WALDAS TAIL

Question
A couple of years ago i bought a adult female gecko and named it walda(long story) anyway a year after the purchase, the tip of its tail began to get darker and then it turned gray and then a light black. I took the liberty of removeing that tip of the tail and it didnt grow back but now my gecko seems to constantly break out and she becomes all scabby till the point that its gotten to the true tissue of said tail. I however am afraid to remove it because the scabbed part is almost the entire tail, so my question is would i need to amputate the tail or leave it be, but keep in mind that this has happened to many times to count.

Answer
Hi Brad,

Tail infections are fairly common with reptiles. That area is somewhat prone to injury, including feeder insect bites and the tail has less natural blood flow which increases the chance of infection. Retained shed is a very common cause of restricted circulation to the area as well.

If you are lucky, these infections can sometimes arrest and resolve on their own with no further spreading. Unfortunately it does not sound like you were that lucky. If it is spreading along more of the tail, getting closer to her body and down into deeper tissue then the threat of a systemic (blood stream) infection in a real threat and that could kill Walda quite quickly.

Leopard geckos and other species that naturally autotomize their tails (tail drop) have natural fracture planes in the tail where it can separate naturally with little to no blood loss. I can't honestly say that I would recommend attempting to pull off her tail however and certainly would not suggest any type of home "surgery" if that is what you were implying.. That option really should be performed by a vet who could deal with any blood loss. Your vet may choose to try systemic antibiotics alone first which would obviously be a far less expensive treatment option.

You might try to deal with the infections topically. It would not hurt but success may be limited. I would suggest soaking her tail in a weak tea coloured solution of povidone iodine and water (Betadine is the brand name). Betadine has a broad anti-bacterial spectrum and anti-fungal properties as well. It also comes as an ointment. If you can't find that then any of the topical ointments suitable for human use can be applied. Good luck with her.