EMERGENCY!!!(incomplete tail loss)

[stephen]

I have a 8 month old tegu male...I have been having problems with cage handling but he is fine once out....he freaks when i put my hand in the tank(75gal)....well earlier today i was getting him out and he darted off my shoulder and across the room...being the dumby that i was....got him by his tail....Heres the bad news: his tail almost broke off but it didnt completely...it is 1 1/2"- 2" from his base and its a small slice no wider then the width of a dime...i quickly rinsed it and put b&w(a popular neosporin like medicine that is popular with the amish) on him, than wrapped a piece of tissue and medical tape...Was this the right thing to do? I have no exotic vet where i live...the closest one is about an hour drive nor do i have money to pay the bills for it... Do i just reapply the b&w and bandage or seek help from a vet....I have him in a 20 gal now and it only has papertowel and a hide with water....of course heat and uvb aswell....suggestions???[/color]

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

Welcome to the site pics would help.
I'm not a Vet but if it's just a minor cut (not too deep), I would remove the bandage, just keep an eye on it and keep it clean with a bit of the ointment on. It needs to breath as part of the healing process, the ointment with the tissue and tape will prevent that.

 

[stephen]

http://i1140.photobucket.com/albums/n561/dragorn2432/stuff/GEDC0989_zps81989ca1.jpg[/img

It is actually 3-4 inches not 1-2 and the grayish center is 2 scales still attached...

 

[bfb345]

reptiles are highly resilient creatures i would let the natural healing process take place keep him on paper towel or newspaper until it forms a good scab that way no substrate will get in the wound

 

[TheTeguGurl]

I agree with the above post. make sure it is clean and dry. Keep an eye on it for infections puss , swelling ect. Then a vet may need to be seen..

 

[stephen]

just for my own preparation...and for some more info.........i took a look today and saw, im assuming the muscles or the tendons or whatever and noticed his tail looks like it is broken and the only thing holding it is the scales....so do you think it will just die and fall off or it will heal up and re attach???im fully aware of how the process works, this is just for my own approval.

 

[laurarfl]

I doubt it will reattach. It isn't designed to heal, but rather to break if needed to escape.

You are seeing the connective tissues that run longitudinally along the tail. The tail has break planes and these tissues connect the planes together. They separate easily as do the planes. There isn't a great blood supply there which is important for healing, but bad for an area that needs to break.

Being an incomplete separation, it is a rather open wound. If it were my tegu, I would probably finish the break, clean it up, put triple antibiotic ointment on it, and keep it in a clean enclosure until the end heals.

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*not a vet

 

[stephen]

I would probably finish the break, clean it up, put triple antibiotic ointment on it, and keep it in a clean enclosure until the end heals.

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*not a vet

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how would i go about this?

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not saying i will but i might have too do to the fact everything is broken on the tail except the scales

 

[laurarfl]

Just snap it the rest of the way

 

[Roadkill]

Hmmn, this is a slightly tricky one. As Laura has pointed out, you've definitely initiated a break at a fracture plane, and it is abundantly clear some of the muscle groups have popped, but perhaps not all. You might be able to save this, but I'd caution not to get your hopes up. What bubblz has pointed out is often good advice, but in this case I think it would definitely lead to loss of the end of the tail (that wouldn't be hazardous to your tegu at all, just not perhaps the outcome you want). I'm not a veterinarian either, but I have had a fair bit of hands on experience with some treatments and injuries similar to this - this winter I spent my time treating and rehabilitating a Ctenosauria similis with extensive third degree burns and I'm proud to say she's made a great recovery.

First, you definitely want to keep that wound clean, daily irrigation with water (or better yet, a very very dilute solution of Betadine or Bactine) will help keep it clean and the tissue moist. I have no idea what is in b&w, and considering it is popular with the Amish, this makes me hesitant to recommend continue using it. There could be some very good things to it, but I wonder if it has the necessary antibiotic components you'd want with this procedure. I'd get some Polysporin (it doesn't have to be the actual brand name, any generic brand will do), apply this to the wound. Over this you apply a small gauze. Now comes the more skillful part - you are going to want to not only hold that gauze in place, but do so with something that will help restrict movement and support the tail at and around that fracture, and not completely cover the gauze because as has been pointed out, that wound needs to breathe (and that's primarily what the gauze is for). If this were in my hands, I'd use duct tape - but I caution against this as you should be changing this dressing daily, with duct tape it will adhere well and in changing you are likely to put unwanted torsion/bending on the back half of the tail and impede healing, perhaps even further damage the fracture. So instead I'd recommend vet wrap - there are a number of different brand names for this product - it typically adheres well to itself, but not the lizard. You want to wrap this around the breakage area as well as ahead and behind it to give support. Don't stretch it so far as to restrict circulation, but it does need some stretching to get it to adhere well to itself. While you want a wide enough bandage of this to provide support, you want to also make sure you have enough gauze poking out from one or both sides to allow breathing of the wound. There are better ways to go about bandaging this, but as you say money is a factor, this is about as cheap as there is.

So everyday you will want to unwrap, irrigate the wound, apply polysporin, gauze, and re-bandage. When granulation closes over the wound (basically this is rudimentary skin growth), you can stop with the polysporin and gauze, but I'd still want to continue with the dressing until you had very good integument regeneration.

Now, beings as that's an incomplete break and it appears to be at a bit of an angle, even if it heals that tail is likely to have a bend in it from now on. Similarly this will be the outcome if it doesn't successfully reheals and winds up falling off as this wasn't a complete break all at once.

 

[Dubya]

[attachment=6748]I am with Laura on this one. Have a couple of shots of Tequila and go for it!

