Baby Beardie has broken tail!

[hollowed454]

I have no clue what happened her tail was perfectly okay earlier and now it's broken. I have never encountered this before so I have no idea what to do about it. It doesn't appear to me to have been tail nipped. She is housed with another beardie that's a little bit bigger but the other one runs around most of the time while she like to lounge. The enclosure is pretty open meaning there is nothing that she could have caught her tail on. Nothing in there is particularly high so I'm kind of stumped and there are no kind of reptile vets in this area. Any ideas what to do?

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....it looks like the other dragon has been biting that tail. It's in real danger of becoming infected, so separation is pretty much unavoidable. I know you may not believe this, but If you keep them together, he may actually be eaten. There was a poster here last year that had a divider in her tank, a very small baby got over to a dragon that was about 10 -11" long and was eaten. The bottom dragon in your picture can and will take off an arm or crush his head easily. As for treatment, soak it in watered down betadine solution that is the color of weak tea. Then apply some antibiotic cream. But you def. need another tank ASAP.

 

[hollowed454]

Hi there....it looks like the other dragon has been biting that tail. It's in real danger of becoming infected, so separation is pretty much unavoidable. I know you may not believe this, but If you keep them together, he may actually be eaten. There was a poster here last year that had a divider in her tank, a very small baby got over to a dragon that was about 10 -11" long and was eaten. The bottom dragon in your picture can and will take off an arm or crush his head easily. As for treatment, soak it in watered down betadine solution that is the color of weak tea. Then apply some antibiotic cream. But you def. need another tank ASAP.

I was hoping it wouldn't come to that. The other dragon he looks like he's really huge in that picture he's really not that much bigger than her. He's about 1" bigger. I bought them online from a breeder. The small one is a translucent leatherback and the bigger one is a poss paradox translucent.

I'm getting ready to run to the store so I'll stop by Walgreens and see if they have the betadine solution there. i was curious if I should put a small rubber band around the end of the tail to encourage it to break off on it's own and keep any infection from spreading. I don't know if it works the same for reptiles or not but I remember people doing that to cat sand dogs that broke their tails.

Amazing though in the 12+ years I've been raising bearded dragons I've never encountered this problem before

 

[Esther19]

Petco is having their dollar-a-gallon sale. 40 gal. tank=$40.

 

[hollowed454]

How often do I need to be giving her the Betadine solution and for how long does it need to be soaked? Right now a couple of times a day I put in some warm water and mix a small amount of the solution in it and soak her tail and then I cover the tail in neosporin.

 

[Lenewen]

I wouldn't recommend rubber banding the tail. Just keep the area clean. If it is severed completely, it will fall off on its own. My Water Dragon just pinched the tip of his tail recently. Took a couple weeks but the tip did fall off. We soaked it in betadine twice a day for about 5 minutes and swabbed it with neosporin 2-3x a day. He was also put on antibiotics by the vet to prevent infection so this may be something to look into.

Look, I know separation is a huge debate on this forum. Some people do house beardies successfully. I even used to do it provided they were a similar size. But I realized after a year of caring for them, there is always the 'smaller' one, the one who doesn't get access to a good basking spot or who chooses not to eat in front of the dominant one. Beardies make a hierarchy when caged together; there will always be the prince and the pauper. To prevent them from suffering any more than they have to, separation is ideal. My dragons are permitted to play together every few days because my male gets lonely. I do not let them spend the night together unless I am breeding. Otherwise, everyone has their own tank and setups, their own lights, their own food dishes, etc. It's just better that way.

 

[hollowed454]

I wouldn't recommend rubber banding the tail. Just keep the area clean. If it is severed completely, it will fall off on its own. My Water Dragon just pinched the tip of his tail recently. Took a couple weeks but the tip did fall off. We soaked it in betadine twice a day for about 5 minutes and swabbed it with neosporin 2-3x a day. He was also put on antibiotics by the vet to prevent infection so this may be something to look into.

