Fat tailed gecko - tail regeneration question

Question
Hi Sara,

My fat tailed gecko recently dropped her tail in an unfortunate incident with my roommate's cat (this isn't the first time it's happened...when I adopted her, she had already lost her tail once, but I don't know how).
This was about a month ago...we applied some antibiotic ointment, it seems to have healed fine, and she has been eating and behaving normally, like nothing ever happened.
Within the last few days, though, as she eats (and the tail grows bigger), it's changed from a pinkish color to a purple-black. Is this normal?

Thank you in advance for your advice.

-Patrick

Answer
Patrick,

From my experience with igauans losing and regenerating their tails, the color does change from a pinkish fleshy color to a dark almost black. For several weeks directly following the injury, the flesh will be almost "raw" so-to-speak where it has not yet developed a protective shield against the external environment. The tail will first heal over as a black layer (the first time I saw this happen on an iguana, I thought the tail was dying because it turned black but the vet said it was actually a good sign and that it had healed over and was no longer exposed to infection). Anyhow, once the tail gets that black layer at the end, it will then start to grow longer as a new, black tail slowly regenerates. The new tail will start to grow fine scales and over the course of 6-8 months or so, a new tail should be fully formed. Now, this regenerated tail is not going to look like the original tail. Usually a regenerated tail will be dull in color, it will usually remain that dark blackish color and no longer will the tail have the same spikes/ridges/crests that the original tail did. Do not expect the tail to be identical.

Now, this is the process of tail regeneration in an ideal situation. I do not know your exact experience nor if the tail had a clean break where there were no complications (maybe you had to cut it partially off, etc.) and I also don't know the exact details of how you were keeping it clean and how long it has actually been since the tail break. Based on what I know about treating tail breaks and the process for re-growth, I would say this sounds like the normal progression for regeneration. If you start to notice the tail being really dry, hard and black, this may be dry gangrene and also, if you notice it oozing with pus or in any way appears infected, it may be an infection developing and not a healthy regen afterall, so it would be time to see a vet.

Thank You and I hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Sara J Gwerder
President
Raptor Rescue Iguana Sanctuary
Shreveport, LA
www.RaptorRescue.org

"Good Diet + UVB Radiation + Proper Temperatures + Set Daily Schedule = Healthy + Happy Reptile"