Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm taking her to the vet next week, but she has these scars on her tail. She's had them since I got her, so I think the pet store just didn't treat their Igs right. Most of them are just these indentations on her tail, about quater inch-long dips. But one's really nasty. It's about a half, two-thirds of an inch long, back, has a bump in the middle, and the scales are missing underneath it. Also, though this may just be an illusion cause by her shedding, it appears to have a crack in it. She's had it as long as the others, but it's just now seemed really nasty. I just gave her a quick Betadine bath, to disenfect it and to make it feel nicer, and I'm going to put neosporen on it before she goes to sleep. I don't know what it's from, but it looks bad enough to make me worried she'll lose her tail. It's about two inches from the base of her tail, and she doesn't have these scars anywhere else. i've heard that Iguanas lose their tails in nature if attacks, but it won't ever get to be as long again. I can't get to the vet until next friday, at the earliest, and even then I'm not sure I'll be able to. Please help!

I'm sorry that I don't have an answer for you. I puchased a 3 month old about 9 months ago who had the same bend with missing scales (always rooting for the underdog). His name is Issac. Every time he sheds it is a little less noticeable. ? How long have you had Ziggy? 9 months and only I can still tell. I just got another 3 month old (lolita) and Issac bites her tail so I seperated them, so that very thing didn't happen to her. Ya, the store probably didn't notice or care. Please keep me updated! -EDDY-

I got Ziggy as a Christmas present. She was actually a "replacement" for one my parents baught the day before Christmas eve which died the night of christmas. figured ey'd see that any store that sells you a point-of-death animal doesn't deserve bussiness, but. Eh. I got Ziggy out of it. This is her first shed since I got her (I got her while she was shedding). I do hope she gets better like your's! She was in with about ten other Igs (in a disgustingly tiny cage, too.), so it is probably bite woulds. Or heat rock burns, because they had one in there. Thank you!

Hi, my ig didn't have exactly the same problem, but I know it makes me feel better to hear about similar things happening to other ig owners.

When I got my iguana, Bud, his previous owner had been living in outside with him (she ran away from home) and had gotten into a fight with some people who stepped on him. As a result of this, his tail developed something called dry gangrene on the last two or so inches of his tail. It looked like the tail had shrivelled up into itself, it was just a grey-black shrunken tail end. The first vet I took him to missed it, and said it would fall off by itself and grow back. My advice to you is, if your vet tells you anything of this sort, or does not address the problem at all, FIND A NEW VET! That was the best thing I ever did for Bud.

He was lucky, dry gangrene doesn't usually result from a cut, and spreads pretty slowly. WET gangrene, however, often results from cuts, is mushy and gross, and spreads quickly. It can cause an iguana to lose its whole tail, all the way up to its back legs. Trust me when I say that losing the end of her tail is not the worst thing that can happen to little Ziggy.

Bud's gangrenous tail-end was amputated (without anaesthesia) in September, and at this point has grown back to be LONGER than his original tail tip! It grew in black, then formed tiny wrinkles that look like scales, then real scales, then hopefully will regain some of its color. But it's true that it will never look the same as the original tail, colorwise.

Hope this helps a little. I'm glad you're taking her to the vet!
-Erin