Tail Rot?

[beardie mom]

Hello,

We have Ragnaros, who is almost four months old. He's been a total eating machine, polishing off his greens, his crickets, his squash/carrots, and the occasional chopped up superworm. This weekend, though, he slowed down on his eating. He did eat some crickets yesterday, but not as many as usual. And he isn't eating his salad this morning (usually he runs over and chows down).

His tail has a slight kink in it and my son is afraid he has tail rot. I can't think of any way that his tail could have gotten injured, but I'm attaching a pic so maybe someone can see if that is the issue? Of course, when I went to take the pic, he wouldn't move off of his log, so I had to take it at a weird angle. I think it's just shedding, but my son thinks it's a problem.

He was shedding around his face and mouth yesterday, so my guess is that maybe he's uncomfortable and that's why he's not being his usual ravenous self. He is still basking, has normal bowel movements, and was climbing around on his dinosaur rock thing last night.

We did have a lizard who got sick and died a few months ago; he went from normal to dead in like four days (stopped eating, vomited, had loose stools, and then laid there lethargically for a day before finally passing away, and we did see the vet twice within that time). So we are nervous that that will happen to this one, too. I will say that this lizard is a MUCH better eater and is growing MUCH more quickly than the other one, so maybe the first one was sick for some time without us knowing.

Thank you for any advice or suggestions!

 

[Sadie]

Hello,

We have Ragnaros, who is almost four months old. He's been a total eating machine, polishing off his greens, his crickets, his squash/carrots, and the occasional chopped up superworm. This weekend, though, he slowed down on his eating. He did eat some crickets yesterday, but not as many as usual. And he isn't eating his salad this morning (usually he runs over and chows down).

His tail has a slight kink in it and my son is afraid he has tail rot. I can't think of any way that his tail could have gotten injured, but I'm attaching a pic so maybe someone can see if that is the issue? Of course, when I went to take the pic, he wouldn't move off of his log, so I had to take it at a weird angle. I think it's just shedding, but my son thinks it's a problem.

He was shedding around his face and mouth yesterday, so my guess is that maybe he's uncomfortable and that's why he's not being his usual ravenous self. He is still basking, has normal bowel movements, and was climbing around on his dinosaur rock thing last night.

We did have a lizard who got sick and died a few months ago; he went from normal to dead in like four days (stopped eating, vomited, had loose stools, and then laid there lethargically for a day before finally passing away, and we did see the vet twice within that time). So we are nervous that that will happen to this one, too. I will say that this lizard is a MUCH better eater and is growing MUCH more quickly than the other one, so maybe the first one was sick for some time without us knowing.

Thank you for any advice or suggestions!

Looks like shed -- just keep watch on it if it starts to turn black get real dried out looking and brittle then it is more than likely dead -- then you need to watch for infection - it will start to creep up the tail but to me it looks like shed- did you ever find out why the other dragon died and did you sanitize this tank before putting the new dragon in it? Please go over the lighting your using UVB No coils please and basking temps ? what are they and how are you taking them? basking temps for him should be 105-110 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer NO stick ons they are inaccurate -- these two things I just asked about are the TWO MOST IMPORTANT things in the tank they control the overall behavior and health of the dragon

 

[beardie mom]

Looks like shed -- just keep watch on it if it starts to turn black get real dried out looking and brittle then it is more than likely dead -- then you need to watch for infection - it will start to creep up the tail but to me it looks like shed- did you ever find out why the other dragon died and did you sanitize this tank before putting the new dragon in it? Please go over the lighting your using UVB No coils please and basking temps ? what are they and how are you taking them? basking temps for him should be 105-110 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer NO stick ons they are inaccurate -- these two things I just asked about are the TWO MOST IMPORTANT things in the tank they control the overall behavior and health of the dragon

Thank you! I'm not sure why the other one died, but yes, we sanitized the tank. That was back in January. We have a Reptisun 10 bulb that's 2/3 the length of his tank and a heat lamp. The UV bulb is brand new; we just replaced it a week or so ago. We have a laser pointer thermometer that reads the temp. It's around 105-108 on his basking log and around 80/82 on the cool side. At night it doesn't get below 75 in that room. (We live in Florida.)

