Cut on tip of tongue?

[KellyRose]

Hello, and thank you in advance for your help and time.

Attached is the picture.

My bearded dragon was adopted by me from a youth center that was closing. I did not think they were taking the best care of him. I did not know anything about BD's at the time, but no one else would take him, and I have since been learning all I can.
First issue is the poor guy had pnumonia. Took him to the vet, x-rays confirmed this, they put him on Baytril (along with Carnivore Care and probiotics). After a week he was much better BUT the plastic syringe i was using to feed him I noticed had a part of the tip broken as if it were cheap plastic. I feared i had cut his little tongue or mouth, but figured I had to wait to see. Fast forward, he is now seemingly healed from the pnumonia and active as heck

BUT, he has not been eating anything offered
(Salads- all healthy fruit/veggie varietiessafe for him, dubias, superworms)
Then, when he got too warm while basking he opened up his mouth, and I snagged the picture attached. I was/am quite upset. Could someone help me confirm if this is from getting his tongue cut or not?
I have a vet checkup on the 5th, but am quite stressed that that is too long to wait.
Thank you again!
(Ps I also attached a full enclosure picture. It is him first thing this morn after waking. I will be changing his light situation based on reading about the bulbs on the other threads. Also the enclosure looks kind of crazy but has been very consciously chosen & arranged by me and he seems to absolutely love it and all its routes/options)

 

[KellyRose]

I just joined this forum, I am happy you all exist, thank you.
I wanted to add a full picture of him (named Francis by the previous kids). He looks good (I think) except for his tongue tip (and the stink-eye I am getting for bugging him)

 

[KellyRose]

Any help would be appreciated... things seem to be getting worse and I have been stressing a lot.

 

[Sadie]

Any help would be appreciated... things seem to be getting worse and I have been stressing a lot.

Ok get your UVB --- first and for most -------------what are you getting so I can help w/ that -- I am going to get some help w/ the tongue --

 

[KellyRose]

Ok get your UVB --- first and for most -------------what are you getting so I can help w/ that -- I am going to get some help w/ the tongue --

He has a Reptisun 10.0 UVB, 13 Watt Desert now

 

[KellyRose]

He has a Reptisun 10.0 UVB, 13 Watt Desert now

And THANK YOU! (I am thinking he might just be quite old? When I got him they were unsure if he was 5 or 9, and that was a year ago)

 

[KellyRose]

Current picture of his face. I feel like the tip of his face is grey. (This is tricky though... my un-reptile-educated family thinks I'm being paranoid...)

 

[Sadie]

He has a Reptisun 10.0 UVB, 13 Watt Desert now

Ok please get rid of that ASAP-- those are the worst uvb's-- please get a 24" for a long tube fixture-- a Zoo Med comes w a 5.0 keep it for a back up you want a reptisun 10.0 T 5 or a Arcadia pro T 5 12% bulb or a sunblaster nano tech 2ft fixture
Look on this website for the Zoo Med and the pro T 5 www.pangeareptiles.com the sunblaster on this site
https://hydrobuilder.com/sunblaster-nanotech-t5-ho-fixture-with-6400k-lamp.html let me know when you get it I will help you ace it in the tank distance and placement will depend on your screen- still waiting to hear back on the tongue-

 

[Sadie]

Current picture of his face. I feel like the tip of his face is grey. (This is tricky though... my un-reptile-educated family thinks I'm being paranoid...)

He's gonna shed and he looks sick-- please get that uvb off and replaced he's not getting any uvb w/ that 13 watt bulb

 

[KellyRose]

Roger that, and again, thank you x100
Is my vet appointment that is 5:30pm eastern time on Wednesday (approximately 70 hours from now) longer than I should wait to get him to the vet?

 

[KellyRose]

Thank you, I got the Arcadia pro T5 12% 24'' bulb with hood. I will let you know when it arrives.

 

[Sadie]

Thank you, I got the Arcadia pro T5 12% 24'' bulb with hood. I will let you know when it arrives.

Good deal-- it will depend on the screen on your tank where it goes still checking for reply on the tongue- that uvb is going to help w/ the tongue and everything w/ his healthy- are you still hand feeding ? You can go in on the side of his mouth w/ the syringe- make sure he's hydrated- water the food down and go SLOW you don't want him aspirating

 

[Sadie]

Roger that, and again, thank you x100
Is my vet appointment that is 5:30pm eastern time on Wednesday (approximately 70 hours from now) longer than I should wait to get him to the vet?

