Partially detached tail....need some advice.

scm133 · Aug 19, 2014

I just got notice from the buyer with pictures, that my beautiful baby has a partially detached tail from shipping. I told him to set up a hospital tank/tub with just paper towels. Moist humid hide changed daily. Minimal handling. No crickets..just mealworms. Also, if it starts looking worse apply a small amount of Neosporin on the wound. The wound looks odd...almost like she bit herself!!!
I am so upset!! I go the extra mile in packing, and this has never happened before.

Is there anything else, I could tell him to do?
Here are the pictures that he sent me:

Dinosaur! · Aug 19, 2014

It looks like a small wound, so it will probably heal over and not fall off. Just tell him to keep the tank as clean and sterile as possible to avoid infection. So take out her feces ASAP, and keep the wound clean.Its hard to tell how deep it is, but if it isnt very deep he can soak a cotton swab in hydrogen peroxide and gently swab it on the wound occasionally. Then rinse it off with water, and apply a thin layer of neosporin or similar product. I,ve only had something happen like that once when a male grabbed my females tail in breeding, and she panicked and partially dropped it. But I did what I said above, and it healed with barely a scar left today. I'm sorry that this happened to you (and the gecko's owner) but sometimes things just happen in shipping

sausage · Aug 20, 2014

I agree with the above, to me it looks like she was shedding when she was packed up. the stress of traveling and shedding most likely freaked her out and she bit herself. It should heal completely in a few sheds as said just keep it clean.

DrCarrotTail · Aug 20, 2014

I had something similar recently happen right after breeding when I was moving the female back to her tub. It was way worse (to me at least!) than what's happened in your picture and it's almost totally healed up in about 4-6 weeks. I just kept her tub clean and left her alone as much as possible. She's even layed two clutches of eggs since it happened and her tail still healed

Good luck with yours!

scm133 · Aug 20, 2014

Thanks, everyone! I was really feeling guilty, and upset over this.
I talked to the buyer today. He said she was looking better after her shedding. She was even wagging her tail at him!!
I still gave him a partial refund. I plan on adding more shredded tissue in the deli cups, next time I ship. It will give them more to snuggle down and under, and hopefully will be less stressed.

sausage · Aug 21, 2014

I would also advise against shipping animals going into shed or that are about to. it seems to cause a lot of problems. some one on here had a female die during transport not long ago. the shed banded up and she choked/ suffocated

might be best to postpone shipping till after they shed.

scm133 · Aug 21, 2014

sausage said:
I would also advise against shipping animals going into shed or that are about to. it seems to cause a lot of problems. some one on here had a female die during transport not long ago. the shed banded up and she choked/ suffocated
might be best to postpone shipping till after they shed.

I so agree! But, I did not see any start of shedding, or I would have postponed.

sausage · Aug 21, 2014

thats fair enough. it wasnt your fault so dont worry or feel bad, was just an acident.
might be an idea to keep a log of shedding before selling, the same way snake breeders keep track of feeding. that way you should be able to time shedding for before or after delivery hopefully lol

DrCarrotTail · Aug 21, 2014

There's not much you can control once the shipping box leaves your hands. My guess would be she was jarred or there could have been a really loud noise really close to her box while she was in transit. Crap happens. Fingers crossed you get a happy update in a few weeks!

Partially detached tail....need some advice.

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