Tail rot? Or just a paranoid owner?

[alb0w]

Hi. I have a two-year-old male beardie named Peapod. He is currently fighting some nasty pinworm and I noticed the tip of his tail is a little darker than normal. This could be from stress, but I tend to get very anxious about anything being potentially wrong with one of my sweet beardie babies. I tried washing his tail off a bit with warm water to see if the color would change, to no avail. His tank is very clean and he is still active (he is happily running around the living room as I write this). Here are some pictures. Any thoughts/advice would be so incredibly appreciated! (He is a little on the thin side as he has barely been eating because of pinworm )

 

[KarrieRee]

Hes not housed w/ other dragons is he? It looks like shed -- it does look like a little dry and brittle on the end - but I need AHBD to take a look - she is better at it than I am -- w/ him not eating you need to keep him hydrated and I would try and get him to eat some greens made into a slurry and fed off a spoon if not I would syringe feed him like 1-2 MLs/ day -- he needs to keep his weight up- what does he weigh now? You can weigh him on a kitchen food scale and weigh in grams-- do you know if hes losing weight?
Karrie

 

[alb0w]

He is housed alone! He's a feisty one so I wouldn't trust him with housemate lol. I was going through old pics of him as a baby just to see how his tail was then and he's always that little teeny kink at the tip. It just wasn't dark on the underside like in the photos, even in pictures from a few days ago his tail looks lighter. He has stayed hydrated through frequent soaking. He hasn't eaten greens but he has eaten hornworms, crickets, and giant mealworms sporadically. I will try the syringe thing! I don't know why I never thought of that. I do not have a kitchen scale unfortunately, so I may have to locate one from a friend or family member. I know he has lost weight, though, as I can feel he is lighter in my hand. sadly he is on his second round of medications for the pinworm so it has been a long time coming. Thankfully he is still very alert and active.

 

[KarrieRee]

What has the vet put him on? We can help w/ that -- Tracie is a vet tech and is very familiar w/ dragons and meds ---- what are you using for lighting? UVB coil or tube and where in the tank is it? Basking temps what are they and how are you taking them? Those things are very important and if proper they can keep those parasites away - they all have a small amount in their system but if lighting is not proper or temps thats when the parasites seem to take over -- also crickets tend to cause parasites as well -
Karrie

 

[alb0w]

He has been taking panacur and strongid-t pyrantel pamoate. He has 3 more doses of medication this week (Tues-Thurs) and hopefully his test will come up negative once I bring in his next stool sample. His basking temp is about 105 typically. I currently have a coil UVB but recently ordered a tube one (I have had no luck finding them in stores lately!!) His uvb is over the cool side of his tank. His temperature and humidity levels are taken by the guages in his tank.

 

[KarrieRee]

Ok so glad your getting rid of the coil-- -- what are you replacing it w/? Tracie can help w/ that med but I think pancur is commonly given but I have not heard of the other one-- I would get him outside for some good UVB- you can have him sit on you for how ever long you can stand the heat - 15 minutes is good direct sunlight it will equal out to about 4 hrs of UVB- you can also put him in a plastic tote NO glass in direct sunlight/ partial shade no longer than 15 minutes and watch him you don't want to burn h up- are you taking basking temps w/ a digital probe thermometer? How long of a fixture are you getting?
Karrie

 

[alb0w]

I ordered a reptisun 10.0 UVB bulb. The fixture is 24" long. I have not used a digital thermometer. He was outside for about a half hour last week. He gets very nervous outside so I've been easing him into it a bit

 

[KarrieRee]

Ok good-- they tend to get nervous but it's good you got him out--- he does need the UVB-- so the bulb is a T 5 - you have 2 options for the fixture-- one on top of screen w/ a distance of 8-10 inches directly over the basking decor - or inside the tank w/ a distance of 12-15 inches directly underneath-
Karrie

 

[alb0w]

I'll be putting it on the top. thanks for the advice. You think his tail is okay though? I've owned beardies for years but I've never really had any major issues with them thankfully. Ever since I lost my first beardie that I got when I was 12 though, I worry a lot. I can't take the heartache and I just want to give my pets the best lives possible. I will be keeping a close eye on his tail. Is there anything you think I should look out for other than the darkening?

 

[KarrieRee]

It looks like its just gonna shed -let it do its thing -- you can always spray his tail when it starts to get the crackly and peeling look - it will help it loosen and come off
Karrie