Tail Rot?! SOS

[britteden]

Hi!!
We got our bearded dragon in January and his tail has always looked like this (this is after his tail just shed, and his back feet are about to shed). I thought it was just his normal tail colour, but have recently learned of tail rot and am terrified that this may be what he has. The nearest exotic vet is over an hour away and the vets in my area have a lot of bad reviews when it comes to reptile care.
Any advice would be so helpful!!
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[Sadie]

Hi!!
We got our bearded dragon in January and his tail has always looked like this (this is after his tail just shed, and his back feet are about to shed). I thought it was just his normal tail colour, but have recently learned of tail rot and am terrified that this may be what he has. The nearest exotic vet is over an hour away and the vets in my area have a lot of bad reviews when it comes to reptile care.
Any advice would be so helpful!!
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From the pics I am having a hard time seeing the end of the tail -- is it black underneath-- is there any nips bites pinches in the tail -- here is some info on tail rot
Causes of tail rot are:
1. Injuries/trauma - caused by falls, or by any other bearded dragon.
2. Malnourished - make sure he has a balanced diet and he gets the nourishment he needs
How to identify tail rot:
1. Dried out - Decaying tail won't be able to retain moisture, check if it's dried out completely.
2. Very thin, brittle - Decaying tail won't be able to process nourishment, causing it to become more thin and brittle.
What to do after finding out it has a tail rot:
1. Go to a vet - very recommended
For more info, please see the link: https://reptile.guide/bearded-dragon-tail-rot/
T Ask yourself these questions:
Was the tail recently injured?
Was a part of the tail open (eg wound/scrape/cut)
Was flesh exposed?
Is the tail constantly dark? or does the darkness ever go away (eg when in the tank, different environments)
If you didn't answer yes to basically all of those questions, it's not tail rot.
Tail rot is extremely rare. It's an infection of the flesh, from a wound or injury to the tail.
Tail rot is really kind of just a fancy name for an infected wound, one of which is affecting the tail
Tails shed and will turn different colors -- getting dark is one of them --

 

[britteden]

From the pics I am having a hard time seeing the end of the tail -- is it black underneath-- is there any nips bites pinches in the tail -- here is some info on tail rot
Causes of tail rot are:
1. Injuries/trauma - caused by falls, or by any other bearded dragon.
2. Malnourished - make sure he has a balanced diet and he gets the nourishment he needs
How to identify tail rot:
1. Dried out - Decaying tail won't be able to retain moisture, check if it's dried out completely.
2. Very thin, brittle - Decaying tail won't be able to process nourishment, causing it to become more thin and brittle.
What to do after finding out it has a tail rot:
1. Go to a vet - very recommended
For more info, please see the link: https://reptile.guide/bearded-dragon-tail-rot/
T Ask yourself these questions:
Was the tail recently injured?
Was a part of the tail open (eg wound/scrape/cut)
Was flesh exposed?
Is the tail constantly dark? or does the darkness ever go away (eg when in the tank, different environments)
If you didn't answer yes to basically all of those questions, it's not tail rot.
Tail rot is extremely rare. It's an infection of the flesh, from a wound or injury to the tail.
Tail rot is really kind of just a fancy name for an infected wound, one of which is affecting the tail
Tails shed and will turn different colors -- getting dark is one of them --

Ahhh thank you so much! This is so helpful. It has looked like that since we got him and he was pretty small. I was actually going through photos of when we got him and it was actually much darker. If there was a wound of some sort it wasn't something I noticed when we brought him home. The tip of the tail does have some white in it and definitely isn't completely black despite being the darkest part. It also doesnt seem particularly dried out or brittle. I'll keep an eye out for some of what you described and then go from there!
Thanks again