Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i just noticed a problem with my tegus tail tip it appeares that he has missing scales and cut at the tip as you can see from the pic, and the tip is not perfectly straight, the last inch as a slight zig zag to it. also his attitude has changed in the last few days, hes becoming aggressive, he has never shown any aggression since ive had him so i assume this is giving him some pain. when i touch it he dosnt respond to it but thats the only thing i can think of that would make him that way. hes about 20-22" and hes still in a 50 gal wide, im moveing in about a month and plan on giving him a sectioned part of the gameroom when i do. his temps are at recomended levels as is the humidity and i feed him primarily ground turkey supplimented with mineral all and vits with additional vit c. i also have blended fruits mixed with the turkey, i cant get him to eat whole fruits by them self. his sheds seem to come off easy and quickly his digits are ok as well as the rest of him, just the tail has the problem. i havnt noticed the tail having any problem sheading allthough it is the last to shed. also theres nothing for him to get burned on nor does he whip his tail.
im pretty stumped on this i assume its a sheading problem but it seemed like they were all good. has anyone else had this problem and what could be done to avoid it from getting worse and what could help it to heal. thanks for any info

That definately sounds like a long term shedding problem to me. The cuts are likely cracking, not an inflicted injury. What I have had work for me in the past was a good, daily soak in a luke warm tub with a small ammount of epsom salts (NOT PERFUMED BATH SALT). Then liberaly apply polysporin for a few days massaging the area to help the shed and possibly the circulation. Do not pick at the scales as that will cause more damage.

I said long term shedding problem, and that isn't really correct. What I should have said was circulation problem, which are usually the result of strangulation of the appendage due to retained sheds. If he is shedding well, it is still possible that there is an underlying circulatory problem not related to shedding.

GD

thanks for the reply, what exactly is polysporin and where can i get it, thanks again

polysporin, neosporin, etc. is an antibiotic ointment used to on cuts and scrapes to prevent infection. It will also help keep the tissue moist. It is wiely available over the counter in any drug store. I would look for the regular one, not the pain relief type.

GD