Tail problem

[fallen_angel]

This is my friend's gecko, whom I'm "gecko-sitting" until the 12th of this month. She has a problem with her tail, it looks like it may be necrotic...?? My friend told me that there was some stuck shed on her tail (and this gecko always had a little bit of a tail kink), but the stuck shed wasn't on there for very long.. However, once my friend got the stuck shed off, this is what her tail looked like. I was hoping that maybe it would just fall off on it's own, but I don't know? Should this gecko be taken to a vet for an amputation?

Thanks

 

[fallen_angel]

Well I guess I should have done a search before posting, I just did one and found a few similar threads.. I remember Bonnie's story with Lemsip too, and so I'm afraid of this infection spreading. I've only had this gecko since Tuesday, so it's only been a few days since this has happened, if that.

So far, it doesn't seem like the infection is spreading.. one can only hope that things stay this way. I suppose I will see if it withers and falls off; and if not, herp doc' here we come. Sorry for wasting space with this thread.

 

[ajveachster]

It's not a waste of space. Let us know how things turn out.

 

[gothra]

Not a waste of space at all, Jess. If there is no infection, I think the tail tip will either heal or will dry up and fall off on its own. The only problem is if the redness start to spread to the upper part of the tail, if this happen, I think you'll need to take her to a vet. Good luck!

 

[Gregg M]

Jess, just leave it alone... It will be fine... The portion of the tail that is red like that will dry and fall off... Reptiles are very resiliant to infection and rarely need human intervention with such a superficial "injury"...

 

[fallen_angel]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I appreciate it

 

[scottprice]

I dealt with that same situation with my stripe girl... it did eventually dry up and fall off, but I took it to my herp vet and he helped peel it off, it had already basically become a scab and now she's perfectly fine. My vet said I could add a little Neosporin on it to aid in the healing. Now it's so healed up you can barely tell anything happened since it was only a small portion of her tail. It definitely is from part of the shed not dislodging from the tail, my vet used the description of tying a rubber band around your arm basically the blood gets cut off from the tail, fortunately they regenerate well. I've also helped her along since then by soaking her in a little luke warm water.

 

[fallen_angel]

Thanks for the insight Scott, I'll definitely let my friend know

The tip did end up drying up after I realized I should stop spraying the moist hide :main_rolleyes: lol There was nice, healthy skin underneath and my friend came back from vacation and picked her up last Sunday

 

[scottprice]

you bet, I knew what it was right away as soon as I saw that pic, scared the crap out of me when I first saw it, it was crazy though, it did that ugly shriveling almost overnight, one night I thought I noticed a darkening of the tip but didn't really think anything of it. Then that happened and I was scared to death.