# Possible tail necrosis? - Iguana advice please



## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

I'm a little worried that my Iggy may have the early signs of tail necrosis and I'm not sure what I should do.

The tip, about an inch, has died/is dying, I think. It looks a bit shrunken, slimmer than the rest of the tail and is stiff, you cant bend that part at all.










I also tested to see if it has any feeling and I dont think it has, I squeezed the tip, gradually increasing pressure and was applying quite a force and got no response. Just a moderate pinch another inch up and she pulls away, so I'm assuming she's lost the feeling there too 

So whats my best course of action? I assume I should go to the vet and also assume that they'll cut the dead bit off  Just wanted to hear others opinions on the urgency etc as its obviously not effecting her current health.

A bit gutted to be honest.


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## maddragon29 (Oct 16, 2008)

If it is dead you dont want it to get infected, then the possibility of the infection spreading increases. 
The vets will take the tip off of the tail for you, i've had it done to a snake, costs about £100 for a small area like that. In my opinion its best to be safe and have an iguana with an inperfect tail than be sorry... so i'd be booking an app soon.
Dont worry though, i'm sure its not hurting her


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

Thanks.

Forgot to also ask:

Does anyone know any reasons why it might set in? What can cause the tail to die off for seemingly no reason?


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## maddragon29 (Oct 16, 2008)

I've seen it with animals that have had trouble shedding the tips of their tail. I've also seen it in animals that have caught their tails in doors, or under rocks, and things like that.
The best bet is a vet visit to see what they think. They may tell you to just keep an eye on it and make sure its not spreading/going darker.


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## Athravan (Dec 28, 2006)

I had the tail removed on a frilled dragon that had a similar problem and the vet literally took a pair of scissors and snipped it off, and the lizard didn't feel a thing, didn't even bleed - cost about £30! Was a bit creepy to watch. We also have a rescue bearded dragon who's tail was literally hanging off when he came in and it dropped off overnight, right at the top, as the necrosis had spread.

Your best bet is to get to a vet who will almost certainly remove it, the earlier the better, as it does tend to spread upwards. It might be a case of simple snip snip it might need sedation or even a GA depending on where the amputations going to occur and how much feeling the lizard has, nerve endings, bloodflow etc.

It's hard to tell from looking at a photo but if he has no feeling in it at all then it does suggest it's dead tissue and needs to go unfortunately 

The two most common causes I see are excessive bad sheds cutting off the blood flow or damage to the nerve system or damage to the bone from a whip, break, crush etc.


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

Thanks guys, she's never had any stuck shed (I have too much fun picking it off) 

I guess she may have caught it before but theres no sign of damage. She did a couple of years ago, but it was about another 4 inches up and you cant even see where she did it anymore. I dont know what she did bu I came home to find it very slightly kinked and a very small graze.

Vets it is then.

Thanks again


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

She's booked in to see the exotics vet next Tuesday 

Wish her luck!


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## richardward (Jul 4, 2009)

hey, i just had the same problem with my little fella last week. I took him to the vets and they just lopped it off...a little piece of me died with him also, was pretty upsetting but like has been said...better to have an imperfect iguana than a dead one.

I'm sure it will be done a little more professionally over there. Here the guy just basically sterilised his industrial scissors and hermes and snipped it off whilst I held him. That said he didnt flinch or move much so i figure it is a relatively easy procedure for the vets to perform. 
now though I have to go back to square one though and start spoiling him with treats again to get him back on my side, he's not my best friend

hope all goes ok for you both.

Rick


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## Tehanu (Nov 12, 2006)

Best of luck with her Crownan!

As the tail is intact, but just blackened on the tip, your're looking at some sort of minor crush/break injury as mentioned already, something that either damaged the workings and simply cut off supply to that area which is the better option meaning there may not yet be necrotic infection moving up there. Or it may be the result of infection already at work meaning you are definitely working against time to have it removed before it continues up the tail 

You're probably looking at having x-rays of the tail to determine tissue and bone changes present or not and then how much tail needs to go will depend on that. Iguanas don't regrow very good tails anyway so it's not too sad to have an amputated tail!

