Thanks for your response!

What's happened, I had a vet here in Charlotte and had tried to contact him to make an appointment to see my skink but he'd left that practice. The staff wouldn't tell me where he'd gone but I finally tracked him down today. He's opening a new practice any day now and did agree to see my monkey tail and me today at 5:30. I am thrilled. I didn't want to do anything myself. My surgical scissors are plenty sharp, but the skink's pain was a huge concern. My pain was also of concern, if she decided to bite me as payback! Solomon Island Skinks are reputed to have one of the most powerful bites among reptiles.

I used the triple antibiotic for maybe the last 10 years to do exactly what you said - keep the skin softened so the old skin could come off. It was effective for all that time. Now, however, the toe is pretty swollen beyond the very constricted girdled ring. I'm thinking the toe appears to be dying and needs to come off, but we'll see what the vet says. I hope you're right, that the toe might be salvageable.

If anyone ever needs a great herp vet in the Charlotte, NC area, I highly recommend Matthew Wheelock, now of Dilworth Animal Hospital. Last year, one of my female chuckwallas retained a couple of eggs several months after laying the rest. I don't know what ultimately would have happened (usually infection and death), but took no chances and hauled the chuck in to see Dr. Wheelock. Following two unsuccessful attempts to induce delivery, Dr. Wheelock did a hysterectomy and removed the remaining eggs. The chuckwalla survived and is still alive and very well. That was some pretty tedious and tiny surgery. Dr. Wheelock's extremely knowledgeable about reptiles!

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