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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2005 9:52 pm Post subject: Help!!!
the very tip of my 6mo+ tegu's tail is coming off! about 2cm up, its about 1/3 of the way off already! when i first got him he had a little nip in his tail, but then when he shed, it wouldnt come off there and now its falling off! i dunno if i should take him in and have it removed or just let it fall off on its own...i dont want it to get infected tho! any advice would be great!
thanks!
Joined: Nov 06, 2004 Posts: 972269 Location: Central Maine
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2005 11:05 pm Post subject:
It sounds like it's too late to help it. The bad shed cut off circulation and the tip has probably died and will fall off. Keep it clean with warm water and you can soak the tegu in a mild betadine & water solution.
The tail will fall off and will regrow. Thought it will not look the same it should be fine.
It's hard to tell you to do anything else without being there to see the tail. If it's at risk of ripping off and causing more damage and you know there is no way to save the tail you could take the tegu to the vet to have the tip amputated and corterised.
ya know how the tip of an argentinas tale is black? well thats the part thats falling off, so if it grows back, it should be pretty much the same...
i can take a pic of it but all i got is a camera phone and the pics come out kinda crappy...but let me know if u wanna see a pic...
Joined: Nov 06, 2004 Posts: 972269 Location: Central Maine
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2005 10:34 am Post subject:
If it's gonna fall off it should be fine. If it's starting to fall off, but isnt quite doing it then I would say you should go to a vet and have it cut off so it doesn't get caught and cause more damage.
They will not charge more then an office fee (normally $15 to $25) and while there you can get them to do a basic checkup and probe your tegu to check it's sex. This will all be covered under the office fee. Another reason to have a vet look at your tegu is because your tegu is probably healthy and it will give you vet something to guage against if you bring in your tegu sick, dehydrated, etc.
Some people, will clip the fractured/hanging part of the tail right off. It takes two or three people to do it correct. One to hold the tegu firm, one to hold the tail and one to clip, but if the tegu deathrolls just as you start to clip you could cause more damage or pain. This is why I generally say consult a vet. It's not a large operation and most vets will do it right in the exam room for no extra charge over the office fee.
Actually, the tail tip is likely not to regrow. Tegus are not strong tail regenerators such as geckotans or skinks, but it is true they regenerate. However, it usually depends on how the tail is lost. Tail loss due to trauma (tail cut off, bitten off, pulled off) usually results in regeneration. But tail loss from some manner that results in a certain modified scar tissue (burning, gangrene or other results from blood flow loss, etc.) rarely result in tail regeneration. It's kind of like a genetic program exists in the tail where it thinks "this tail loss was our doing, best not to grow a new one".
Even if it regrows, and even if it is in the "black area", it will still be noticeably different. The scales will be different, in luster, shape, size, etc, and the colour, although it will be still black, will be a different sort of black. Internally, any bone that was lost is replaced by cartilage. I recommend following Rick's advice and taking the tegu into a vet and having the tail aputated slightly above the dead tissue area WITHOUT being cauterized afterwards, if you wish to induce tail regrowth.
Joined: Dec 11, 2004 Posts: 216 Location: BC, Canada
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2005 11:58 am Post subject:
Like Rick said the tail is probably going to fall off. My tegu was in the middle of a disasterous shed when I got him and consequently a few toes fell off. Unless the end of the tail is just hanging on by a thread I would not remove it yourself. There could still be some living tissue within the tail and snipping it off would be extremely painful and would probably end in a lot of bleeding.
Bringing your tegu to the vet would be a good idea. Although it won't help the shedding problem (they will probably tell you everything you already know and to wait on the tail it will fall off on its own) they may catch other problems.
Oh and if your worried about infection polysporin works nicely (use the regular non-numbing stuff).
Regenerable tails are actually designed with muscle and blood vessel configurations so as to reduce blood loss during caudal autotomy. It wouldn't make for much of a defense strategy if you lost your tail to a predator only to wind up dying from blood loss afterwards. Tegus do have a rather large vein near the dorsal surface of the tail near the base that will bleed profusely if cut, but otherwise down the tail is not that much of a concern. Yes, cutting the end of the tail off would hurt, but this is why we suggested the animal be taken to the vet so that at least a local anaesthetic could be administered.
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