In the case of this female _C. bakeri_ we believe there was a crush injury followed by rapid onset of necrosis. 
Before the event;










The appearance on the morning it was found, the dropped section looks in good nick, whereas the stump already looks shrivelled and blackened, the inch or so above it actually shrunk under a new layer of skin that had been forming, making it very obviously odd looking. It was observed for about 5-7 days before progressive necrosis was clear, an initial amputation took place one inch above the end of necrosis and bone changes. 
Despite that she needed a further amputation of another couple of inches a week after that, the necrosis was very aggresive and there was infact a day that I said my goodbyes to her before leaving for my weekend, luckily she pulled through despite everything 



















She's back to her usual self a year on, she was being prepped for an ultrasound in this pic 









I'm sure it will all go well, just always be aware of how rapidly what seems like a tiny tail tip problem can spiral out of control.

Cheers
Lotte***


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

Thanks richardward and Lotte 

Hopefully it will be straight forward. Very interesting pics and info and pics Lotte, good that she pulled through it all! The main thing I'm not looking forward to is the bill! lol

Cheers again


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## RedGex (Dec 29, 2007)

I had the same thing with my ig several years ago now, not sure what caused it but they knocked him out and removed it and it was a good chance for x-rays and bloods too. So although he came home with an inch less tail, he also came home with a clean bill of health otherwise!


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## mahender (Apr 28, 2008)

hi jon i hope this finds you well,
i had a similar issue, i posted on richards thread about my thoughts.

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/lizards/457593-dry-gangrene.html

my vet told me apart from the obvious trapping and dropping off it could be due to temps and circulation. 
he antibitoic'ed it then said keep an eye if it re-occurs then amputation. 
i htink it dissapeared then started to re-occur because he lost a little about a month ago. so i am going to see if it re-occurs then poss have it lopped off

lol all ig owners are slightly gutted when there ig has a healthy tail and a little has to go. then i decided its better to lose a few mm then half his tail.

good luck dude.


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

Thanks Mahender, its does look similar but I think mines gone a little further. Its completely rigid for about an inch, and lost all feeling in that part too.

I'll let you know what the vet says, he's pretty good, so Im confident he'll choose the right course


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

Update:

She saw the vet tonight and basically I told them everything that they might've been able to tell me.

So it pretty much cost me £36 to book an op in for next week. They want to take about 4 inches off too.

Im not particularly impressed.


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## Nicquita (Mar 14, 2009)

good luck with her. i'm sure she'll be fine, and as long as she's healthy, that's all that matters : victory:


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

awwwww. good luck, Jon and Iggy, hope all is well after the op.


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## richardward (Jul 4, 2009)

poor thing, hope it all goes ok for the little guy. 4 inches sounds like a lot but i'm sure he won't miss it too much. My guy seems unfazed by the whole operation and has made a full recovery in just over a week. 

Again hope it all goes ok for you. Rick


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## richardward (Jul 4, 2009)

hope all goes ok for you and the little fella


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

Thanks very much everyone 

I'm sure she'll be fine, my wallet on the other hand, wont be! lol

I'll let you all know next Wednesday evening 

Quick question: Do they use stitches that dissolve or will they need to be taken out?


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## maddragon29 (Oct 16, 2008)

Crownan said:


> Thanks very much everyone
> 
> I'm sure she'll be fine, my wallet on the other hand, wont be! lol
> 
> ...


The things we do for our pets huh :lol2:
keep us updated. And i dont know about the stitches i just wanted to say good luck


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## Tehanu (Nov 12, 2006)

Crownan said:


> Thanks very much everyone
> 
> I'm sure she'll be fine, my wallet on the other hand, wont be! lol
> 
> ...


Depends how far up the tail that 4" takes it, if the tail is still skinny there it might be fairly quick to heal and dissolving might do.

The Bakeri in my pics had a good few stitches in, the area heals very very slowly, so she actually had the stitches in for around 6-8months until they shed out by themselves 

Best of luck with her op!


