For those of you who have beardies who may have retained shed on the end of their tails, that has gotten really hard, I wanted to post this very important warning, and to share with you my recent experience with Ming, my oldest male beardie, who is now about 5-1/2. This information could save your beardie's life!
Ming has had some retained shed on about the last inch of his tail for about the last two months, which I've been trying to get off, by giving him frequent soaks, and applying Olive Oil or Aloe Vera gel to the area, daily. However, this dried skin was really stubborn, and about the last 1/2 inch of his tail had gotten really dry and hard, feeling almost like a piece of wood. Although I had been trying to treat it, I really wasn't worried too much about it, as its gotten like that before, and has eventually come off on its own, and never seemed to bother him.
However, this time was very different.....I came home from work one night about 2 weeks ago, to find that the end of Ming's tail had been terribly mangled, and was seeping blood in several places, wth some criss-cross cuts on it at the very end. Since there was nothing different in his tank, I had no idea how he sustained the injury, so I soaked the end of his tail in a diluted Betadyne solution, and applied some Neosporin to the end of it. By the next morning, the cuts had scabbed over, and it looked much better. I continued applying the Betadyne and Neosporin for the next couple of days, and it seemed to be healing.
The third night, I came home from work, and again found the end of his tail all ripped up and laid open. This time I checked everything in his tank for something sharp, and couldn't find anything in his tank that could have caused it. At this point, I began to realize that he must have been chewing at his tail himself, to get off the retained shed. I continued to give the Betadyne soaks, and to apply Neosporin to the end of his tail to prevent any infection.
By the time I came home from work the next day, on a Friday, the last 3/4 inch of his tail had become as hard as a rock, and was all shriveled up and dead. I could tell that that portion of his tail had become necrotic, due to the circulation being cut off from it from the cuts that he had sustained on his tail. I called his vet, but he was out of town and would be unable to see him until Monday. The vet who was covering for him, was not experienced in treating reptiles, and so, would not agree to see him. I also tried calling several other vets, and nearby Emergency Clinics, in an effort to have him seen, but was unable to find a vet that treated reptiles who would see him. After thoroughly examining his tail, I was able to determine where the good tissue ended and the dead flesh began, so I doused a pair of sharp scissors with the Betadyne and snipped off the necrotic portion of his tail. It did not hurt him, and he had no feeling in the end of it at all. He didn't even flinch. (NOTE: FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE NOT EXPERIENCED KEEPERS, AND DO NOT HAVE ANY FORMAL MEDICAL OR FIRST AID TRAINING, DO NOT TRY THIS YOURSELF! If you misjudge on where to cut, your beardie could bleed to death, or you may hit bone! I have had some medical training, and the only reason I opted to do this was because I had no choice, since I couldn't locate a vet to see him, and I knew the infection would spread!)
The next morning, his tail looked much better and I continued with the Betadyne and Neosporin, but by that night, about the last inch of his tail had again turned necrotic. I was afraid to cut it again, for fear of hitting a blood vessel or bone, so I continued treatment with the Betadyne and Neosporin, and I prayed......a lot......at this point I knew that the infection could kill him.
On Monday morning, his vet arrived at his office to find me sitting on his doorstep with Ming, scared to death. His tail looked awful. The doctor had an office full of people, but told me to leave him, and he would examine him as soon as he could, and call me. He called me about 2 hours later, after doing blood work, and checking the wound, to tell me that the only way to save his life, at that point, was to amputate about 1/3 of his tail. The end of his tail was again necrotic, and gangrene was setting in. Luckily, he was very healthy, other than the wound, or the infection might have killed him.
I picked him up around 7:00 Monday night, once he had recovered from the anesthesia, and, although very groggy, he seemed much more comfortable. The vet was able to remove the portion of his tail with the infection, and also removed an inch and a half of healthy tissue as well, just to be sure he got it all. After the surgery, and once Ming was awake, the vet dissected the portion of his tail that he removed, in an effort to find out why he was mutilating himself. What he found, on the underside of Ming's tail, was the answer. He had a huge abscess from the lack of blood circulation and the infection, but the vet had never seen anything like it. Rather than the abscess being round, and bulging to the outside layer of scales, instead he found an oblong abscess, shaped rather like an earthworm, running the length of the damaged portion of his tail, next to the bone, which was full of pus and infection. His vet said that the pressure and pain from this must have been excrutiating, which was no doubt why he was biting at the end of his tail.
He was trying to break it, to release the pressure.
The entire procedure cost me nearly $400, and Ming was sent home with some liquid calcium and a 3 week supply of liquid Baytril to kill any infection that may have been working its way into his system. He is now doing very well, and is back to eating normally, although he's pouting because I had to remove most of his cage furniture to keep him from climbing and breaking open his incision (although he did get a furry bed to sleep in at night for being such a good boy!) LOL His tail is healing nicely, and he returns to the vet on May 11th to have his stitches removed. We were very lucky....things could have had a much different ending.....
I chose to share this with all of you, so that none of you will make the mistake that I did. If the end of your beardie's tail becomes dried out and hard, and feels somewhat like a piece of wood, get him to a vet to be checked as soon as possible, and if your beardie starts chewing on himself, anywhere, for no reason, you can be sure that THERE IS A REASON, even if YOU can't see it, so don't fool around with it....GET HIM TO A VET AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! If Ming's ordeal can save even one other beardie's life, it won't be in vain, because retained shed on their tail is nothing to fool with. I will never make that mistake again...it almost cost me the life of one of my best friends!
