Beardie Won't eat after tail tip got broken

Hi all, I'm new here.... I got a baby bearded dragon for my girls (9, 7, and 3) about two months ago, so we figure it is about 4 months old. (I say it because we aren't sure yet if it's male or female, but I'll say HE for simplicity.)

He's been growing well and eating well, seems to like being handled and in general just has been doing great. Then the night before last, my 3yo grabbed the lizard from her sister who was holding him, and the older girls freaked out and scared her so by the time I ran over she was throwing the lizard back in the tank and shutting the door fast (it has a front open door) The poor thing's tail tip was caught and got sliced almost all the way through. Just hanging by a thread. After some panicked searching the advice I saw was to sterilize something sharp and remove the tip to prevent infection so that's what I did and put hydrogen peroxide on the site and held a little paper towel on it til it stopped bleeding. He seemed okay through all this but yesterday he only ate a few mealworms and wouldn't touch the crickets which he usually loves and still won't eat them today. Just stands there uninterested. Now I'm super worried and so are the girls! I should add he did shed from his legs and tail about a week ago and his head looks like it wants to shed too.... Would a bath help?? Temperatures in the tank seem to be good so I figure it must either be the stress/trauma or the shedding thing.

(Please be kind, we are new to dragon ownership but we love our pet and are doing our best with him!)

Poor guy. He is probably a bit traumatized and in some pain from the break. It's good that you sanitized the area. It's important to allow it to heal and keep it clean to prevent infection. I suggest using some plain neosporin (no pain reliever) or some manuka or unpasteruized honey on the area to help protect it and keep it from becoming infected. Once it heals over, it should be OK and not cause him any long term issues. Tail and finger/toe nips are common and not usually an issue if infection is prevented. Once he feels better I'll bet his appetite will return to normal.

Thank you, CooperDragon! This is super reassuring!! We will keep an eye on it and I will do the neosporin as suggested, but I will calm down a bit for the next day or two and hopefully all will return to normal!

Good advice from Cooper...I would just add that it would be good to not handle him [ as in the kids taking him out to hold/play with him ] for about a week so it can heal without the chance of hurting it again by accident. Also for small wounds it's better to use Betadine [ watered down to look like iced tea] than hydrogen peroxide. Peroxide kills bacteria but can also destroy/irritate tissue . Be sure that he's not on any loose substrate like sand or crushed walnut that could stick to it. Hopefully the little one will be feeling better and back to his old self ASAP.

Just wanted to update that Rexie ate a BUNCH of crickets this morning, and the shed on his head had come almost completely off by the time we checked on him! SO RELIEVED! He seems to be back to normal and doing great! Thanks for taking the time to kindly answer my question and for the reassurance!

I'm glad to hear he's back to his old self already =)

they are tough little buggers !

I guess you'll be making sure the girls understand Rexie's NOT A TOY and they need to be GENTLE with her , better still only allowed to spend time nursing and petting Rexie when mom or dad are present to supervise.

I have a 5 yr old grandson who we've taught from very young to gently pat our lizards, he's still too young to be allowed to handle them (even the big adults like Rex, George and Mildred).

Highly recommend a slider door lock to keep then girls from getting Rexie out when you aren't there. The older girls are likely OK , but your little one is dangerous to Rexie until she understands Rexie is fragile and can be hurt if she's rough with her.

something like this https://www.bunnings.com.au/whitco-white-cyl4-mini-push-lock_p4110346 could possibly to attached to each sliding glass door (maybe it could be glues to the glass if you can't attach with bolts through the glass)..