, as you can see below.

95175-1157463934.jpg

95175-5686496603.jpg

Am I continuing to be overly worried or should some kind of action be taken? I did pickup some F10 Germicidal Barrier Ointment the other week, as an insurance policy against possible health issues that may arise with Iggy in the future. I'm also considering taking Iggy to the vet this Thursday for a general health checkup and especially so if there are major concerns with his tail. I've been planning on doing that for a while now but there have been other, much higher priorities.

I'd appreciate any and all replies to this, thank you, as I really don't want my poor Dragon to lose his tail :(

EDIT: For those that are curious, the link below [ 1 ] are his current living conditions. I'm also awaiting for the delivery of much awaited ceramic tiles that should come tomorrow, hopefully, otherwise I'm going to be quite angry with the company I purchased them from.

[ 1 ] - https://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=237464
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
If it keeps constricting, the end may fall off. As long as the end remains closed and healed over, that should be the end of it and no further issue. Having the F10 ointment on hand is good. If you see the end showing raw skin or open wound, apply the ointment until it heals over. A vet visit may not be necessary unless you see darkening or shriveled skin moving up the tail which may indicate infection which would need to be addressed quickly to prevent spread. Tail nips (and finger, toe nips) are unfortunately pretty common with these guys and for the most part they are able to bounce back from it and move on without an issue.
 

phobosdthorga

Juvie Member
Original Poster
CooperDragon":2l241rpy said:
If it keeps constricting, the end may fall off. As long as the end remains closed and healed over, that should be the end of it and no further issue. Having the F10 ointment on hand is good. If you see the end showing raw skin or open wound, apply the ointment until it heals over. A vet visit may not be necessary unless you see darkening or shriveled skin moving up the tail which may indicate infection which would need to be addressed quickly to prevent spread. Tail nips (and finger, toe nips) are unfortunately pretty common with these guys and for the most part they are able to bounce back from it and move on without an issue.

Thank you, I will keep that in mind and will do as such if required :)
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
I'd be more worried about the amount of sand that's getting onto his food dish and being ingested stuck to his food - this is a ticking time bomb despite the claims made by some who should know better at another beardie board.

Make sure to keep the F10 Ointment in the fridge.

Other things that are handy to have on hand are :
a 14G drawing up needle or two
a 1ml , 5ml and 10ml plastic syringes
a bottle of Betadiene (in a few plastic surgical vials)
a tube of Activon (Manuka honey)
a bottle of sterile saline or distilled water.
 

phobosdthorga

Juvie Member
Original Poster
kingofnobbys":12rkajlw said:
I'd be more worried about the amount of sand that's getting onto his food dish and being ingested stuck to his food - this is a ticking time bomb despite the claims made by some who should know better at another beardie board.

Make sure to keep the F10 Ointment in the fridge.

Other things that are handy to have on hand are :
a 14G drawing up needle or two
a 1ml , 5ml and 10ml plastic syringes
a bottle of Betadiene (in a few plastic surgical vials)
a tube of Activon (Manuka honey)
a bottle of sterile saline or distilled water.

kingofnobby's, for the latest updates on his living conditions, please see here: https://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=237464

I was rid of that awful calci-sand very early on after noticing it being present in his feces so yes, you are very much right, it is a ticking time bomb but I no longer use that substrate :) I also only used it because that's what the pet store recommended and sold with my vivarium kit >_< I currently used shredded paper and did plan on switching over to ceramic tiles today, so we did a massive clean of Iggy's home and the moment came to insert the tiles, but they were a tad too large! I was so upset, as Iggy has to continue living with shredded paper for a while longer even though I am trying to do everything possible with regards to removing both dangerous and possibly dangerous substrates. Presently, with the shredded paper, I do a total clean of his vivarium every two to three weeks or so and completely replace the shredded paper that is in there. You did mention about having problems with other individuals at a certain Aussie Beardie board early on, and I've definitely been avoiding said forum because I very much trust you far more with regard to this advice :)

It looks like I'll have to make up a first-aid kit of sorts :) I already have the Betadine which I use myself, being prone to infections and such due to having to take immunosuppressive medication. I'll get the rest in the coming weeks though, as my budget allows. Right now, Iggy seems to be quite healthy but I know with the grace of karma, that will never be the case always. Thank you, too :)
 

phobosdthorga

Juvie Member
Original Poster
So Iggy's tail has been slowly getting worse over time and I'm continuing to get all the more concerned about it. Could someone just please verify, once again, that everything is still okay with regards to his tailtip?

95175-1734294850.jpg

If you want the latest updates on his living conditions then please check the forum thread I linked just above in a previous reply to this.

EDIT: That pocket knife just happened to be in the picture. Nothing 'savage' happened between it and Iggy :<
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Right now it just looks like the tip is going to fall off, it doesn't look worse. Just keep an eye on it.
 
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