Ive noticed maybe within the last day Ducky's tip of his tail has gotten really dark. I would assume it would be part of a shed thats upcoming but it seems like there are little black spots along the side of the tail near the tip. The underneath looks fine just dark underthere at the tip as well. Hes never had an injury there or anything of the sort. Has anyone had any experience with this? Or should I get him to a vet ASAP? Im including pics as well to help....
That could be something called "Tail Rot." I thought it was just something that can happen when the skin on the tail isn't shed and tail begins to sort of rot... It doesn't look like a shed thing, so I checked all my lizzard care books. One of them, "The Bearded Dragon Manual" by Philippe de Vosjoli, Robert Mailloux, Susan Donoghue, V.M.D., Roger Klingenberg, D.V.M., and Jerry cole, said that Tail rot is when "the tail tips have darkened, which eventually spread and part of the tail was lost." It says the popular term for that situation is "tail rot." It says it's caused by 2 things. "The first is trauma, such as an injury from nipping, or from being crushed or compressed by landscape materials. The other is accumulating tail tip sheds."
The book doesn't show a picture, but I would imaging that that It would look worse that the pictures that you put up. If you think that this could be what your little guy has, the book says, "The first step should be to dip the damaged tail in a hydrogen peroxide solution as soon as it is noticed. This softens adhering shed skin, allows for it's removal, and helps nip infection in the bud, so to speak. Dipping the tail in Betadine also works against infection and prevents the spread of tail rot. If this doesn't work, consider seeing a qualified reptile veterinarian. The best weapon against tail rot is prevention: keep babies segregated and well fed, making sure there are no landscape structures that can cause trauma to the tail, and soak bearded dragons in shallow water dishes to soften adhering skin."
Like I said, the pictures don't look that bad, and I have never personally had a bearded dragon with this, but If it seems bad up close, this could be what it is. I don't think peroxide can do any harm if you wanted to try it, but if your worried about it, a vet always knows best.
It could definitely be tail rot, I would get that checked out right away. Tail rot can spread and need an amputation if it goes on too long... many dragons do have dark at the end of their tails, but usually it is not such a sharp contrast.
We think our dragon is going through a little bit of tail rot... its hard to get hold of hydrogen peroxide but will try... what kind of percentage will I need, are there any products that already has it in that will be safe to use?
One of the very best things you can use is raw honey. It has hydrogen peroxide in it and is a natural antibacterial/ antibiotic. It's actually better than hyd. perox. because the h.p loses it's effectiveness once you pull the tail out of the solution...the honey stays on and keeps working.Hydrogen peroxide can actually harm damaged tissue, honey is safe for all wounds. You can warm it up slightly [ makes it easier to work with] and apply with a Q-tip. Just be sure there are no roaming crickets in the cage that would be attracted to it. Honey works...I and others have used it with good success. If you Google raw honey,[ or medicinal honey] you can see it's use in animals AND humans. In some countries it is approved as a very effective wound dressing. All that, and good in your cup of tea, too !
Thanks I added some pictures in my post before so that you could see what its like.... is it a special kind of honey, or just normal honey you could buy at the supermarket and put on toast..??
It's raw honey, unpasteurized. That means it's not been processed with high heat, if heated to a high temp, it ruins the healing properties.Some grocery stores usually have it, but a health food store will also carry it. And yes, you can use it on your toast. YUM!
Minipumpkin, your dragon's tail looks fine ! Some get a little darker at times....just watch for trauma. I don't see any trauma on your dragon's tail. But the original poster has pics of their dragon's tail that has a little unshed skin. Another thread has pics of tail damage, but these 2 don't.
I don't think it's RAW honey,raw is what you want...all honey is pure but not all honey is raw or unpasteurized, it has to say it on the label. By the way....since this is someone else's thread [ please excuse me to you O.P.] I hope they don't mind our posting, if so we you could p.m. me for further questions.