Ming has had some retained shed on about the last inch of his tail for about the last two months, which I've been trying to get off, by giving him frequent soaks, and applying Olive Oil or Aloe Vera gel to the area, daily. However, this dried skin was really stubborn, and about the last 1/2 inch of his tail had gotten really dry and hard, feeling almost like a piece of wood. Although I had been trying to treat it, I really wasn't worried too much about it, as its gotten like that before, and has eventually come off on its own, and never seemed to bother him.
However, this time was very different.....I came home from work one night about 2 weeks ago, to find that the end of Ming's tail had been terribly mangled, and was seeping blood in several places, wth some criss-cross cuts on it at the very end. Since there was nothing different in his tank, I had no idea how he sustained the injury, so I soaked the end of his tail in a diluted Betadyne solution, and applied some Neosporin to the end of it. By the next morning, the cuts had scabbed over, and it looked much better. I continued applying the Betadyne and Neosporin for the next couple of days, and it seemed to be healing.
The third night, I came home from work, and again found the end of his tail all ripped up and laid open. This time I checked everything in his tank for something sharp, and couldn't find anything in his tank that could have caused it. At this point, I began to realize that he must have been chewing at his tail himself, to get off the retained shed. I continued to give the Betadyne soaks, and to apply Neosporin to the end of his tail to prevent any infection.
By the time I came home from work the next day, on a Friday, the last 3/4 inch of his tail had become as hard as a rock, and was all shriveled up and dead. I could tell that that portion of his tail had become necrotic, due to the circulation being cut off from it from the cuts that he had sustained on his tail. I called his vet, but he was out of town and would be unable to see him until Monday. The vet who was covering for him, was not experienced in treating reptiles, and so, would not agree to see him. I also tried calling several other vets, and nearby Emergency Clinics, in an effort to have him seen, but was unable to find a vet that treated reptiles who would see him. After thoroughly examining his tail, I was able to determine where the good tissue ended and the dead flesh began, so I doused a pair of sharp scissors with the Betadyne and snipped off the necrotic portion of his tail. It did not hurt him, and he had no feeling in the end of it at all. He didn't even flinch. (NOTE: FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE NOT EXPERIENCED KEEPERS, AND DO NOT HAVE ANY FORMAL MEDICAL OR FIRST AID TRAINING, DO NOT TRY THIS YOURSELF! If you misjudge on where to cut, your beardie could bleed to death, or you may hit bone! I have had some medical training, and the only reason I opted to do this was because I had no choice, since I couldn't locate a vet to see him, and I knew the infection would spread!)
The next morning, his tail looked much better and I continued with the Betadyne and Neosporin, but by that night, about the last inch of his tail had again turned necrotic. I was afraid to cut it again, for fear of hitting a blood vessel or bone, so I continued treatment with the Betadyne and Neosporin, and I prayed......a lot......at this point I knew that the infection could kill him.
On Monday morning, his vet arrived at his office to find me sitting on his doorstep with Ming, scared to death. His tail looked awful. The doctor had an office full of people, but told me to leave him, and he would examine him as soon as he could, and call me. He called me about 2 hours later, after doing blood work, and checking the wound, to tell me that the only way to save his life, at that point, was to amputate about 1/3 of his tail. The end of his tail was again necrotic, and gangrene was setting in. Luckily, he was very healthy, other than the wound, or the infection might have killed him.
I picked him up around 7:00 Monday night, once he had recovered from the anesthesia, and, although very groggy, he seemed much more comfortable. The vet was able to remove the portion of his tail with the infection, and also removed an inch and a half of healthy tissue as well, just to be sure he got it all. After the surgery, and once Ming was awake, the vet dissected the portion of his tail that he removed, in an effort to find out why he was mutilating himself. What he found, on the underside of Ming's tail, was the answer. He had a huge abscess from the lack of blood circulation and the infection, but the vet had never seen anything like it. Rather than the abscess being round, and bulging to the outside layer of scales, instead he found an oblong abscess, shaped rather like an earthworm, running the length of the damaged portion of his tail, next to the bone, which was full of pus and infection. His vet said that the pressure and pain from this must have been excrutiating, which was no doubt why he was biting at the end of his tail.
He was trying to break it, to release the pressure.
The entire procedure cost me nearly $400, and Ming was sent home with some liquid calcium and a 3 week supply of liquid Baytril to kill any infection that may have been working its way into his system. He is now doing very well, and is back to eating normally, although he's pouting because I had to remove most of his cage furniture to keep him from climbing and breaking open his incision (although he did get a furry bed to sleep in at night for being such a good boy!) LOL His tail is healing nicely, and he returns to the vet on May 11th to have his stitches removed. We were very lucky....things could have had a much different ending.....
I chose to share this with all of you, so that none of you will make the mistake that I did. If the end of your beardie's tail becomes dried out and hard, and feels somewhat like a piece of wood, get him to a vet to be checked as soon as possible, and if your beardie starts chewing on himself, anywhere, for no reason, you can be sure that THERE IS A REASON, even if YOU can't see it, so don't fool around with it....GET HIM TO A VET AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! If Ming's ordeal can save even one other beardie's life, it won't be in vain, because retained shed on their tail is nothing to fool with. I will never make that mistake again...it almost cost me the life of one of my best friends!
HAPPY 