 

[stephen]

I have no idea what is in b&w, and considering it is popular with the Amish, this makes me hesitant to recommend continue using it. There could be some very good things to it, but I wonder if it has the necessary antibiotic components you'd want with this procedure.

science based medicine
this is the best article i found on explaining it, its mainly known for the burns but i have used it on many of my own wounds like a pitch fork through my heel or a dog bite on my hand, and i have been shocked how fast and clean it heals with no scarring... raw honeyRaw Honey alone contains an amazing amount of enzymes and nutritional benefits for consumption alone....I am not trying to say that im going with b&w..im just trying to give the facts...i prefer natural over artificial....

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I am with Laura on this one. Have a couple of shots of Tequila and go for it!

cut or rip it though...i dont see this tail making it....i have tried the vet wrap and it just slides down....I have worked with rehabilitating turtles and mouth rot with snake before but nothing with a lizard...

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just to show his healing quarters

the orange stain isnt actually there...but its a 20 long/with a wooden hide made in 5 minutes/and a small water dish that he cant submerge in

Due to his excessive bleeding i went through with the amputation...he did most of it i just held him and the tail and pushed up....i filled a sink with epsom salt(sterilizing agent)(another natural substance)...then applied corn starch for bleeding and took transpore medical tape and paper towel(no gauze) and put b&w on it(going to try polysporin when i can get to it)....I took the paper towel folded it "hotdog bun" style and applied the b&w to the center of the paper towel, then applied and taped around the tail

Note: Get some help if possible....My taping skills werent the best but the tape sticks well and provides air flow

 

[Roadkill]

Stephen, the reason I'm hesitant to recommend continued use of it isn't because of any stigma associated with the Amish with regards to their beliefs, but in a lot of these traditional/folk medicines there are often components used such as onion or garlic. While these have definitely been proven to be beneficial to humans, it is often reported that onion and garlic are toxic to reptiles. I've seen people kill reptiles by treating them with some of these folk medicines because they've failed to understand the concept that these medicines have active ingredients in them that are the same as hospital medicine, but without control for standardization for the quantities contained within, and therefore can most certainly represent a risk. Without seeing an ingredient list, I couldn't advise it. Natural ingredients does not mean safer (cyanide is a natural ingredient), it means less adherence to standards.

That being said, you have brought up honey, which indeed is a highly recommended healing aid. Vets recommend it all the time as well. However, it can't be just any honey, it supposedly needs to be unpasteurized. If you want to try that as opposed to antibiotic ointments, go for it. Don't know about where you are, though, but around here I think unpasteurized honey and Polysporin go for about the same rate

 

[TheTeguGurl]

Poor baby so sorry this happened to him/her.

 

[stephen]

Stephen, the reason I'm hesitant to recommend continued use of it isn't because of any stigma associated with the Amish with regards to their beliefs, but in a lot of these traditional/folk medicines there are often components used such as onion or garlic. While these have definitely been proven to be beneficial to humans, it is often reported that onion and garlic are toxic to reptiles. I've seen people kill reptiles by treating them with some of these folk medicines because they've failed to understand the concept that these medicines have active ingredients in them that are the same as hospital medicine, but without control for standardization for the quantities contained within, and therefore can most certainly represent a risk. Without seeing an ingredient list, I couldn't advise it. Natural ingredients does not mean safer (cyanide is a natural ingredient), it means less adherence to standards.

That being said, you have brought up honey, which indeed is a highly recommended healing aid. Vets recommend it all the time as well. However, it can't be just any honey, it supposedly needs to be unpasteurized. If you want to try that as opposed to antibiotic ointments, go for it. Don't know about where you are, though, but around here I think unpasteurized honey and Polysporin go for about the same rate

I appreciate the info and have the list of ingredients her:honey, lanolin, olive oil, wheat germ oil, aloe vera gel, wormwood, marshmallow root, comfrey root, white oak bark, lobelia, vegetable glycerin, and beeswax...this is the 3rd round of it and have not seen issues but if you see an issue with these ingredients i will immediately stop....I have a conection for unpasteurized honey, so getting that isnt as expensive as polysporin....I appreciate everyones aid in this and will continue posting updates on him as things progress....currently he is hiding but i went to change his bandage and he was figity but calm....I notice there is a gloss scab like over him and white skin like pieces on the top and bottom of his tail....i will attempt tofeed this afternoon...when i go and get his favorite dinner...

 

[Dubya]

[attachment=6754]Stephen, you know what you have to do.

 

[laurarfl]

He did

 

[stephen]

Stephen, you know what you have to do.

I have to get into a less stressful hobby...haha jkjk

I am happy to report he is doing great...he is eating and crapping on me(back to normal)....I'm side tracking a bit, but i have talk to many tegu owners at reptile shows and they all have fed to their lizards a high grade cat food that has no gravy in it ....I have started with it and he is doing fine...i have read a few articles on the matter and never get a clear answer...I just wanted to see if this is alright in his predicament???

 

[BatGirl1]

Re: RE: EMERGENCY!!!(incomplete tail loss)

Stephen, you know what you have to do.

Yes he snapped tail off. And has it bandaged i think to keep out debris and germs while healing. Oh...my aunt had cracked hands a lot and depending on how long you need it cocevered would this help? She used to take a white cotton glove and cut finger off it. Then treat her finger w antibiotic etc. Then slip cotton 'finger ' over it. For a tail i know would have to be slender, but just an idea

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Oh and I'm not sure i'd trust catfood. Hmmm. Just ground meat maybe and egg yolk and i suppose could water things down if easier for him to eat. Dubya, that oxbow stuff right? Would prob be great for now.

 

[laurarfl]

It would be a really high end cat food like Evengers (sp?).