Shed or something to worry about?

[ladyjustice33]

This spot it on my females tail. Just a spot that is shedding or something else?

[Gungirl]

When was her last shed and was it a one piece shed or could that be some left over skin?

[Norm66]

Looks like leftover shed to me. Does it go all the way around? Have you tried soaking a bit of towel and letting her work it off in the towel?

[ladyjustice33]

I just got her on 1/12/12 and that wasn't there....being a sub adult I have heard they will sometimes shed in peices, but not sure. This started a little over a week ago.

[ladyjustice33]

I believe it goes all the away around but will double check again when i get home from work at 5:00.

[shaunyboy]

if i'm correct in saying thats a lizard tail,then i have NO experience with lizards,but it should be similar to snakes (someone please correct me if i'm wrong)

it looks like retained shed

you can be quite firm in peeling it off

just keep an eye on each individual scale as you peel it off

resistance wise,at most it should be the same as,peeling sticky tape off a flat surface,if its resisting more than that,i'd try soaking it then try again

watch its not wrapped completely round the tail and cutting of the blood supply,as that can cause the area to die and fall off due to no blood supply

cheers shaun

[shaunyboy]

I believe it goes all the away around but will double check again when i get home from work at 5:00.


even if you pick/peel a line through it " front to back ",it will stop any blood circulation problems arising

cheers shaun

[Gungirl]

yes it's a lizards tail ( bearded dragon) . I never even looked at what forum this was in.. lol

[Norm66]

yes it's a lizards tail ( bearded dragon) . I never even looked at what forum this was in.. lol

Also guilty. Oops. Sometimes I forget about lizards being primarily a snake enthusiast.

[shaunyboy]

Also guilty. Oops. Sometimes I forget about lizards being primarily a snake enthusiast.

wouldn't worry about it norm,its usually me who's last to notice things on this forum mate:wacky::yes:

the shape of the tail just didn't look right for a snake;)

cheers shaun

p.s.her avatar gave me a clue as well lol

[ladyjustice33]

Sorry guys, lol!!! I posted it under the bearded dragon forum and just assumed I didn't need to put it in the post!!! I have more experience with snakes myself, have 22 of them, and only 2 dragons and I'm a first time beardie owner.

[youngster]

Wow I just noticed you got all those snakes!!!
Do you plan on breeding?

[ladyjustice33]

Wow I just noticed you got all those snakes!!!
Do you plan on breeding?

Got a Cinny ball python breeding to a normal as we speak! Hope to breed my other normal female to my friends super pastel male, but he hasn't bred before and not sure if he will know what to do, lol. If not, the cinny will go in with that female also. Also breeding a pair of reverse okeetee corns and my male tangerine baldy leopard gecko to my normal female and electric tangerine female. My reverse okeetee corns are gorgeous and I hope will make some pretty babies!

[Norm66]

Sorry guys, lol!!! I posted it under the bearded dragon forum and just assumed I didn't need to put it in the post!!! I have more experience with snakes myself, have 22 of them, and only 2 dragons and I'm a first time beardie owner.

It's our fault for not looking. I usually hit the "Unread Posts" button rather than looking at each forum individually.

I still think a little water and some peeling will take that right off of there. Lizard or snake. :)

[Lankyrob]

If it is old shed try to peel from the head end to towards teh tail end, it puts less sterss on the scales underneath in my opinion :)

[ladyjustice33]

I'm thinking it isn't a retained shed because it started off small a little over a week ago and has gotten bigger. She also hasn't shed since I got her, but I will try leaving her in her bath longer tonight!!

[Gungirl]

I don't know a lot about lizards but could it be a bacterial infection of sorts? slowly taking over more and more scales?

[ladyjustice33]

I don't know a lot about lizards but could it be a bacterial infection of sorts? slowly taking over more and more scales?

I hope not!!!

[Gungirl]

I hope not too but I don't know enough to think of any other reason this would happen.

[shaunyboy]

I don't know a lot about lizards but could it be a bacterial infection of sorts? slowly taking over more and more scales?

i agree with Kat

also,wayne may be able to shed some light on it,being a lizard man (pun intended,sorry;))

all the best shaun

[ladyjustice33]

i agree with Kat

also,wayne may be able to shed some light on it,being a lizard man (pun intended,sorry;))

all the best shaun

lol!!! Poor Wayne, :laugh:

[KORBIN5895]

I don't think it's shed myself. None of my beardies have ever she's like that. The only time I have seen something similar was when I got those four rescues. Where their tails were bitten and damaged looked like that.

[ladyjustice33]

That is the strange part.....tail did not look damaged when I got her and she is in her own enclosure, I house each dragon seperately.

[KORBIN5895]

Could something have fallen on it?

[ladyjustice33]

Could something have fallen on it?

Not that I can see.....here are some pics of her set up. There isn't anything for her to fall off of and nothing to fall on her. She hasn't been dropped or anything. I got her on 1/12/12, and didn't see anything on her then. I'm at a loss unless it is a weird shed. Her temps are good. She looks like she may be starting to shed around her eye area and her appetite isn't quite as good as it was, but that isn't unusual if she is shedding.