Look, I know separation is a huge debate on this forum. Some people do house beardies successfully. I even used to do it provided they were a similar size. But I realized after a year of caring for them, there is always the 'smaller' one, the one who doesn't get access to a good basking spot or who chooses not to eat in front of the dominant one. Beardies make a hierarchy when caged together; there will always be the prince and the pauper. To prevent them from suffering any more than they have to, separation is ideal. My dragons are permitted to play together every few days because my male gets lonely. I do not let them spend the night together unless I am breeding. Otherwise, everyone has their own tank and setups, their own lights, their own food dishes, etc. It's just better that way.

Good! That's exactly what I'm doing to the T. She seems to be getting a little better. She had gotten a little sluggish for a couple of days but her energy seems to be picking back up now. Hopefully it continues.

I think whether they can or cannot be housed together is kind of hit and miss really. I got one that I can't house with another dragon. He's really friendly but doesn't like another dragon in his space. Then I have another pair that are housed together all the time with no problems. These two well unfortunately I guess I learned the hard way I can't put them together. I picked up new lights yesterday cheap off of craigslist for another enclosure and this afternoon when I get off work I'm going to pick up another 40 Gallon enclosure and all her dishes for the little one since I got paid today.I think what I'm going to do is keep them apart but just every once in awhile put them together for a couple of hours so they don't lose that similarity.

 

[Lenewen]

I think what I'm going to do is keep them apart but just every once in awhile put them together for a couple of hours so they don't lose that similarity.

I have a male and female that used to live together when they were babies before I "knew better" (the female does not eat if he is with her). I let them play together as well, the male prefers the company and she doesn't mind as long as I remove him when she gives me the "stare" :lol:

I think it's wonderful you are accomodating each of their individual needs. Hopefully the tail heals well and everything is fine 8)

 

[hollowed454]

Ok so this situation is not getting any better it's getting worse. She's been to the vet which was both a waste of time and money since there is no reptile vets in this area. The vet did nothing not even any kind of antibiotic. She is in her own enclosure but she has no desire for food. It's been nearly a week and her crickets are still just running around. She has no interest in veggies which isn't much of a surprise because of her age. She is pretty sluggish. She will just lay in one spot all day. I have to physically ut her in the basking spot and she will only move then when she is warm enough. I'm still misting her like normal and giving her baths to stay hydrated. For her substrate I'm using paper towels just so it can be cleaned out as soon a she poos which she hasn't even done that in a few days. The vet I took her too said the tail should fall off on it's own. I'm still soaking her tail in the betadine and putting antibiotic ointment on her tail but like I said no kind of signs of improvement. Any suggestions?

 

[Blinksmama]

She's likely going through relocation strees. Give her a few more days to adjust to the new surroundings. I'm thinking that maybe your other dragon was using the most ideal basking spot(s) and whatnot, so she may be used to slightly lower temperatures. Are the temperatures in the new enclosure the same as where she spent most of her time in the other tank?
Can she still see the other dragon? That could increase her stress.
I'm not sure how long you keep the crickets in her tank, but I'd be watchful, the crickets may decide that her poor tail is a snack. Since your vet was so incredibly helpfull :roll: If you think that her tail isn't healing well and is showing signs of infection, there are a couple of places online where you can purchase antibiotics, and probiotic suppliments for her and there are members here who can help with dosage amounts.
I know that when we have open wounds at some point it is best for them to be kept clean and allowed to air dry. If it's not infected, maybe her tail can be soaked in the betadine solution and left to air dry in between soakings.

I hope she's felling better soon!

Amy

Edit: If she has a hide you could take it out during the day so she has to be in the heat and UVB

 

[hollowed454]

Thanks for you reply.

The temps are about the same temperature. I have her in my bedroom. When I separated the two of them I did completely to where they don't even have a view of the other. With the exception of her I have all the others in the same room but with them I keep a barrier on the sides so none of them see each other. Typically I keep crickets in her tank for a day and if they aren't eaten I put them back in the cricket keeper and then offer them again the next to see if they are eaten. I'm not positive the tail is infected. Her tail looks a little bit worse than it does in the picture I posted. I'll take another picture when I get home this evening and post it. She doesn't have a hide. For purposes of healing I tried to keep it pretty simplistic Food and water dishes,lights and a couple things to climb around on but nothing too high so she doesn't injure her tail any further.

 

[hollowed454]

Here's a couple of pics of her tail now that were literally just taken