Tail Rot Surgery and Y'alls Opinion

[KatLynne]

Hey y'all!

So I'm new to this forum even though I've been a lurker for some time. I really would like y'all's advice on this issue I'm having with my beardie...

I have a little guy by the name of Zeus, who is about 7 or 8 years old (roughly). I got him the summer of 2011 from a guy off Craigslist who was rehoming him, and he was 2 or 3 at the time. Never had any major health issues up until this point.

Last Saturday I noticed that the tip of his tail was dark and stiff, and I immediately thought "uh oh" because I have a friend with an iguana and I knew the signs for tail rot from her. I brought him into the vet ASAP, sure enough that's what it was. They did x-rays, but the x-rays didn't show any signs of infection so the vet recommended that we put him on antibiotics and let the tail drop off naturally.

Well yesterday I was inspecting him and the tail rot had noticeably grown. I got back on the phone to the vet, and he is scheduled for surgery on Friday.

I would like some advice and input on this though. First of all, he's my buddy. I had him through undergrad, then through law school, and now as I'm settling into my new job that's in a new state. He's seen a lot of **** with me and I'm extremely emotionally attached to him because of it- I'd move heaven and earth for the little dude.

My question is... is this surgery worth it? It's an expensive procedure and he isn't a spring chicken anymore. Not gonna lie, money's tight right now and the vet was projecting this to be about $500 at least (which is after the $240 I already paid on Saturday for the first visit). Granted, if this will definitely make him better I would panhandle on the street to make it work, but I'm not sure. I don't want to put him through an unnecessary procedure if it's only gonna prolong his suffering, and I'm skeptical of the vet. She already made the wrong call by doing a wait and see approach (I was suspicious of her being overly optimistic from the get-go, as I knew the typical treatment for tail rot was removal) and I don't want them to put him through this if there's like a 20% chance of success but they want their paycheck. You know?

So is 8 too old for this type of surgery? Has anyone else had this done with their beardie, and if so what did the prognosis and recovery look like? Any candid advice would be much appreciated, I'm so torn up over what's happening to my little guy.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, sorry to hear about Zeus. Can you post a few close up pics of his tail ? If it's wet or has ointment on it, try to dab it dry. Here's how to post pics :
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then hit XIMG

If he ends up needing surgery, he is in good health so it should be safe.

 

[JessPets]

I'm sorry to hear about your little guy. Are there any other exotic vets nearby?

 

[SDragons]

I have no advice or experience in this area. I hope your guy gets better really soon.

 

[Rankins]

Its dont think your vet would give a general anesthetic. Might just numb the area and remove the rot. It could be a petty minor operation, and recovery wouldn't be very difficult. If all the rot is removed and the dragons enclosure is cleaned well it should heal up okay.
I couldn't see the picture so am unsure of how bad it is though.

 

[KatLynne]

I'm at work so I'm unable to get a picture up, but it's at the tip of his tail, about 2.5 cm long, dark and stiff. Seems very brittle and he has no feeling in it when I poke or prod, so definitely dead tissue. I asked the vet and she said they have to put him under for the procedure, which seems odd to me as well... wouldn't it be better to just give local anesthetic instead of putting him under? That seems to be risky to me as well at his age. I'm just worried. This vet is an exotics vet, but I'm also new to this office so I tend to be more distrustful with a vet I don't know.

 

[Rankins]

I can give you a better idea when I can see the picture. Kind of hate to say this without seeing a picture...but if its dry and stiff there is no blood supply or nerves. I have amputated them myself. Your vet may not even need to numb the area unless they have to cut into live tissue. But a local anesthetic is really safe, so that shouldn't be an issue. If lidocian is used, its pretty common and usually without complications. I have used it on humans a lot and have never had a problem with it..
When you post a picture we'll have a better idea on what's going on.

 

[AHBD]

I agree with Rankin's. You might try to find a different vet if the bad part is so small but they want to put him under. The only advantage that would give is the beardie for sure will not move. But that should be a very quick snip ,[ under a local anesthetic ] which should not bleed much at all, then possibly a bit of ointment, with or without a bandage. It may be best to cut in to the healthy tissue just above the dead part to be sure all the infected part is gone.

But please do post pics, because not all tail trauma is actually tail rot and doesn't always require intervention.

 

[Rankins]

Kind of going through something similar. One of the beaded lizards I got has a bit of tail damage. Just waiting to see if its going to get necrotic. Its only 1/3" so cosmetically it won't be too noticeable if I gotta amputate.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Pictures would definitely be helpful. It depends on the severity as to whether or not they will use a local or general anesthesia. At 8, though he should be fine as long as they anesthetize him properly.
I agree though, sometimes a tiny bit of tissue above the area has to be cut off to ensure no infection is looming there.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie