Extremely bad smelling tail

[penelepe]

Hi all!

So yesterday I bathed Queen, I rubbed down her tail to get off the water and felt an air pocket, I thought thats strange but maybe she's starting to get ready to shed, I poked it to feel where it starts and ends, when I touched it, some air must have escaped, but the most awful smell came out, I have worked at a vet, and it basically smells like rotting flesh, or seriously infected wounds. I panicked and made a hole in the air pocket to see for wounds, foreign objects or any indicator for infection. Underneath the skin with air pocket there were immature scales not ready for exposure, but its normal white, no signs of infection, no wounds, nothing. But the tail smells seriously bad. Like serious rotting flesh, but there are no indications of actual rotting.

Today it seems like the scales underneath are moving apart and I'm seeing some small amounts of pink/red flesh. In the cage she took off some of the loose skin.

I will attach pictures of the tail and the part in question. In the pictures you can see where the skin is loose, you can also see the color difference between the parts (If thats relevent)

ETA: Uhh now the skin underneath is darker and starting to become hard, down to the tip the tail is soft and squishy..? Also right now vet is not an option, no finances, and the nearest exotic vet is 2 hours away

 

[Terry15]

I have been misting my Beardie numerous times a day because of sheading. I will have to keep an eye open for that. Mystic has shead his feet, arms, beard, nose & eyes. I was hoping that he won't shead any more than that.

 

[popsickle18]

That looks terrible :shock: I'm so sorry that is happening. I wish you could take a trip to the vet because that looks nothing like a bad shed that I have ever seen. It looks skinner than the rest of her tail, almost looks like she is going to lose it, but I have never seen anything like this before.

I have experienced two tail related issues. With my first bearded dragon, he was growing and all the sudden the last 1/2 inch of his tail got very hard, dried out, and popped off. He had a little sore there and then it healed. I treated him with neosporin (without pain reliever in it). My second dragon was a rescue and was recovering from a fight with another dragon. The other dragon got a good chunk of his tail. The end bit that was still damaged dried out, got very hard, but hung on there for a while. I gave him plenty of good soaks and finally the tip popped off to reveal a hollowed out "cap" shape to the dry bit and a healthy scaled new end to his tail. I have to watch that end while he is shedding because there is still difficulty there. That is all I have experienced. I wish I could help more.

Are you sure there is no way you can get to the vet? Perhaps you can find one kind enough to call and advise you? Rotting is very scary sounding...wishing you the best.

 

[Terry15]

I would Private Message Drache613, she is very knowledgeable.

 

[penelepe]

Thanks for all the replies, it is a bit skinnier than the rest of the tail but I am not sure why, unfortunately the only vet I can go to that I wont have to pay, didn't even know how a bearded dragon looks like before I showed him, so that might be a problem. I stopped working a month ago and on my last few Rands unfortunately. I want to bath the tail in saltwater and betadine but havent for fear of damaging the new scales. I thought it was shed but quickly realized that its far from that.

 

[CooperDragon]

The tail looks like it's in rough shape unfortunately. Vet treatment would be my first choice but if you're unable to provide that I'd try to stop the spread of the infection (I'm guessing it's tail rot/infection). Your best bet for that in terms of home remedy may be manuka honey. If you pick up a jar of manuka honey (or even some raw/unpasteurized honey) you can apply it to the area to protect it. Manuka honey acts as a natural antimicrobial and has been known to help some relatively severe wounds heal. It won't be as effective if the infection is beyond the surface though. In a severe case like that, amputation may be the best option to stop the spread of the infection (but I'd leave that for a trained, experienced vet to determine).

 

[penelepe]

What worries me is how sudden it was, I handle her almost every day and I just felt the bubble yesterday. I really wish I could take her, unfortunately the vets in the city dont do credit or payment plans. I will pick up a jar of the honey tomorrow. I just hope it stops any infection, at this stage she's active and actually started eating like a champ again.

 

[popsickle18]

What does she look like overall? Is that her only issue?

 

[penelepe]

Overall she looks healthy, eating and basking, giving me attitude like you won't believe it. The tail is the only issue, but keeping a fine eye for behaviour changes

 

[popsickle18]

I'm worried about her, poor thing. Keep us informed and I wish you luck <3

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

The best options are to get the raw, unpasteurized honey to put directly onto the tail. If you aren't able to find that then you can use antibiotic ointment on the area.
Can you think of anything that could have injured the tail previously that would have caused skin retention?
You will definitely need to watch that area because infections can travel quickly & she could lose a lot of her tail or get very ill. I hope you are able to save most of her tail.
She is eating well again now? I am happy to hear she is otherwise healthy though.
If you are using loose substrate I would remove that for now & just use paper towels to keep it cleaner.
Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie

 

[penelepe]

Hi Tracie. I will get that today and put it on, antibiotic cream for animals? Or would any cream do? If I can't get honey.
I can honestly not think of anything recent in her cage, but it may be possible for one of our cats to have swat at the tail while we were outside. The tail looks about the same as yesterday, I won't take her outside for the time being for risk of the UV's damaging the tail further.
She is eating excellent, albeit her worms, last few weeks she could only eat 6, and yesterday she ate 12-13. No loose substrate, using tiles in her cage. She has a light with basking temps of 102F, no UVB, but she gets natural sunlight every day.
My vet offered to see her, but like I said, I don't trust him with a reptile just yet, full trust for dogs and cats but not exotics, he actually has a fear for reptiles.

Thank you all for your help!

 

[CooperDragon]

Plain neosporin would work. The kind without any pain relievers added. If you can't get any raw honey.

 

[DaisyDragon123]

Manuka raw honey can be found at the Vitamin Shop, maybe GNC or other health food stores local to you. Whatever you use, be sure to clean the area good before application. If it still smells your best bet will be the vet. You don't want this to go from a localized infection to a systematic one. You mentioned something about the cat may have gotten to the lizard. Cats, though known for their cleanliness, can cause serious infectiions in people and I presume animals as well (by scratches and bites).

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Let us know how things are going.
Yes, you can use polysporin or neosporin, that will work just fine. It almost looks like an old retained shed that constricted the area, but not sure. I hope you are able to get it taken care of.
Did you find the honey today?

Tracie