[beardeds4life]

to me it looks like tail rot. If Im right being where it is you are at risk of losing the whole tail. ( I may be completely wrong but I would still do this just in case) bathe daily, spray neosporin on it after she has dried and leave it on there

[jaleely]

nice tank! and i agree with what someone said..put some neosporin on it and see how it goes. If it is a shed, the neo will soften it and she will pull it off her self...if it's not, then you will be helping kill the bacteria and may see improvement there. Try the soak first though, and see if it comes of, by gently rubbing it with a towel. Let us know!

[ladyjustice33]

Soaked Saphira in the bath today, put polysporin on the spot on her tail. I'm gonna keep an eye on it and watch her behavior closely. A few breeders got back with me and said their sub adults as they start to mature and adults shed in patches and it is probably a shed but to watch it closely. If it doesn't shed soon or starts to look worse, we'll be taking a trip to the vet.

[Norm66]

I hope it turns out to be just a shed. :)

[beardeds4life]

i hope its shed but to me it llooks nothing like a shed

[ladyjustice33]

i hope its shed but to me it llooks nothing like a shed


It doesn't to me either. I looked closely at a pic I received from the breeder I got Saphira from and if I zoom in on the pic, I can see two small indentions where this mark is. It is not anything you would notice unless you were looking for it specifically. I checked her over completely when I received her and didn't notice it. Looking over my email from the breeder he states that she has no nips or anything that he can see. I asked if she was a good eater and he said she usually is but he just put a new cage mate in with her and she hasn't been eating as much. This makes me think the other dragon was intimidating her and probably gave her a little bite right before he shipped her. Why it took so long to start to show a problem is what puzzles me. I have been gently brushing the spot with a soft bristle tooth brush dipped in a water/betadine solution. Then I dry it off and pour a little peroxide on the spot and then once dry, put neosporin on it. The underside of the tail where the spot is looks fine and above and below the spot looks fine as well....nice orange color. The scales aren't as gray any longer, but that could be because the spot is moist from the neosporin. The scales in that spot are edged a blackish color which concerns me but I'm hoping the spot will start to look better with the treatment. It doesn't look any worse to me, but I will post a new pic after work. If is starts to spread, we will go to the vet.

[KORBIN5895]

That black worries me also because that's what my rescues looked like. Have you contacted a vet yet?

[ladyjustice33]

That black worries me also because that's what my rescues looked like. Have you contacted a vet yet?

Not yet because the spot isn't solid black and does not look like dead tissue. It's more like the edge of each scale is edged in black. I'm gonna keep doing what I am doing for a few days and see if it helps. Not sure what a vet can do really besides what I am doing for an injury. I do not want to give her oral antibiotics, too many people I know had to battle yellow fungus after giving oral antibiotics, even when giving probiotics to counter the negative effects of the antibiotics. I'm going to give it today and tomorrow and if not better, call the vet on Wednesday. I will post a pic when I get home later after 5:00 pm, central time.

[ladyjustice33]

btw.....what did you do with the rescues that had a similiar problem?

[Valvaren]

90% of it does look like a shed, the white splotches look like an infection to me, not sure which as I haven't had experience with it so I don't want to point you in the wrong direction. I really wouldn't wait to look, the shed itself looks okay but where the white is it could easily be an infection spreading under the shed on the new scales which could cause lots of issues. If it were me I would just go to a vet solely because where none of us are sure what it is and the breeders don't know what it is then soaking/medication could be making things worse by affecting the shed and the new skin under the shed.

[KORBIN5895]

I purchased four two year old bearded dragons from a guy who had them all housed together in a 24"x30"x24" (rough estimate as it's been several months) enclosure. They were very chewed up and in rough shape. One female lost almost all the toes on her back feet. The male lost both of his longest toes on his back feet. All four were missing 3-5 inches of their tail. Where parts were chewed the were whitish with black edges. The edges slowly spread both ways. I noticed it the most on the males toes and one of the females tail which had a an inch of living tissue after the wound. The blackness took over and smelled of rot. Eventually it fell off. They were all pretty advanced when I found them as far as infection and rotting goes.

[ladyjustice33]

That is horrible! I did a ton of research before getting my babies and would never house them together. I won't even breed them unless I have the space to house each baby seperately and they have large clutches so I may never breed them. I'm happy to say saphira's tail looks much better. It is starting to shed and I was able to ease a little of the shed off. I'm still treating with baths, peroxide, and neosporin and will continue until it looks completely better and probably for a few days after just to be sure. here are some new pics with neosporin on it.

[KORBIN5895]

No mine were much blacker. Very glad its just shed!

[ladyjustice33]

I think its a shed over a scar and that is the problem. I don't know what I would do if something happened to her or Bull. They are such a joy to me and really relax me and help me deal with the loss of my mom to cancer. They say laughter is the best medicine and they make me laugh every day!!!