 

[Sadie]

Thank you! I'm not sure why the other one died, but yes, we sanitized the tank. That was back in January. We have a Reptisun 10 bulb that's 2/3 the length of his tank and a heat lamp. The UV bulb is brand new; we just replaced it a week or so ago. We have a laser pointer thermometer that reads the temp. It's around 105-108 on his basking log and around 80/82 on the cool side. At night it doesn't get below 75 in that room. (We live in Florida.)

Ok so the UVB is a T 8 or a T 5 please look on the bulb it will tell you -- I would invest in a digital probe thermometer as well -- where in the tank is the UVB? inside or on top of the screen?

 

[beardie mom]

It is a T8. The light is on top of the cage shining through the mesh, but it's not mesh like a window screen, it's wider than that.

 

[Sadie]

It is a T8. The light is on top of the cage shining through the mesh, but it's not mesh like a window screen, it's wider than that.

Ok well that is good but more for a T 5 I would recommend either upgrading to a T 5 or put the fixture in the tank--- T 8's are not strong enough to go thru the screen and distance needs to be 6-8 inches directly above the decor piece- if you need help getting it hung I can post some things for you

 

[beardie mom]

Ok well that is good but more for a T 5 I would recommend either upgrading to a T 5 or put the fixture in the tank--- T 8's are not strong enough to go thru the screen and distance needs to be 6-8 inches directly above the decor piece- if you need help getting it hung I can post some things for you

We do actually have a T5. I checked the box. I remember having the discussion with my son about which one to get and I thought he got the T8, but he didn't. So that one is fine to keep on top of the wide mesh top?

 

[Sadie]

We do actually have a T5. I checked the box. I remember having the discussion with my son about which one to get and I thought he got the T8, but he didn't. So that one is fine to keep on top of the wide mesh top?

Yes as long as the screen is wide holed- just get your basking decor directly under it 8-10 inches

 

[beardie mom]

Update: The dark part felt different than the rest of his tail, so I took him in to see the vet. She said it might be the beginning of tail rot and gave me an ointment to put on it once per day.

Also, she said he should be eating only about 15 large crickets per day... before he slowed down in his eating, he was eating maybe 40 large ones per day. So I gave him just 10 for lunch and he still wanted more. I also gave him some fresh salad (kale and some pieces of yellow bell pepper) but he didn't seem to want that. He had eaten a plate of bok choy for breakfast. Should I really be limiting his crickets? He's almost 4 months old... we think he hatched in mid-December.

I gave her a stool sample, too, so she said she'd send it into the lab to make sure he has no parasites and will call me back later this week.

 

[Sadie]

Update: The dark part felt different than the rest of his tail, so I took him in to see the vet. She said it might be the beginning of tail rot and gave me an ointment to put on it once per day.

Also, she said he should be eating only about 15 large crickets per day... before he slowed down in his eating, he was eating maybe 40 large ones per day. So I gave him just 10 for lunch and he still wanted more. I also gave him some fresh salad (kale and some pieces of yellow bell pepper) but he didn't seem to want that. He had eaten a plate of bok choy for breakfast. Should I really be limiting his crickets? He's almost 4 months old... we think he hatched in mid-December.

I gave her a stool sample, too, so she said she'd send it into the lab to make sure he has no parasites and will call me back later this week.

Do not limit his insects--- that is his main diet--- but its great his eating the bok choy-- I would add some other greens w/ it like collard turnip or kale or mustard - make sure your dusting those crickets 5 x per week w/ calcium D3 only ONCE per feeding and vitamins w/ beta carotene 2 x per week only ONCE per feeding - he should be eating anywhere from 20-30 medium crickets at 4 months old I am thinking large are going to be too big and yes the small amount he ate would be because of the size but to be on the safe side I would be feeding the medium size - you dont want him impacted because the insect is too big-- watch that tail I would take pic of it every week to make sure its not changing and your not seeing it - you will be able to in the pics -- also I would recommend getting some dubia roaches www.dubiaroaches.com and some BSFL to add to his salads www.symtonbsf.com order large do not dust them -- they are a great staple feeder and a great salad topper feed as many as you want --- when ordering the dubias order them no bigger than the space between his eyes length wise