Nail / tail concerns

I went to give dezzy a bath because of some pretty large areas of shed that have taken their time to break, and I noticed a few concerning things.

First is the picture above. The nail is almost sideways and you can see the dark section has been pulled away from her finger. I'm unsure if it's just going to naturally fall out at this point or if this needs to be a vet visit.

The other thing I noticed is her tail is darker than normal at the last 2 inches. It's a night & day difference when it changes, not gradual. I can see a little bit of shed on the very tip but it doesn't extend up the tail. I'll add pictures as soon as I can take them later tonight.

She's been to the non-specialist vet a couple times in the past 5 months due to weight gain, but they didn't note anything negative during said visits. Speaking of weight gain: no change in activity, behavior, diet, pooping, signs of stress, etc but she suddenly went from 435g to 475g in jan/Feb and stayed there.

I'm currently trying to gauge importance of getting to the specialist for these three notes on health changes from waiting until the next Saturday appointment because I don't have PTO (1) to driving further out (2+hr) for sooner availability (7) to a UC specialist visit with a starting cost or $200 for basic assessments and services starting at $700.

Any input appreciated on the nail, tail, and weight changes.

Deabrua said:

20230511_190713.jpg

Sideways nail

www.beardeddragon.org

I went to give dezzy a bath because of some pretty large areas of shed that have taken their time to break, and I noticed a few concerning things.

First is the picture above. The nail is almost sideways and you can see the dark section has been pulled away from her finger. I'm unsure if it's just going to naturally fall out at this point or if this needs to be a vet visit.

The other thing I noticed is her tail is darker than normal at the last 2 inches. It's a night & day difference when it changes, not gradual. I can see a little bit of shed on the very tip but it doesn't extend up the tail. I'll add pictures as soon as I can take them later tonight.

She's been to the non-specialist vet a couple times in the past 5 months due to weight gain, but they didn't note anything negative during said visits. Speaking of weight gain: no change in activity, behavior, diet, pooping, signs of stress, etc but she suddenly went from 435g to 475g in jan/Feb and stayed there.

I'm currently trying to gauge importance of getting to the specialist for these three notes on health changes from waiting until the next Saturday appointment because I don't have PTO (1) to driving further out (2+hr) for sooner availability (7) to a UC specialist visit with a starting cost or $200 for basic assessments and services starting at $700.

Any input appreciated on the nail, tail, and weight changes.

Click to expand...

Referring to ahbd
@AHBD

Added tail picture.

A bent or broken nail is usually a non issue, it comes with being a somewhat heavy bodied species of lizard that is also active climbing + jumping. Not much can be done for it anyway. The weight gain might just be normal for her age but if you could have a vet feel for any abnormal lumps. Hopefully Dezzy can be seen by a vet that is familiar with and treated beardies on a regular basis. The tail may or may not be a problem, lots of beardies have very dark tail ends so that in itself is not anything to worry about. As long as the tip is not infected it should be O.K.

A dark tail is extremely abnormal for her, but unfortunately most of my pictures of her exclude her tail so I cant show for reference. I will see if I can find any.

She has seen a non-specialist vet with some bearded dragon experience for the weight who did not notated anything wrong with her, including feeling around her belly.

Noteworthy that another bearded dragon was brought home roughly 4 weeks ago, though he's about 8yo and passed vet check.

edit: most recent pic of tail. No date, could be anywhere from March 25 to May 4.

Yes they can turn from light to dark and back again.

Having taken care of her daily for almost 5 years, I can vouch for this not being her normal darkened colors. Especially with it being focused to just the last 2 inches of her tail

Then hopefully the vet will spot any problem if there is one.

Udpate: got a referral to a closer reptile specialist. Down the road from me with an appointment tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

Hope all goes well !

Update: They stated the only issue with her is that she needs more calcium intake for reasons unrelated to the tail or nail. Looking good otherwise including her weight, even though she appears pudgy.