Bearded dragon tail injury follow up

Question
QUESTION: Hello Tracie! I asked you about my yellow bearded dragon with a swollen tail a while back. It appeared as a lump about mid way down, but no open wounds, just swelling. Thank you for your help at that time. She had a swollen lump about midway down her tail, but no signs of distress. You mentioned that she looks very dehydrated because her fat pads on her head are sunken. I adopted this beardie as an adult, and as far as I can remember, she has been like that since I got her. I have always given her water regularly, but after you said that I made sure to give more, several times a day along with baths every few days, and plenty of moist foods. I have seen absolutely no difference, however, in her fat pads. Is it possible that she just looks like this? That is not my real question, but I just wanted to make sure you didn't think I was depriving her of liquids or anything. My concern is still her tail. The swollen lump actually did start to look better, but as the swelling decreased, it became very bruised. Still, she appears happy otherwise, eating normally and active as usual. Now, due to the injury, I believe she has developed tail rot. About a half inch peice of her tip broke off, and the new tip looks the same, very dry and brittle. I have been giving her baths daily, or every other day, and if I let her soak for a few minutes, and I gently rub near the tip, the scales in this area seem to "flake" off. Underneath is light colored soft tissue, but the next day, it becomes hardened and brittle as well. Does the tail need to be amputated? The bruising is subsiding, albeit very slowly. The skin does look vey tender, but once again, she does not appear to be in pain. I believe it will be fine as long it doesn't get infected. But concerning the tail rot, should I break the dry, hardened part off or leave it be? I can feel that it would break quite easily. I have been reading quite a bit about tail rot, and I know it is typically a secondary effect of some tail trauma that reduces circulation, which I believe happened in this case. I have found sources that say tail rot needs to be treated by a vet, but also that it can be treated at home too. What would you suggest? I know a vet visit would be the best thing to do of course, but I'm sure you understand the high cost associated with even just having a vet look at her, let alone treat her in any way. Thank you very very much for any advice!

ANSWER: Hello Marika,

I do remember your case.  So, her tail has not gotten much worse?  
What caused her injury initially?  Do you know?
Tail rot is just basically caused by an injury or the area being constricted which will cause the tissue to die.
Did you ever get the area looked at previously?  It could be a pocket of infection though, which is the cause of the swelling & the bulge at that point.  They could aspirate any fluid from that area to see if there is infection there.
You can attempt to treat it, but just let the end of the tail naturally fall off so you don't damage any viable tissue.  
It sounds infected though, based on your description.  
Do you have any betadine?  If so, try soaking the tail in diluted betadine.  Use some antibiotic ointment on the area as well, to help ward off any other infection in the area.
Overall though, the tail probably should be amputated eventually, if there is infection to keep the infection from traveling upward causing a systemic infection.

Is she eating very well right now?

Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello Tracie, and thanks again! Unfortunately, I really don't know what caused the injury; all I can think of is that she must have awkwardly wedged herself into a corner behind her cave/rock or something similar. There was not wound, not even a scratch, just the swelling. I wish I knew, this has been stressing me out a lot. I did not take her to be looked at, because the swelling started going down significantly after I initially contacted you, but I have been soaking her in dilute betadine for the last couple of days. I have seen a difference already. The swelling is actually completely gone (has been for a while, only bruising remained), and the bruising is now diminishing. I have also been putting triple antibiotic ointment on the area, and wrapping lightly with sterile gauze so that nothing sticks to it or gets caught and irritates it. The tail rot, however, is the same. It hasn't spread further up, but below the original injury, it appears the tail will die, and I am hoping it will fall off naturally, as you said, when it is ready. Basically, the site of swelling is like a borderline: above it, the tail looks nice and strong, muscular and healthy; below, it is limp, dark, soft and then dry and hardened at the very tip. She is eating well. Today she ate many crickets, some dry pellet food, and some banana too. She drank about 5mL of water from a syringe and a little more in the bath (before I added betadine of course.) Because she appears to be happy and healthy otherwise, I plan to continue this treatment; I believe that if there is infection, it is below the site of injury, and not above or spreading, but if I notice a spread, I will have to get her checked out, although I am optimistic that this will work out, and she will be happier with a shorter tail anyhow. Thank you for being so helpful. It is reassuring to get genuine answers and explanations other than just "take her to a vet." If you have seen something like this before, do you have any idea how long it may take for the tail to drop? On a final note, are there any telltale early signs of serious infection, other than the tail area below the injury? Thanks again, I truly appreciate your help.

Marika

Answer
Hello Marika,

The most important thing is to watch the initial point of injury.  If the discoloration remains below the point of injury & does not travel upward to above the point of injury, then the infection has been localized & controlled.  Chances are, the lower portion of the tail will be the only part that will die off while the area that was injured & swollen previously will begin to slowly heal over.
Everything that you are doing currently, you need to continue to do daily right now to ensure proper healing.  The diluted betadine along with the antibiotic ointment should help greatly.  If it is kept clean the infection will clear up with no medication.  So, keep her on solid substrate like paper towels so no dirt or debris will get onto the area.
I would say it should take a few months for the entire process to finish out.  You will begin to see or feel the hardening of the lower portion of the tail to occur since circulation is being restricted.  The tissue will die gradually & this should not be painful for her since she probably doesn't have much of any feeling in it now.  
Just keep a close eye on it.  I think that as long as there is no major infection going on, that the natural process will be safe & shouldn't require a vet visit.  Once the area has completely dried & hardened, you can always carefully snip the dead area off with sterile scissors to even it out if needed so it will heal up more uniformly.
I am glad to hear that she has a good appetite right now, that is great.
Keep me posted.

Tracie