Day Gecko Grey Tail

Question
Hello,

I recently purchased a baby day gecko (vibrant green)about a week ago. The other day, I noticed that the tip of its tail is turning grey. Almost as if its dying. This morning, I was looking over the tail and it looks as if the grey colouring is climbing further and further up its tail. It doesn't look like it is shedding, because it is only the tip of the tail, that it affected. And doesn't appear that the skin is falling off. It looks like the tail is only bones and no flesh or fat is around the it.

What does this mean??

Thanks

Answer
Hi Melanie,

Your description sounds like a case of dry gangrene, sometimes called tail rot. It is most often caused by injury or retained shed on the tail area that constricts blood flow to the area. Topical antibiotics are not very useful in these cases (but applying some would not cause any harm) and even systemic antibiotics alone can be ineffective. Minor surgery to amputate the tail slightly into the healthy tissue is often required to arrest the spread.

I have linked two articles about dry gangrene. The articles center on iguanas which frequently develop this but the problem can happen to any reptile with a tail or toes.

http://www.anapsid.org/gangrene.html

http://ezinearticles.com/?Owners-Guide-to-Dry-Gangrene-in-Iguanas&id=2038839