Tail necrotic...help!

[crittermom]

Hi all,

This is my first post on this site. There seems to be loads of good info on here and very knowledgable people. I got my first BTS several months ago. His name is Eliot and he's about 6 months old-cant remember his bday. He is in a 40 gal breeder with an Under tank heater on one end, a heat lamp (UV/heat) and basking rock on that same end (temps around 100 in daytime) and a hide and his bowls on the other end. He's on aspen bedding and has a pegboard top with a small flourescent light for extra daylight. He eats pretty well, though I really have to disquise his greens. He has shed two times since having him. The first time he appeared to shed well. Last time he had a little skin left on his tail. I read that you should give them a couple days to take care of it themselves, so about 3 days later, I gave him a warm water bath to help it off. When I rubbed the tail with a q tip it was like his skin came off! I dipped the tail in betadine and applied triple antibiotic. I never seemed to get that skin off despite my numberous soaks. Now it seems the tail has darkened but was lookign better. Today I pulled him out to soak him, and when I checked his tail, the scales just above the sloughed part were oozing a bit of clear liquid. He's soaking in water as I write this, and I will repeat the betadine, triple antibiotic, but I'm sooo worried. as of now, it is still the tip of his tail, but I want to get it solved before it moves up. Any advice? I will definately take him to the vet if I can't get it solved, but I'd like to hear if anyone else has had this issue first. I will try to post pics but my internet is super slow tonight. Thanks in advance.

[NomadOfTheHills]

Strange. If it was a smaller lizard, I would say your best bet would be to break the tail off above the problem area. However, this is defiantly not advisable on a BTS.

I'm interested in hearing other opinions.

[aggiegirl]

Welcome. I'm not the expert but the dilute betadine should help with a nice heal. Make sure your tank is very clean while it heals. Also, get rid of the heat rock and undertank heating. Stick with the heat lamp for your basking area. Look over the caresheet and please keep us posted! Pictures might help---we always like to see skinkies and we might be able to offer more advice.

[aggiegirl]

Sorry, you said "basking rock" which is fine. My kids are distracting me and I always multi task while on the forum. Darned Peanuts Christmas special....

[Fatal_S]

Ohh, not good. I don't really have any idea what to do, but Good Luck with fixing him up! Hope it turns out okay.

[Leigh]

How often do you bathe him, is it just to aid shedding? too many baths aren't a good idea.Do you know of any traumas to the tail from anything in the tank or whilst out and about?A good picture of the offending tail section would help a lot. I hope it gets sorted soon and

[Tattoo]

Sorry to hear your bluey is not well. Best wishes for his recovery and send us a picture so we can be of more help.