Tail wound, I need advice~

[gothra]

They are putting anti-biotic cream on his wound everyday, so I guess it'll be hard for the wound to form scab as its moist all the time. So, a little bleeding could be possible. The last time when I asked the vet about the regeneration of the tail, he just said most of the time the tail won't grow back, but didn't go into any detail explaining why. Next time I see him/her (I think they've scheduled me to see someone else when I pick up Lemsip on Saturday), I'll ask if they had amputated the tail through the bone or joint.

 

[gothra]

Lemsip's back home!!

He finished all 5 of his antibiotic injections on Saturday, so I brought him home. He seems more lively than ever before, unbelievable! I bought Lemsip a year ago and I almost never see him come out of his hide...now that he is back from hospital, I had already spotted him coming out of his hide and walked around several times! He has pooped once and ate 1 freshly molted roach in the past 2 days, so I guess he is doing fine.

Here he is, in his temporary home:

His current condition:

This is the closest shot I can get, please excuse my camera, he is old...

The vet said their clinic has performed amputation for iguanas, water dragons and other larger herps before, but its their first time for leopard geckos...so, he expects the dark area, along with the stitches, to come off naturally after a few more sheds; and then Lemsip may grow a very very small stub. He is not 100% sure though, so if I find anything unusual, I will need to bring Lemsip back asap. I was given an antibacterial cream to apply on his wound twice a day, its "Silver Sulfadiazine 1% W/W".

That sound like we're on the right track?

 

[PacHerp]

oh, wow. thats worse than I thought... poor little guy! I hope he makes a speedy recovery!

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Poor guy! He looks like he's a happy boy to be home again!

 

[gothra]

Some updates (warning: graphic pics attached)

Lemsip scratched off his scab last night. The scab began peeling at the edges a couple days ago, its probably irritating him, I saw him shaking his "tail" every now and then. Finally, he got rid of it last night, along with all the stitches...The wound is not completely healed yet, and so, I'll need to resume the use of anti-bacterial cream, until there is no open wound.

Here are some pics:

This is how the wound looks 2 weeks ago:

This is how it looks this morning...I have applied anti-bacterial cream on the wound, the light brownish part looked like raw flesh last night, with traces of blood :

I sent these pics to our vet already, he did mentioned to me before that the scab will eventually come off like a cap; I'll wait and see if he thinks the progress is alright. Besides the scab coming off, Lemsip is doing very well. He has great appetite and has gained quite a few grams since he came home with us. He even ate a roach last night after the scab is off. He is getting REALLY spoiled at the moment. I pick out all the freshly molted roach for him, for easy digestion...

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Bonnie, could it be that he is trying to regenerate his tail?

 

[rubym]

Khayman's amputation site looked slightly raw for a couple of days before he poped out his tiny little nub. He has a nice round little stub on it now. Hopefully that is what is going on with your little guy. I was lucky and Kman had a little more left of his natural tail and he did not have stitches. He had a preasure bandage on it for 3.5 days but no stitches. I hope your little one stays on the road to recovery. he is a cutie and well worth spoiling!!!!

 

[gothra]

I was wondering the same thing too...maybe he is starting to grow a little stub and so it pushed off scab? Ruby, do you have any pics that show how the wound looks right before it begins to regenerate a small stub?

By the way, I looked at the "before and after" pics again, the wound on the previous pic looked "flat"; whereas in the newer pic, the end of the tail does seem more "round" than before...

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

When the tail begins to regenerate, it looks like a small pink 'bump' in the center of the stub. As it grows, it can look almost red and it will form a cone-like projection.

 

[Jeremy Letkey]

Bonnie here are a few old pics that I have.

This is the day of the break.

This is 12 days later.

This is 19 days after the break.

This is 30 days.

This is about 70 days later.

I hope this helps. I am sure that he will do just fine though.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Great photo progression, Jeremy!

 

[gothra]

Thanks for the pics, Jeremy!

From how Lemsip's wound is looking at the moment, he doesn't look like he is forming a new tail; I think the wound will just heal and remain like a small round stub in the end. Well, as long as he is eating and alive, nothing matters!

Our vet replied yesterday, he said the wound looks fine, and told me to continue the use of anti-bacterial cream for a few more days.

 

[gothra]

I have some update for Lemsip; after his scab came off in december, he's now growing a small stub. I don't think he's regenerating a tail though, just a small round stub to finish off the wound.

An earlier pic taken in January:

Then these are taken last month, the stub is a little larger:

He's still living in a temporary care unit (ok, just a plain container with simple set-up); I got him a new tank, hopefully, I can reunite him with his favourite piece of wood and rock hide this weekend~

 

[MSMD]

He's lookin' good! I'm sure he appreciates you being such a caring gecko mom! :main_yes:

 

[nicolenadia]

Bonnie, You are a great leo mom!!! I am so happy he is ok!!!!

 

[DAWNoftheLEO]

Good ending, or continuation!