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## arvey (Jan 3, 2008)

I very rarely put sutures in if im only taking 4" from the tail tip of an adult size iguana. there is evidence that it slows regeneration if the end is sewn over. For igs where large portions are being removed, leaving a thick deficit, i still dont oversew but place a suture either side in a mattress pattern so its gently squeezing the 2 sides together, lessening bleeding. If the fresh end is kept clean e.g. with iodine spray it soon seals over. clean substrate (e.g. newspaper) is also necessary. btw agamids, i always sew the stump so it is completely sealed. Pain relief is also important. I have seen placid males turn very aggressive following this procedure and antibiotics of course.
Goodluck, hope it goes well


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

Well I took her in this morning and am picking her up after work. Fingers crossed she's ok. Im a little bit worried, which is not like me! :blush:


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## RedGex (Dec 29, 2007)

Good luck, I'm sure it will all be fine, fingers are crossed for you both. Mine only had inch or two off so the vet glued it. She sent him home with one of those stick things that stops bleeding too, in case he whipped his tail on anything and started it off, which he did.....!


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## Terry&Steph (May 12, 2009)

*tail*

one of my plateds had to have the tip of the tail due to this it cost me 35 pound at the vets and they gave me this stuff u put on the tail to help it heel


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

Terry&Steph said:


> one of my plateds had to have the tip of the tail due to this it cost me 35 pound at the vets and they gave me this stuff u put on the tail to help it heel


You're lucky, the consultation alone cost me more than that.

Did they have to put it under GA first or was it awake?


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## Tehanu (Nov 12, 2006)

Fingers crossed, I'm sure it'll all go smoothly


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

Just got the call from the vet, she is all done and fine! 

They took off 10-12cm apparently. She has a course of oral antibiotics and needs to go back, for a check up in a week, and to have her stitches out in 8 weeks. Got to pick her up after work tonight.

I am now skint  but at least my Iggy is ok!


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## RedGex (Dec 29, 2007)

Excellent news glad she's ok, money is over-rated anyway lol......:whistling2:


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## maddragon29 (Oct 16, 2008)

RedGex said:


> Excellent news glad she's ok, *money is over-rated anyway lol*......:whistling2:



thats what i tell myself anyway, glad the procedure went okay


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

so pleased that iggy is ok. give her a little hug from me.


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## Tehanu (Nov 12, 2006)

Great news, I hope the recovery all goes well


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

Well, she's completely fine. Its as if absolutely nothing has happened, eating me out of house and home and presenting me with mammoth poops as usual!

Here's some pics of her war wound, stitches due out in approx 6 weeks 

Excuse the poor quality tail pics, I forgot the flash :blush:





































:2thumb:


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## maddragon29 (Oct 16, 2008)

awwh thanks for sharing 
I can see why you didn't want her to loose any tail... her tail is beautiful!!!

My max's was regen before we took him in so its not like that at all lol.


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## Tehanu (Nov 12, 2006)

Bless her, she couldn't care less eh!


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

good to see her doing well.

glad everything is ok, i know how much you care about your reps.

L (and fuzzy the python)


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

Thanks guys 



laurencea said:


> good to see her doing well.
> 
> glad everything is ok, i know how much you care about your reps.
> 
> L (and fuzzy the python)


Hey Laurence 

How's he doing? Must be getting big?!


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

Crownan said:


> Thanks guys
> 
> 
> 
> ...


he's lovely! i still think he's small, until he stretches out - over 2ft now. he still loves to curl around my wrist and fall asleep for hours. he such a character and very placid and sweet - he comes up to the side of the rub when i come into the room and when i open the lid he climbs out onto my hand. he'll be 9 months old soon, how time has flown.

i know this is the wrong section, but if you want a royal, get one from crownan!


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## Crownan (Jan 6, 2007)

laurencea said:


> he's lovely! i still think he's small, until he stretches out - over 2ft now. he still loves to curl around my wrist and fall asleep for hours. he such a character and very placid and sweet - he comes up to the side of the rub when i come into the room and when i open the lid he climbs out onto my hand. he'll be 9 months old soon, how time has flown.
> 
> i know this is the wrong section, but if you want a royal, get one from crownan!


Hehe, thats great to hear! Would love to see some new pics of him


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## laurencea (Aug 28, 2009)

Crownan said:


> Hehe, thats great to hear! Would love to see some new pics of him


here he is out exploring










and getting ready for a strenuous snooze on my wrist









and there's several hundred here - 
Fuzzy - a set on Flickr

i love the pictures of the iggy. she is stunning.


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## purple-vixen (Feb 4, 2009)

Aw good to see she is fine and carrying on! That will heal up really neat, such a pretty girl


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