Tail discoloration

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brew26

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My beardie has gotten this tail discoloration after his recent tail shed. He has been darker here since I first got him, but now it seems more prominent. What could be wrong with him? Does anybody have any suggestions to take care of this at home? People are quick to say "take him to the vet" at the sign of the slightest issue, however that is not really practical for me. If it is something that is serious and does need vet attention, I am not opposed to taking him. I just don't have any exotic vets near me and I don't want to pay someone money to give me a guess that's as good as anyone else's. Thanks
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
The spot on his tail looks like retained shed. You can get a baby soft toothbrush, put him in a warm bath, and very gently try to see if it will brush off. If not, it should come off with regular soaks.

I will say that he looks quite underweight and skinny...How old is he? How long from the tip of his snout to the end of his tail is he? Could you please post some photos of his entire body, and also of his entire enclosure and lighting? What is his daily diet? What and how much do you feed him per day? What supplement powders do you use on his food, and how often? And what brand, model, and type (shape) of UVB light do you have? When was it last replaced? How far away is it from his basking spot?
 

brew26

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EllenD":1uq7nyqs said:
The spot on his tail looks like retained shed. You can get a baby soft toothbrush, put him in a warm bath, and very gently try to see if it will brush off. If not, it should come off with regular soaks.

I will say that he looks quite underweight and skinny...How old is he? How long from the tip of his snout to the end of his tail is he? Could you please post some photos of his entire body, and also of his entire enclosure and lighting? What is his daily diet? What and how much do you feed him per day? What supplement powders do you use on his food, and how often? And what brand, model, and type (shape) of UVB light do you have? When was it last replaced? How far away is it from his basking spot?

Hi there! Thanks for the reply. I have been soaking him for 15 minutes a day since yesterday, as my gut feeling was stuck shed. And I also have been applying coconut oil. He is around 3-4 months old, about 11 inches long. I feed him 20-30 phoenix worms a feeding which amounts to 40-60 a day, plus veggies like arugula, collard greens, mustard greens, etc. I don't dust his food with calcium because I read that it is unnecessary to dust phoenix worms, however if I feed him superworms or wax worms I will dust them with repti calcium with D3. I also use a multivitamin once a week. I have the reptisun 10.0 T8 mounted inside his cage, which is about two months old. I do worry about him being skinny, I feel like if I fed him more supers it would help because whenever he eats those he seems to get plumper. What do you think? Here are the photos.
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AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Cute little bugga. :) I agree he's a thin but not terribly. Can you get some crickets or dubia roaches ? Superworms are O.K in small amounts, never in large amounts , esp. for juvenile beardies.

You should still use calcium with D3 at least 1-2X a week even if he is eating the BSFL.
 

brew26

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Original Poster
AHBD":aawp1gq5 said:
Cute little bugga. :) I agree he's a thin but not terribly. Can you get some crickets or dubia roaches ? Superworms are O.K in small amounts, never in large amounts , esp. for juvenile beardies.

You should still use calcium with D3 at least 1-2X a week even if he is eating the BSFL.

Thanks! I live in florida so no dubia. I can get crickets but I struggle with keeping them alive lol. And I will make sure he gets the calcium.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
You're welcome. :) If I could make a suggestion on his tank decor, get one thick stick to prop up from the left corner to the basking log on the right. Beardies love a good climbing stick and it provides more area to move around + get close to the uvb. I collect good sticks + logs from outside [ nothing pine or sappy ] + put them in the oven at 250 for an hour to kill any potential pests, of which I've never seen any.
 

brew26

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Original Poster
AHBD":2vbz6g2g said:
You're welcome. :) If I could make a suggestion on his tank decor, get one thick stick to prop up from the left corner to the basking log on the right. Beardies love a good climbing stick and it provides more area to move around + get close to the uvb. I collect good sticks + logs from outside [ nothing pine or sappy ] + put them in the oven at 250 for an hour to kill any potential pests, of which I've never seen any.

I will try that! I definitely want to get him more decor it's just so expensive at the store and I'm not very crafty when it comes to making my own.
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
All you need to do is go outside and find an appropriately sized stick for him to bask in, then wash it well, and put it in the oven at 250 for 10-15 minutes to kill anything possibly living on it. No need to buy expensive wood from a pet shop.

I'd try some crickets too, he definitely needs to put a bit of weight on, but healthy weight, not fat. Superworms are just full of fat. The BSFL should be dusted at least once a week, I feed them too and they unfortunately eat a ton of them. The crickets will offer added protein to help him bulk up.
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
Yeah, that's definitely left over shed. It will eventually wear off, my rescue boy had never had any UVB light and his temps were far too low, and when I got him he looked so dull and just dark brown, like he was almost one solid, dark, dull color because he was stunted and as a result of not growing he wasn't shedding either. At all. So after about a month of proper UVB light and temps, and proper diet, he started to grow and shed. But it's been very tough for him to get all the shed off an area at one time, he's got retained shed everywhere. I was really concerned about his tail last month because he had shed the tip and the very top, but the middle didn't/wouldn't shed. It looked ready to go for over a month, but it just wouldn't. I gave him a short 10 minute warmer than average bath every other day (he had come to me severely impacted and with severe MBD, so he needed the warm soaks to poop too, he still does as the muscles from his lower back and below are still extremely weak) and after almost 2 months he finally shed his tail completely just last week...

His body has fully shed twice now, and his tail is starting again, so hopefully this time it will go more easily, but as long as the retained shed that is going around his entire tail diameter isn't cutting off the circulation to the rest of his tail distal to the shed, he'll be fine and it will eventually come off. Just make sure his temps are correct, and I recommend giving him short soaks in warm water every other day, for no longer than 10 minutes. I make his water the same temp as my other beardies, then add just a little bit more hot water so that the temperature is about 5 degrees warmer than usual. He seems to like this a lot, he gets very comfortable looking and perks up, probably because he poops, lol. I tend to actually bath him every day just so he has a chance to poop if need be, but you don't need to do that unless your guy really loves the bath and drinks out of it.

That yellow shed will eventually come off, just keep an eye on the rest of his tail below the yellow area, make sure it stays colorful, warm, and soft, and there are no signs of severe blackness, stiffness, etc.
 
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