Need Help!

[CheyenneD]

I have had beardies in the past. I just rescued Eragon. I'm pretty sure he has tail rot from an incomplete shed. None of mine previously ever had this.

I don't know how to upload pictures here yet. Can I send them to someone to be looked at and tell me if they think betadine/water & Neosporin will help or if it needs to be amputated.

 

[VenusAndSaturn]

Depends on how bad it is, someone else will probably be able to fully tell you if it needs a vets help or if you can easily do it with something else and have it just fall off on its own.

https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/
Go here, upload a picture, then when you go to reply hit the XIMG tab near the top of the post a reply box. You should be able to select it.

Could you give some info on his diet, age, setup as well? Pictures would help for the setup portion. And make sure to give info on his lights.

 

[CheyenneD]

He's about 5 years old. They didn't have the correct lighting and I'm not sure how long he'd been without them. His setup at my house for the last 24 hours is a 75 gallon aquarium, 100 watt basking light, 100 watt night light, repti glo 10.0, felt green bottom with a section of dessert mat. A tree, 2 logs, a stone. He is eating crickets, super worms, fruits, and vegetables. His appetite seems fine. He's active and seems to not be in any distress.

 

[CheyenneD]

 

[EllenD]

Yes, that's definitely a bad case of "Tail Rot", and if it was my Dragon I would not even try to mess around with any topical treatments for it, definitely not multiple antibiotics or anything of the sort, as once it gets that bad it's very hard to stop, and he could become septic at any time...

You can try buying a bottle of raw, unpasteurized honey (not just regular honey, won't work) at a health food store or even Walmart and most grocery stores sell it now, and dab it all over the end of the tail, up to above the line of infection/necrosis once a day, it may help to slow the spread of it down, but I doubt even that will stop it/cure it. I highly suggest finding a Reptile Specialist to have a simple amputation done, it's really not a huge deal, they'll do it about a half inch or so above the line of necrosis, and then they should also apply topical antibiotics. But Betadine and Neosporin will not do a thing for that at the point it's gotten to.

 

[CheyenneD]

That's what I figured. Thank you!

 

[EllenD]

He looks very healthy and well taken care of otherwise, this happens for a number of different reasons, and it is pretty common unfortunately, so don't feel badly, and don't worry too much, as long as you get it taken care of he'll be just fine. It's not that far up the tail yet, so that's good, and the amputation should be easy for him to get through and recover from, as long as you have a good, experienced Reptile Vet.

I don't usually like recommending amputation before trying other options (the raw, unpasteurized honey is your best bet, not any of the other topical, medical treatments, they don't work for this at all), but that's a pretty obvious case of a spreading infection causing necrosis all along it's path, so it's just better to get it taken care of ASAP rather than screwing around with topical treatments that probably won't help much at all.

 

[CheyenneD]

Does anyone know of a good vet for him in the Louisville Kentucky area that takes Care Credit? My dog vet doesn't see BD's.

 

[EllenD]

Let me make a phone call quickly for you; I have worked at a Certified Reptile Rescue for years and we have a really good network of Reptile Rescues all over the country, I'll call the closest Rescue to you and see who they use as their Reptile Vet. Give me a few...

 

[CheyenneD]

Thanks Ellen

 

[EllenD]

Okay, so there is a Rescue in Huntingdon, KY that goes to the Guardian Animal Center in Flatwoods, KY which the woman said isn't too far from Louisville. She said they accept Care Credit but you have to set that up with them over the phone when you call and make the appointment. She said it's definitely worth the drive because they actually go over husbandry and do routine habitat instruction for new reptile owners, so that actually sounds pretty promising.

She also said that there is a large Animal Hospital in Louisville called Jefferson Animal Hospital that used to see Reptiles, she mentioned a Dr. Pam Williams by name, and they take Care Credit, but she wasn't sure if they were still treating animals other than Dogs and Cats, as the local Reptile Rescues and Breeders stopped using them for some reason, they all go to the Guardian Animal Center in Flatwoords, KY now...

As a third option, she highly recommended the Shively Animal Hospital in Shively, KY, and a Dr. Mary Fuchs, who is their Reptile Specialist and owns Reptiles herself, she apparently knows her stuff, but she wasn't sure about the Care Credit, you'd have to call them and ask them. She seemed to really highly regard this particular Vet.

 

[EllenD]

Oh, she did say that all 3 of these places have complete Surgical Suites and should have no problem doing a tail amputation.

 

[CheyenneD]

Ok thank you

 

[EllenD]

Yep, keep us posted on how he's doing and how the vet appointment goes...Good luck!

 

[CheyenneD]

Took him to Stonybrook Vet Hospital. They were fantastic. They don't think it's normal tail rot. It's either a parasite or he wacked his tail on something in his cage. The x-rays show damage to the cartridge and it happened from the side, not from above like something falling on him. She gave him anti-inflammatory shot and she's going to check his poo. She thankfully is going to try to save it if possible.