I got Eddy Labor Day 2012, and he was about a month when I got him. Ever since, he's kind of been a problem child of mine - two missing claws (one of which grew back, one still growing), slight underbite, terrible depth perception, but I love him anyway. Lately it seems like his tail's back end could possibly be rotting. He had his yearly checkup two weeks ago and the vet said he seemed really healthy, and that I shouldn't worry about the tail.
That being said, I worry easily and am worried that it might be early signs of tail rot. It's really hard to tell, but here are some things I notice:
(1) The tip has always been/seemed bent
(2) The coloring turns a shade darker halfway down the tail
(3) The scale pattern doesn't seem as 'normal' as it does at the upper parts of the tail
(4) It looks a little opaque/crustier compared to the rest of the tail
Below are pictures. I'm looking for a second opinion and any possible next steps I should take. Thank you so much!!!
Specs
Diet: crickets 60%, mealworms 10%, veggies 30% (kale, basil, bell peppers, zucchini, butternut squash, ... and others)
Habitat: 45 gallon, long Zilla 50 UVB, very fine play sand, treated grapevine branch, fake log and plant decor, 90-105 F hot, 80-90 F cool, 70-80 night
Hi there ! Eddie is a fine looking fellow, and that is definitely not tail rot. Tail rot causes the tail to pretty much shrivel up, and to turn much darker than that. With real tail rot it may also look infected, with infection that spreads aggressively and noticeably. He looks good, just a tad thin, but his legs + tail base have good thickness to them. Be sure to keep him hydrated by soaking 2-3 X a week and/or water on the snout via syringe or gentle direct stream from a spray bottle.You may find that some people will comment that you shouldn't keep beardies on sand, there are legitimate reasons, but others have success and no problems. The possible problems are breathing in the dust, getting it in the eyes, accidentally swallowing enough to cause impaction. You might add plain top soil to the sand [ from gardening center and no fertilizer added] to make it less dusty. You could also use newspaper, but be sure to have a few large rocks in the tank to keep his claws trimmed. Many people use tile as flooring, but I worry that as a beardie gets older their joints would be affected by constant bearing weight on a totally hard surface. There is also controversy about the brand of UVB bulb....they may burn the eyes and/or not produce the right wavelengths of UVA + UVB . Some of the fixtures by Zilla have a plastic shield over the bulb , so check to see if that's the case with yours. If you suspect his eye damage may have been caused by the bulb, you can switch to a Reptisun 10.0 tube. But other than that, he's a cute little guy and looks well cared for..
[This will stay in this forum until it's determined that the yellow spot is not of concern]
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His tail looks fine to me. One of my babies' tail scales are not aligned either.
When his tail appears "dark", does his tummy have a lot of stress marks as well? Because they tend to go hand in hand.
What does concern me about his tail is the yellowish spot on his right side, shown on the 5th photo. Had that always been there? Are there other spots like that on his body?
I don't think the 50 UVB Zilla did anything to his eyes - he's always been bad at judging depths. I'll be doing some research on the Reptisun bulb, thanks!
As for that yellow spot, it seems to be just his scales. However I did mention that the bottom half seems crustier, and maybe it's due to some parts not being fully shed. I picked up some betadine and aloe vera and I'm going to treat the tail for a week, starting tomorrow, and see what comes of it.