HELP ME! There's something wrong with Loki's tail... (PICS)

[valkryja]

I haven't gotten a chance to handle Loki for the past day or two, and it was fine last weekend, but I just picked him up and was handling him for about an hour when I realized the tip of his tail is black, stiff, and dead looking:

Please help me... I don't want to lose another one and I don't want whatever this is to spread...

He's been as active as ever, eating like a pig, running around, looking healthy, and being great. No indication that he's feeling any pain or discomfort. He eats about 70 crickets and some collard greens a day, his temps SEEM okay (but I'm not sure if i'm checking them right... Where should I point my temp gun??) He gets a bath every night, poops about twice a day (they look healthy), and he's grown a lot since I got him.

Some other facts: When I visited the breeder, I noticed that his mother Sumo had a stubby tail, but I never asked why. He's shed about three times since he hatched, but his tail was still on its first shed when his head started its third. Maybe it was cutting off the circulation? Another thing I read up on was tail rot. The temps SEEM fine, but maybe it's too arid... Should I try misting the tank? Again, he gets baths every night...

I'm really worried. ;_; Again, it's only the tip of the tail, but I don't want this to end up being gangrene or something and spreading... Loki's my baby. Should I look for a vet?

Another behavioural thing I noticed is that he sticks his tail up in the air when hunting. Is this normal, or was it a warning sign I missed?

Please help me...

 

[renich]

Do you drop the crickets in all at once? Or do you scatter them in groups? Tail rot can also occur from a cricket bite. What is your viv like? Could there be something in there that could have gotten her tail stuck?

For the temp gun, you will want to aim it at the basking spot. This is your hot side temp.

It really is hard to determine anything from the pics. I would consider a vet visit. If you need help finding a herp vet in your area, here is a link to help you:
Herp Vet Directory

I'm not aware of behavioral patterns or issues with tail raised.

 

[valkryja]

I usually just drop the crickets in his tank... but if that's causing tail rot I'll obviously stop it. ;_; I don't think the tail could've gotten stuck in anything, there are a couple ceramic tiles that aren't quite fitted at the corner, but i've never seen him go over there. Here's my viv:

And that's aimed at the basking spot, not the actual lamp right? >_> Stupid question, but I just want to make sure...

So it might be a combination of the crickets and the late shedding? Will it just fall off? I've removed all crickets in the tank and scrubbed the last of the skin from his tail... I marked how much s dark on a piece of paper, and if it starts worsening I'm calling a vet... How do I treat this in the mean time? Does this sound like a good idea?

 

[Vesta]

Yo lost the tip of his tail in just the same way. It could be that it did not shed properly or that it got injured in some way.

What I did was get some Betadine, dilute it 10 drops of water to 1 drop of the Betadine. I have heard it described as looking like week tea. I soaked his tail in it for just a minute or two several times a day. Then I coated it with Neosporin. I watched it like a hawk. The tip dried up and fell off. He is fine without. This is not am uncommon occurrence.

 

[pscaulkins]

That looks like a retained shed. Jada had one like that for almost a year. I was rubbing olive oil on her tail at lights out then bathing her first thing in the morning. What I found that worked better was during her soak, I would massage her tail and it finally came off scale by scale.

 

[Craiger]

Personally, I think the culprits could be those two little rocks in the back of the tank. While we love to have them (and trust me, I have LOTS), they do pose a bit of a threat with our dragon's tails. As thin as they are at the tip, they can easily get caught under a rock while they're running around. I went through this EXACT same thing with Sam.

This is what her tail looked like...

Basically, it ended up falling off, but I kept it coated with some Vaseline 'til it did. Once it fell off, I'd put Neosporin on it 'til it cleared up. It's a bit stubbier, now, and rounded off a bit at the tip, but she's just fine. I'd keep a close eye on Loki and wait for it to fall off. Looks like the end of his is dead just like Sam's was. Once it falls off, be sure to keep it medicated so it doesn't get infected.

If you're like me, I was worried that it was going to continue up her tail and possibly cause some major issues, but she was perfectly fine....and never once acted like anything was wrong. As Vesta said, I found it was actually a common thing among captive lizards.

 

[li]

All of the ideas are rhe most likely culprit, but keep an eyd on the tail. As long as it doesnt progress up the tail you are fine. If it is a bad shed, you should be able to see a bit of the old shed. If it is from getting caught most likely you will just see it get hard and dark, but not get any bigger than it already is. If you find that it is moving further up the tail then you need to see a vet.

 

[valkryja]

Hey everyone,
My uncle works at a vet's office and got me a discount with the exotic veterinarian, so I decided to take Loki in today to see what was up. The vet said that it was probably a retained shed or injury, but there was a bit of darkening higher up on the tail that could either be natural pigmentation, leftover skin from a previous shed, or possibly a sign of an infection.

He gave me some antibiotics and also took Loki's weight (He's 41 grams and about 8.5 inches long, which is a bit large apparently. The Doctor said "Oh god, he's a big one!"). The doc also did a checkup on him. His stools look normal (Loki decided to poop on the poor doctor's hand), his snout was described as being a bit "stubby," and his only other problem was that his jaw was a bit more flexible than it should have been, so he gave me a more potent calcium supplement to give Loki once a day. Oh, and Loki's definitely a boy. I thought I could see some lumps under his tail, and the vet confirmed it.

Loki also made a point to be a ham, puffing his beard up at a lady's parrot who was sitting next to us in the waiting room. He also tried to eat the fake plant on the desk by us. At least his personality wasn't affected or anything.

 

[renich]

Now, that is as fresh of a stool stample as they come. Glad to hear the vet was not overly concerned with anything. Keep us posted on the progress of his tail.

 

[Craiger]

That's good news! Thanks for the update.

 

[staylor]

glad he is ok.

 

[Pogie]

Great news from the vet, glad he's OK. ;D

 

[li]

What did he give you for antibiotics? Is he thinking tail rot on the spot that is higher up?

 

[valkryja]

He gave me Baytril for Antibiotic, and he says that it could possibly be tail rot because there was darkening higher up and a few oddly pigmented spots. After using the medicine for a couple of days, the spots have faded to a more natural color, and the little black piece on his tail looks like it'll fall off soon. In short, it looks like he's recovering.

Here are some pics of the little guy when we were at the vet:

 

[renich]

Glad to hear the little guy is responding to the treatment.

 

[li]

I am glad he is responding. Keep a good eye on it.