Tail Shedding or Infection?

[borgstv]

Hi there,

I am a new proud owner of a male and female bearded dragon, so I'm still gathering tons of info and learning by and by. Both of my dragons are eating and acting fine, but during the last couple of days, something has been worrying me, and I need to be sure that its a shedding thing, not some kind of infection (like tail rot).
The problem is that the male's tail is turning white at the base, and darker at the tip. There seems to be no physical injury to the tail. As they say, a picture says a million words, so I will try to post a couple of pics. Thanks in advance to anyone that could help!!

http://img193.imageshack.us/i/020ar.jpg/
http://img251.imageshack.us/i/019br.jpg/

Best Regards,
Steve from sunny Malta

 

[brandice]

Looks to me like his tail is getting ready to shed. I suggest a warm bath to help loosen it up. Water temp just slightly warmer than you would for a baby and only fill enough to just cover his back if he were laying on the floor of the tub. I don't suggest using the kitchen sink as they can be a bit jumpy if they've never had a bath before and that can lead to a bunch of new problems if you have a dragon panicking on the kitchen counter. You want to make sure his feet can touch the bottom. If he can't touch he'll panic. Most people suggest using a towel (hand towel or small towel) in the bottom of the tub to give them traction. You can also use a new, clean baby or soft bristle tooth brush to brush the area to help loosen up the skin as well. Bob really likes the toothbrush treatment on his back and top of his head as well. Since you are new to these guys I will warn you that most do not like running water, so I suggest filling up the tub first. That is of course unless they are like my Bob and totally love the shower. He'll sit under it for a good 10 minutes! :lol: Anyways, shedding is completely normal, nothing to worry about Thanks for the pics!

 

[Denise Bushnell (RIP)]

From the pix, it does look as though his back and tail are getting ready to shed. A good way to tell whether it is just a normal shed coming on, as opposed to some sort of infection in his tail, is to feel about the last inch or two of his tail, and see if the end of his tail feels the same as it does further up, nearer to the rest of his body. As a general rule of thumb, if it is some sort of infection setting in, such as tail rot, the last inch or so of his tail will not feel like normal flesh, but will be very hard and dried out, and pretty much feel like the end of his tail has turned to wood. If the end of his tail is very hard and dry, that usually indicates that the blood flow to the end of his tail has been compromised, and if so, that's when an infection will set in.
Once that begins to happen, and the hardening and black coloration starts moving further up his tail, then you need to get him to a vet as soon as possible, and the "dead" dried up portion of his tail will need to be amputated, or gangrene will set in.

As long as the last inch or so of his tail feels normal to the touch, then he is most likely working up to a shed, which is completely normal. As the above poster stated, giving him warm baths and a gentle scrubbing with a soft-bristked toothbrush may help things along, or if the scales that he is trying to shed are really being stubborn about coming off, then rubbing his tail with Olive Oil, or some all natural Aloe Vera Gel (with no chemical additives) may speed things up, and make his shed much easier for him.

 

[borgstv]

Hi guys,

Thanks for your answers, a warm bath it is then! I will keep you posted on how it all went

 

[cashrokxsz]

mos deff shedding. congrats.

 

[borgstv]

Hi again guys, as suggested to me earlier, I gave my beardies a warm bath this weekend, and they absolutely seemed to love it. This morning I found the male shedding quite nicely. Here's a pic for you to see them bathing

http://img532.imageshack.us/i/imag0012ch.jpg/

 

[brandice]

Perfect! I'm glad that worked out well for you! I'd suggest giving them a bath once a week at least. It's a great way to keep them hydrated and good for their skin