Necrotic Toe - Beardie baby!

[DemiDoll]

So, one of the little beardies at my work (PetSmart) had her toe bitten off. Now, it seems like the entire foot is getting infected (necrosis?). I'm a little worried about her, particularly because my manager has said no to putting her in the isolation sick room simply because she doesn't know if there's anything much we can do.

I'm concerned about the infection spreading to the rest of the beardie.
I'm considering taking the little girl home with me, but I'd like to know how much it would cost me to care for her back foot. I won't have any extra cash to take her in until July, once I pay off a stupid speeding ticket.

Any suggestions that we could take care of in the store?
And any idea how much it would cost to go to a vet with the little girl?

PS- I intend on going over to visit the beardies. I'll come back with a picture.

 

[ShannyBeard]

You need to call a vet and ask how much the office visit costs. It varies too much for any of us to guess, but I would say between $75-$150. That is just a guess and it could be even less.

There is something you can do for that foot. You can get betadine solution from a drugstore (it is over the counter in an aisle, probably a wound care or bandage aisle). You can dilute the betadine solution down so that it looks like weak tea. The color of weak tea. Just leave a very shallow amount of that liquid in a tupperware kind of bin, just enough to cover the injured foot, and soak the beardie in it a few times a day. You can also apply a very small amount, just a dab, of triple antibiotic ointment after the soak to help keep infection away.

But - you already know this - she needs to be separated from the others so she can heal. Heat boosts their immune systems, so letting her have her own basking area and making sure she gets as much resources (food, basking area) as possible is important for her.

She could have had her foot bitten out of aggression by another beardie, or it could have been an accident. Sometimes a baby will bite another's tail or foot mistaking it for food. It does happen.

Do you think you are able to try the soaks, at the very least?

 

[DemiDoll]

Alright, so after going over there and giving it a good looksie, it's not AS bad as I originally thought. But that long middle toe DOES look pretty dark.

Also, not sure if the little one was being picked on or if she somehow got smashed in the shipment?

Might still convince the managers to isolate her and get her taken to a vet.

Here's the picture:

Although, when I was closing the other night and upon looking closely, it seemed like one of the toes was ready to fall off... just hanging by a thread.

 

[ShannyBeard]

She's probably going to lose the toe. It really doesn't look necrotic to me in the picture. I would advise to do the soaks and see how it heals. She's pretty. I hope you can take her home.

 

[DemiDoll]

Okay, thank you!
My coworker put the little one in the isolation room.

Probably won't be able to take her, at least not right now.
I don't have enough room in my house. I'd probably only care for her for a while before finding her a forever home if I did take her at all.

 

[ShannyBeard]

Do you have a vet there at PetSmart who could take a look at it if it doesn't look like it is getting better? I know sometimes they have them there. Even if they aren't good with reptiles they can tell you if it is healing or not! It's good that you realize taking her would be a hardship before you made that commitment. We have a lot of dragons and they are so much work, and expensive.

 

[DemiDoll]

Well, I've already got one... And I'm taking in one of this little one's cage mates tomorrow. Going home with two beardies at once probably isn't a good idea. I'd have to cash out and get them both bigger tanks at the same time.

And yes, we have a Banfield vet that assists us in treating our sick animals. We also have a reptile vet that travels between stores. We could easily make an appointment.

 

[ShannyBeard]

Oh, well when you have one beardie what's another, right?? LOL. I have.....TWELVE. :shock:

 

[DemiDoll]

Hahahaha. Twelve. Holy crap. And I thought I had a lot of animals.

 

[ShannyBeard]

You do appear to have a zoo....WOW :shock:

 

[DemiDoll]

Update: so the baby will be losing two toes. Otherwise, she's now in the sick room and I intend on getting the baby some betadine and antibiotic for store use so the injury doesn't get infected. If she's still there in July (when I'll have extra money to tend to her on my own) I may adopt her into my home. But that's still a big maybe.