Possible tail rot?

Question
Hi there, I have an adult male beardie, and from 1/3 of the way down his tail, right to the tip, the skin/scales are black.  I have read that this is a symptom of tail rot.  He is also struggling to shed some of the skin on his tail.  I'm 99% sure that nothing has hit the tail or trapped it.  What do you suggest I do about the matter? many thanks.

once again, many thanks
Sam

Answer
Hello Sam,

The situation may have started due to retained skin from a previous shed. The tail does not  have a very robust blood flow to begin with and retained skin can compromise the circulation enough to trigger a case of tail rot (dry gangrene).

Soaking him in tepid water for about 20 minutes will soften and loosen the old skin enough to allow you to gently roll it off. That should help restore circulation to the area.

The bad news is that the black tail tissue may already be dead. If that is the case then the most prudent course is to have your vet perform a minor amputation of the affected tail portion. This prevents the situation from potentially moving up the tail to the body and killing your dragon. The procedure is far less complicated if done before it reaches the thicker part of the tail.

In some cases the infection is self limiting and the dead portion simply remains as it is or  falls off on it's own but there is an obvious risk to this "wait and see" approach. Also, beardeds do not autotomize (drop) their tails as a defensive strategy so there are no natural fracture planes in their tails where it can more easily break off.

Topical antibiotic ointments are not well absorbed through intact bearded skin/scales but applying some to the affected area and up onto the healthy tissue certainly would not cause any harm.