Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just wanted to run this by some of you to find out what or if there is anything I can do.

Kaiser, my rat snake who is about 8-9 months old (maybe a year), has just lost the tip of her tail. About 1/4-1/2 inch of it. It seems when she has been shedding that part hasnt shed, it just dies and then apparently been sinching down on the end of her tail. I have been soaking her trying to get it off but today while doing that that part came off. Is that going to hurt Kaiser or will it heal back and give me something else to look for?

Any help would be appreciated. She hasnt grown very fast...she has gotten longer but not really wider. I am assuming this is normal for a Rat and that they dont get to be real big around.
Thanks again in advance.
Mark

Swab some betadine on the tip 2-3 times a day and it should heal just fine. Just keep an eye on the sheds so that it doesn't happen again. This kind of thing seems to happen often in the wild.

Van

Now that the tip is gone, the probability is that you'll not have any further problems with the shed skin being retained at the end of the tail. Your snake won't grow quite as long as she could have, had she not lost a bit, but she'll be just as healthy now as she ever was.

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tricia

The advice below is good, so I don't have anything stunning to add...Just wanting to say that I was thinking of you and Kaiser the other day and almost posted a : "Has anyone heard from...?"
Glad to hear that the "K" is still with you. Continued good luck. Duffy

Thanks for thinking of us. We're still around, she's getting longer but not wider. But that seems normal.