# Bearded dragon - Black tail?



## Griff2294 (Jun 3, 2009)

My bearded dragon has a black tail towards the last few inches.. My mum noticed it earlier and just brought it up to me now.. I was just wondering, is this normal? Also he seems to be a little bit hyperactive right now lol, not sure whether that is just random or whether the two thinks are linked in anyway? Here are some pics, I put him next to a piece of white paper but the picture was a bit of a fail lol, anyway, here they are:


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## Dawn-Marie (Jul 8, 2008)

has the tail been trapped at all?? i.e. is the glass sliding panels of your viv or under something?


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## Griff2294 (Jun 3, 2009)

Dawn-Marie said:


> has the tail been trapped at all?? i.e. is the glass sliding panels of your viv or under something?


Not that i'm aware of.. Will check with my mum though as I know she has been handling him a bit.
Edit: Checked with my mum and she also said she wasn't aware of him getting his tail trapped or hit etc anywhere.


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## Griff2294 (Jun 3, 2009)

Bump - Just incase it's something serious?


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## liam.b (Sep 2, 2006)

he might have caught it and it may be broken, might need the vets if its only just started being black like that


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## Griff2294 (Jun 3, 2009)

liam.b said:


> he might have caught it and it may be broken, might need the vets if its only just started being black like that


Not sure whether it would be as not experienced with lizards but it is not touch sensitive so would this affect that chances of this being a brake/fracture?


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## Griff2294 (Jun 3, 2009)

Any other thoughts? Sorry for constant bumping but if it's serious I want to find out.. Got exams soon and don't need the extra stress lol :devil:


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## ..:: F1D0 ::.. (May 13, 2009)

Helios tail does this whenever she is stressed. Looking at the pics i would say it is this. 

If you look at the 1st pic, count the rings from the top of the tail near the vent that are orange and not black and you get to the black stuff after 6 rings, looking at the last pic, looks like the black starts after ring 7 on the beardies tail.


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## Griff2294 (Jun 3, 2009)

..:: F1D0 ::.. said:


> Helios tail does this whenever she is stressed. Looking at the pics i would say it is this.
> 
> If you look at the 1st pic, count the rings from the top of the tail near the vent that are orange and not black and you get to the black stuff after 6 rings, looking at the last pic, looks like the black starts after ring 7 on the beardies tail.


Sorry I didn't really get that lol? I've had him for roughly 2 weeks now and he has been fine.. Been running around, inquisitive, eating fine etc..?


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## maddragon29 (Oct 16, 2008)

Something has had the end of that tail though, whether its been caught or nipped off... the end shouldn't have that nick in it. :S
If ever in doubt take your beardie to the vet, thats what i'd do in this case!


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## Tilly1988 (Dec 6, 2009)

I dont think its stress related.

I have several dragons and their scales darken just before a shed, the end of the tail might be waiting to shed some skin. I've noticed nearly all tails tend to darken towards the end. 

Their doesnt seem to be anything physically wrong with it to me.


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## hutch (Nov 10, 2009)

My 4 mo new beardie _Holmes _has the same sort of tail, seems to go light, dark throughout the day.... As long as theres no right angles or visible damage to the tail I think alls well


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## Tilly1988 (Dec 6, 2009)

maddragon29 said:


> Something has had the end of that tail though, whether its been caught or nipped off... the end shouldn't have that nick in it. :S
> If ever in doubt take your beardie to the vet, thats what i'd do in this case!


A nip on the tail wont effect the dragon, apart from the obvious stress of it being chased/bitten by another dragon. But physically it doesnt appear to do any harm.

We took in a dragon a couple of years ago and her tail is pretty much non existent, she has at most an inch below the vent as the owners kept a juvenile in with dragons three times her size, and they took most the tail away. They also failed to feed her the appropriate sized crickets, so she was very unfed, but thats another story. My reason for saying this is that she now leads a perfectly happy and normal life and nips in the tail that have healed shouldnt cause problems.

Back on topic: I'm sorry I cant be any more help, but the tail looks perfectly fine to me, but as maddragon29 said, take it to the vets if you are in any doubt at all.


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## Griff2294 (Jun 3, 2009)

Tilly1988 said:


> A nip on the tail wont effect the dragon, apart from the obvious stress of it being chased/bitten by another dragon. But physically it doesnt appear to do any harm.
> 
> We took in a dragon a couple of years ago and her tail is pretty much non existent, she has at most an inch below the vent as the owners kept a juvenile in with dragons three times her size, and they took most the tail away. They also failed to feed her the appropriate sized crickets, so she was very unfed, but thats another story. My reason for saying this is that she now leads a perfectly happy and normal life and nips in the tail that have healed shouldnt cause problems.
> 
> Back on topic: I'm sorry I cant be any more help, but the tail looks perfectly fine to me, but as maddragon29 said, take it to the vets if you are in any doubt at all.


I will see how it goes. And sorry can somebody show me, I can't seem to see any nick at the end of the tail? Are you sure it's not just the angle of the picture?


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## Tilly1988 (Dec 6, 2009)

I cant see a nip on the tail itself, although the end of the tail looks like it may have a miniscule amount missing, if anything. 

But other than that your dragon looks very nice  Love its colours!


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## AuntyLizard (Feb 7, 2007)

Hi Griff there is nothing wrong with his tail.. Sometimes when they are stressed or even before they go into shed their tails can go darker like that.

You will notice in a couple of days or so it will look its normal colour again. Also sometimes when they are cold their tails can look a darker colour to the rest of their body. He has never had any retained shed on his tail or has there ever been a problem with him shedding.

If you have any worries regarding him come back to me and I will help you out like I told you when you came and picked him up.

Liz


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## rihh&ruth (Aug 3, 2008)

we had a young beardie that had tail nip and this happened it was the same sort of colour beardie as urs aswell


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