Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well yesterday I was setting up another tank for the hatchlings and used a fixture that was given to me that I had never used before. It was a metal dome with ceramic base that I put a 100 Watt basking light in. After I had started putting babies in, the bulb actually exploded from the fixture and shot straight down to the little guy on the rock below. Well, it ended up smashing a small part of his tail between the bulb and the rock, poor little guy, the skin sort of split open and I'm sure he'll lose the end of his tail. Is there anything I can do for him? I have him separate now until he heals, he seems okay and is eating well today, but do I need to worry about infection? What do you think could have caused the bulb to shoot out of the fixture like that??
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1.3 Louie,Sunny,Red,Lilly and babies!

Im not exactly sure...the one thing i am sure of is watch for gangrene. If the tail starts to look dead, take him to the vet to have it looked at because if its gangrene and you dont get it amputated it will kill him.

Other than that....keep it clean. Put him in a hospital tank on paper towels and clean the wound with diluted betadine. You could also apply triple antibiotic oinment daily and do daily betadine soaks (before putting on the ointment, lol). Be extra careful that all feeder insects are removed from his cage if they arent eaten so they dont harrass him or pick at the wound causing it to become infected.

Keep an eye on it, it may just fall of on its own, it may heal up fine. If it starts looking funky though, get him to a vet asap.
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