Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK,
About a month ago I was out of town for my Grandma's funeral. My girlfriend took care of my iggy. I made up all the food and everything for while I was gone and she fed him (I say him, but sex is yet to be determined.). Anyway, when she was closing the cage door, she accidently caught the very extreme tip of the iguana's tail. She called me immediatly and told me. She said there was an extreme little amount of blood, nothing major. When I got home, I looked and it was just the extreme tip, in fact it was so small I had a hard time seeing the cut (?). Anyway, about 1/4 inch or a litte more of the tip of his tail has turned black and is obviously dead/dieing. I am sure I need to get him to a vet as soon as possible, but I just want to make sure. Will this continue to progress, or will it eventually stop? I am assuming it needs an antibotic or something? I read a web site that talked about "twisting" the dead part off and then treating it, but then wouldn't I be in the same situation with the new sore?? I guess I just want some input, I worried about my little buddy - FRANKY. He is a great iguana. VERY FIESTY since the day I got him and I may be feeding him to much because he is getting plump---which I love. Anyway, even though he constantly swats me and has bit me twice in the 3 months that i have had him, I think that he is the greatest...so I am worried about the tail. Thankyou for whatever help anyone can give. By the way, I got him from the local pet store. When I got him he was about 1 Foot SVL (age is another question....1 foot means..?). He is beatiful and his color is changing more and more bright green since I have had him. Basically, I don't know if bright is the right word, but the color is improving since I have had him.

Thank You,
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Mike
0.0.1 Green Iguana
0.0.1 Pac Man Frog
0.2.0 Albino African Clawed Frog
1.0.0 BIG Golden Retriever 105 lbs

Oh my gosh that is so odd... my iggy has the same name as yours and mine had the same situation with the tail and all.. weird. i got mine from the ppet shop when he was 1 foot too.. a lot in common huh. as a matter of fact his tail has a little black thingy on it but i was told it is the re-growth of the tail.. so i am not worried and i dont think that you should be either unless it looks really bad. and infected like. but yeah, i could show you a picture of my iggy but i do not know how to post pictured on here!! please help me!

nicole

Measure it every day, it can be dry gangrene. If you see that the black part spread too much, then see a vet, he will have the black part amputated in a sterile way then it should heal nicely. Dry gangrene could spread to almost the whole tail !
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Mizar 21
1.0 Collared lizard (Ganymede)
1.0 Leopard Gecko (Gethsemani)
1.0 Nerodia Fasciata (Serpentard)
1.0 rescued iguana (Gomez)
1.2 Cats

underneath the black part is like green.. like it is transparent sort of.. it looks like it is about to shed or something. it is a very very small amount and his tail didnt bleed or anything when it came off.

is this good or bad? please help cuz now im worried!

Here is a not so good picture of the tip of his tail. I have never posted a pic on before, so hopefully it works. Also, keep in mind that his started out as a "nic" that really was not all that visible, and now as you can see it has extended up to a good half inch or so.

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Mike
0.0.1 Green Iguana
0.0.1 Pac Man Frog
0.2.0 Albino African Clawed Frog
1.0.0 BIG Golden Retriever 105 lbs

If it were my iguana, i'll check it very closely and measure it again in a couple of days. If it spread i would run to the vet. Do you give him bath ? That could help to soften the skin a bit and help activating the blood circulation. I'm no specialist but i have some exp with reptile and thats what i would do if it were mine.
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Mizar 21
1.0 Collared lizard (Ganymede)
1.0 Leopard Gecko (Gethsemani)
1.0 Nerodia Fasciata (Serpentard)
1.0 rescued iguana (Gomez)
1.2 Cats