Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My Cali King just had a bad shed that finally ended two days ago. It took him about 5 days to shed completely. I soak him 3 times. Now he is bright again but his tail looks emaciated. I have soaked him in Betadine and warm water and offered Nekton water. Is there anything else I can do, it looks like he is going to lose the tail.

NYCSnakeHandler

Wow, that's a weird one. Emaciated you say...was it strangulated by the skin cutting off blood supply or something? How much of the tail is involved? If it's just the tip then although a shame no big deal it's only cosmetic, but if it's up closer to the vent this could cause some serious problems, especially in a male snake.

Can you show us any pics? How old/big is this snake? I'd say get your snake to a vet ASAP. All I can suggest in the meantime is if he does lose the tail clean the stump with some betadine, rinse well and pat dry then put a bit of neosporin on it. Make sure to keep him on some moist paper towels so as not to contaminate the wound. Get him to a vet man!
Best of luck to you, keep us posted.

~Roo
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"Klaatu...Verata...Nicht--cough, cough, cough!"

I'm dealing with the same problem right now with one of my Graybands. The tip of his tail has become rigid and rather ugly looking. Above that, and below the anus, scales started coming off to reveal raw skin underneath. It probably began from shedding problems, when the last part of old skin on the tail accumulated after not coming off properly.

Upon taking him to our herp vet, he was diagnosed with a fungal infection. He had given me a tube some time ago containing a sort of antibiotic/lubricant that would help with typical shedding problems (including eyecaps) whenever they arose in one of my snakes. He recommended keeping it handy for any such problems. I first began to apply the lubricant, but when scales started coming off on his tail I took him in for an exam. The vet strongly recommended not only getting him off of the lubricant immediately, but wash all traces of it off of the affected area! He gave me a different type of ointment that I now have to apply to the infected tail twice a day for a month. It's designed specifically to combat fungal infection.

He's improving, but the tip of his tail is still hard and we may not be able to save it. But at least the scales are filling back in. He's just gone blue, so we'll see what happens in another week or so.

So, if your king's problem is fungal in nature, the usual treatments for bacterial infections and shedding problems may not work - and might even make matters worse. I strongly recommend getting a professional diagnosis from a herp vet before proceeding with any medicinal treatment. Continued soaking may be okay, though. Good luck!
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MichaelB

Regarding my above post, RXV sterile ophthalmic ointment is the first ointment/lubricant I was given. It was replaced with Nolvasan creme, which apparently is a combination bacterial/viral/fungal treatment and was prescribed because of it being a better treatment for fungal infection.
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MichaelB

I read the first aid page that Melissa Kaplan wrote and I followed her advice....I have soaked my king 3 times in a mixture of warm water and Povidone Iodine, 4 more times are suggested. I haved also put triple bacterial ointment on the tail and covered it with self stick gauze and paper tape. While soaking the gauze comes off. I must tell you that after only three days the tail looks 1000 times better. It is no longer an open wound and he is active again. Also, the soaking has made his new shed the brightest yet. I am no longer afraid he will die, I am even confident now that he will not even lose the tail.
Thanks to Melissa's page

NYCSNAKEHANDLER