NO ENEMAS!!!! they often in disaster- get a fecal from him 24 hour put in fridge plastic zip lock bag- if you can get it same day that is good-+ but 24 hour is oldest -

 

[KellyRose]

NO ENEMAS!!!! they often in disaster- get a fecal from him 24 hour put in fridge plastic zip lock bag- if you can get it same day that is good-+ but 24 hour is oldest -

I am no longer hand/syringe feeding. He had that for 14 days, then has not taken in any food on his own for 4 days. (Except he had a few tiny leaves of arugula 5 or 6 days ago). The humidity in my general part of the world got too high the past 4 days (60+%). This morning I bought a dehumidifier and his enclosure is now down to 40% and still dropping. He is sleeping sweetly at the moment and seemed good (tongue considered) before bed. Someone told me the grey tip of his face is a bruise. This makes sense as two days ago while he was quite active he kept bumping his face into the front glass until I put a wallpaper along the front bottom
Again, many more thanks.

 

[KellyRose]

Also I will try to get a fecal as the vet appointment approaches, thank you.

 

[Sadie]

Also I will try to get a fecal as the vet appointment approaches, thank you.

Hand feed him he needs his strength --- and he needs hydration -- your humidity is good at 40-50% that is optimal you dont want less than 20% and above 70% --- if you dont have a digital probe hygrometer please get one --

Exo Terra Digital Hygrometer | Dubia.com

Use the Exo Terra Digital Hygrometer to track the humidity levels in your reptile or amphibian terrarium, available here at Dubia.com!

dubiaroaches.com

place on back center wall it will read the whole tank --- the grey tip on he nose looks like shed -- they normally get a indentation from too much glass surfing - shed comes in many different colors --- dark brown grey white opaque looking and they shed in different places at different time and tails take a long time to shed -- it is all different

 

[KellyRose]

I will hand feed him, thank you!
(I was worried to do so b/c I thought it would hurt his mouth more)
Again- he is adopted by me. (He was in a less-than-ideal situation before, and there was no one else to adopt him). I have learned a lot about bearded dragons in this past year. However, if I had intentionally premeditated getting him I would have properly and thoroughly done the research before he arrived. It is hard to think about irresponsible pet ownership, and I have been stressing so much concerned that I gave been somehow neglectful. I will stop typing now, but I just mean to be expressing my gratitude to you and this community. You are helping me greatly. Thank you, again.

 

[Sadie]

I will hand feed him, thank you!
(I was worried to do so b/c I thought it would hurt his mouth more)
Again- he is adopted by me. (He was in a less-than-ideal situation before, and there was no one else to adopt him). I have learned a lot about bearded dragons in this past year. However, if I had intentionally premeditated getting him I would have properly and thoroughly done the research before he arrived. It is hard to think about irresponsible pet ownership, and I have been stressing so much concerned that I gave been somehow neglectful. I will stop typing now, but I just mean to be expressing my gratitude to you and this community. You are helping me greatly. Thank you, again.

Dont beat yourself up your doing what you can for the guy --- some info on the internet is confusing and conflicting so its always good to seek out forums to get advice or read about what is being posted and recommended and see what is working and not working -- so just keep plugging away w/ what your doing --- make sure at your vet appt get the results of any and all work done w/ the dragon -- fecal xrays any scans etc ----------- you want records of those --- then if you need to you can get a second opinion and you have the records from that visit -- lab work especially ---

 

[KellyRose]

Brilliant! Haha, so simple yet so helpful
I will keep plugging away! (Also I'm taking my smart and helpful dad with me to the vet appointment to make sure I do all that good stuff! -even though I'm 33... the vet/doctor's can be tricky)

 

[Sadie]

Brilliant! Haha, so simple yet so helpful
I will keep plugging away! (Also I'm taking my smart and helpful dad with me to the vet appointment to make sure I do all that good stuff! -even though I'm 33... the vet/doctor's can be tricky)

Here is a response I got about the tongue

The tip of the tongue looks discolored, but not necessarily wounded. I wouldn't consider it urgent, but probably worth having the vet take a look while he's there for the next visit. It could be bruised from pushing it against a syringe, and I'd imagine that would heal just like when we accidentally bite our tongues. There are oral cleansers available like MaxiGuard, but I don't know that it would be needed at the moment, but wouldn't hurt. I'd probably defer to the vet's advice.