Should we be concerned? Tail rot?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Tink95

Member
So my mom had a bearded dragon that has been kinda neglected for the last year or two. She fed him enough to keep him healthy but never visited him or anything besides giving crickets every 2 weeks. Fortunately, she was much better when he was a baby so he doesn't have mbd. I recently moved in for a short bit while going to school in the area and immediately felt sorry for him and have since semi-adopted him myself. I'm getting him used to humans again and giving him a balanced diet and clean habitat. For as long as I can remember, he hasn't had a full tail. I recently learned this means the tip rotted off. Mom had no idea. I thought it was just a sad thing that happened, but then I was seeing people online talking about stopping it from spreading. Does he need to go to a vet? I don't think the black spot has ever gotten worse (but am planning on taking pics to monitor it). I got betadine for the at-home remedy but was reading that it's better the sooner you notice. Do I need to be worried about my beardie? All things considered, he seems fine, and like I said I don't think it's spreading. I'm pretty sure it's been this way for at least a year. I think I'll have a hard time convincing my mom to pay for a vet visit for him, and I can barely afford it, so I want to be sure it's absolutely necessary before doing so. What do you guys think?
109826-5634795423.jpg
109826-2078594822.jpg
109826-7999572516.jpg
109826-1772069326.jpg
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

The tail looks very normal to me. It isn't infected & since it is all healed up it & has been this
way for quite awhile there isn't any threat of infection.
Sometimes the end of the tail gets pinched or retained shed causes problems also. Or if he
had previously been housed with another dragon that bit the end of the tail, that will cause an
infection. It looks like it has healed up nicely though!
So you are caring for him now?

Tracie
 

Tink95

Member
Original Poster
Thanks! That's a relief. And yes, when I move out he is coming with me. His tank is large but just had a few blocks of wood. I've reconstructed it and added a log for rubbing- his pores were clogged but we got that taken care of a few days ago and they look good now. I'm attaching pictures since any feedback about his tank set up is nice. I've spent hours researching on the internet and watching videos. The problem is I'm a broke grad student, so most of his tank is stuff I had around the house. He's getting lots of different veggies now and loving it. Before my mom was putting in collard greens on the week he didn't get crickets and he hated them so he didn't eat them. He was pooping like once a month- if that. Now we've tried all kinds of greens but the ones I can trick him into eating are mustard greens and dandelion greens (though dandelion greens are pricey). He loves small bell peppers (like the red and orange sweet ones) and butternut squash. I've also started giving hornworms when I have some extra funds. I just ordered some dubia roaches but I'm squeamish so I don't know how that will go.
My desk is right next to his tank so that's how we started bonding. I began looking up things about beardies and learned he was not having all his needs met. It took me about a month to work up the nerve to touch him and then another week to be able to hold him. I have been bitten since he did not want to go outside and got stressed. But now I hold him all the time without fear and learned how to read him better. He still acts like I stress him out sometimes though- closing both eyes and huffing. Though sometimes he opens his mouth when he's laying on my stomach and I know people say it's a sign of aggression but he seems kinda content when he does it in that context. He'll lick a bit when he does it too.
I wrapped his tank in paper since he was glass surfing a lot after being held and I thought he may have been wanting a hide. He hasn't surfed since. The house here is cold so he has both his lights and then a heating bulb but at night I just keep the heating bulb on. He was getting the red light at night but I'd read those weren't good.
I will admit I've gotten a bit obsessed with him but there's no one else to talk about it with since everyone else in the family thinks he's gross, or his diet is gross, or unclogging his pores is gross, etc. It makes me wish I knew more pro-reptile people.
For Christmas, I'm asking for a real background for him since I was reading that they don't like their reflection and the paper around his tank doesn't limit that.
Sometimes I wonder if he would be happier if I just left him alone like my mom had been, since socializing him is slow going. :/ But I'll admit I'd be sad if I couldn't interact with him.
Here's a pic of him today
109826-8925181776.jpg
And here's the cage as I've set it up. As I said, feedback on it is welcome since I'm new to this. (Ignore the crickets, it was feeding time but I'll remove the excess before bed. Some people said to feed outside the tank but he gets stressed in the tub and refuses to eat) Oh and it's hard to see cos the lamp on the right is hiding it, but there's a thermometer with a humidity checker thing on the cool side and the hot side of the tank.
109826-8590416838.jpg
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there, that was so nice of you to decide to take care of him, he's in a good home now.. :) I agree that his tail healed perfectly and is no cause for concern. And his body condition looks O.K, he's not super thin and not obese , which would also be a problem. One thing I don't see in the picture that you will need more than anything is a long tube uvb bulb like Reptisun 10.0 t5. That will give him the proper amount of uvb. It looks like you have one of the compact uvb's , they just don't produce enough uvb. Don't handle him TOO much, just once a day briefly. Keep up the good work and feel free to post in any of the sub forums here, there's beardie tails, a feeding sub, off topic, photo expressions, etc.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

How are things going with your setup now?
Technically, we normally recommend the UVB tube bulb to only stretch about 2/3rds of the
length of the tank, so your dragon can easily get out of the UVB area if needed.
I hope he is doing well! Keep us posted on him.

Tracie
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Staff online

Members online

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,903
Messages
1,255,708
Members
75,967
Latest member
Newbeardiemom09
Top Bottom