# Forcing Tail drop



## Liddard (Jul 31, 2012)

Okay guys so my last attempt of saving my gecko is to force a tail drop, some will obviously think this is wrong however if you could see his tail im sure you would agree! His tail has lost all blood supply already and has shrivelled and is now 3/4 rock hard. The vet has said £250 for consultation and removal. I cant afford this and so i think his best chance at survival without this spreading is for me to try and remove his tail.

He has been laying now with the tip of his tail under a book for around an hour and despite trying to make a run every now and then he wont drop the dam thing?! I do not want to frighten him at all but need this gone for health. Any ideas? 

Cheers :no1:


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## Madhouse5 (Jun 6, 2011)

i try finding a better vet that's a ridicules price to treat a gecko i phone round or even try the local zoo the reptile keeper might be more helpful 

sorry i could not offer any more good luck 

Paul


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## Spider Call (Mar 23, 2007)

D: you can't just make a gecko drop it's tail on purpose, you just said you domt want to stress him, yet you have trapped his tail under a book. Can you imagine how scared he must be?
Let the vet remove it, it will be less stressful for the poor little guy, less risk of damage to his spine, and of course infection. I feel awful for the geckos I have bought tail less. One of mine fell from the top of a stack and landed upside down with its hide on top of it. Flipped it back over expecting a dropped tail, nothing apart from a slightly dazed gecko. It makes me wonder how scared/stressed they actually have to be to drop them. Bear in mind that it wasn't even a tame gecko, it was very young and was shop bought.


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## switchback (Nov 25, 2011)

Take the poor bugger away from that book and get to another vet.


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## marc26 (Aug 12, 2012)

FORGIVE ME

If your that bothered bout dropping tail like it seems you are why dont you just pick him up via tail and flick his head sure he will drop his tail. 

Not nice but my opinion this guy not bothered bout feeling of gecko!!
Hence gecko tail in book!!!

Also i can see logic even though cruel of removing tail before more of body becomes sceptic!! Try another vet ASAP gecko suffers while you ponder on price.


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## Liddard (Jul 31, 2012)

I get wat you are all saying but either way the tail has to go. He's booked in at the vets tomorrow but its bloody £50 just for them to look at him ffs! He wasn't scared and has been back climbing all over me tonight. The other problem is that my other Cresty has now turned on little George who is normally bigger but obviously vulnerable at the moment so have separated them. 

I need advice guys any idea on how much I should be paying for tail removal? 

If the blood supply has completely gone in the lower half of his tail will it drop off anyway? I know that for other animals to get bits to fall off (growths etc) you can tie string around them to stop supply leaving then to fall off. Just wondered as his blood supply has already gone? 

I'll keep you posted anyway with vets and things. I'm only trying to do right thing. 

Thanks


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## TommyR (May 15, 2012)

If you cant afford a pet's vet bills then why keep the animals? :/ jeez poor gecko. The right thing would be paying the bill and getting the correct care for your animal rather than trapping it under a book. Hope you get correct treatment for your gecko.


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## marc26 (Aug 12, 2012)

I can see logic in why want removal when price is so high!!

Personally if it down to blood supply tail would drop off anyhow but there would be a healing process. Still trip to docs for healing of tail dropping off i thought.

Ill keep watch for what happens


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## switchback (Nov 25, 2011)

Well in regards to vet bills.... My yemen chameleon developed UVB conjunctivitus.
He didnt eat for about 5 days. I couldnt get him to a vet earlier...

So examination, a liquid feed and a course of eye drops cost me £37.

My dude recovered within days. So £50 just to look at your dude seems alot


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## marc26 (Aug 12, 2012)

Not to be silly but how does a Yemen get conjunctivitis from a UVB bulb??

Switch it off for a week will heal heal without medication or reduce uvb lighting!!


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## switchback (Nov 25, 2011)

marc26 said:


> Not to be silly but how does a Yemen get conjunctivitis from a UVB bulb??
> 
> Switch it off for a week will heal heal without medication or reduce uvb lighting!!


I have no idea mate im not a Yemen.
At the time i was running with a 10% reptiglo. I posted about it and alot of people responded that some spend too much time there and thus contract the condidtion.

UV Lighting for Reptiles: A new problem with high UVB output fluorescent compact lamps and tubes?

In regards to turning turning off the uv at the time i didnt know what the problem was. 

Still my point was....i went to the vet he was examined,diagnosed and treated for £37....

The OP is asking about vet bills just my 2cents


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## Soli (Nov 9, 2011)

You could try putting neosporin (the kind WITHOUT antibiotics in it) on his tail. Apparently, this has helped some lose their gecko's dead tails. My gecko also had a shriveled black tail (partially), and I put the neosporin on it a few times and it healed it very well.

Hope this helps and good luck!


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## nicnet (Apr 3, 2011)

If your 100% sure he can't lick at that tail, put some Tea Tree oil on it.

Its been used for burns and wounds on rescue dragons by a shop keeper near us and he said its fantastic for healing up really bad wounds.

I can see where your going in trying to get him to drop his tail, its after all a natural instinct for them and in my opinion a lot less traumatic than having a tail going bad on them.

That vet does seem really expensive though, I can understand that its not the vet bill per se thats prompted you to try get him to drop his tail, its that that particular vet is trying to rip you off to do it. 

All they will do it knock him out and manually pull his tail, thats if they knock him out to do it. 

I've taken a dog to a vet once who wanted to cut off his dew claw with no anethetic and no sedative. They said 'they do it all the time', but we can book him in to get it taken off if we wanted. Nurse told me that they still would not knock him out but would still charge me for it.

I'd suggest that if you took him to the vets to have it removed that you ask to observe the removal and make sure they do actually knock him out to do it. you can leave once he's asleep and your sure that is what they will be doing.


What they used to do with puppies is to tie a piece of string around the base of the tail very tightly, it cuts off blood supply and will auto amputate after a few days. Vets will now charge you to dock tails (only in certain breeds now and only for working dogs) and they simply cut them off when they are 8 days old, no anethetic etc either.

You know they still circumcise babies with no sedatives.

My point is, talk to a few vets and make sure they will actually knock him out to do it, do not just take their word for it as a lot will do exactly as your attempting to do and make him autoamputate.

To those shouting from the rooftops, autoamputation is natural for gecko's, and its what a vet would do anyway, they will avoid knocking out any animal if they can at all avoid it as its a huge risk on such a small animal.

What OP needs to find out is how the vets actually do it. 

Remember when your mother used to put a cord around that loose tooth and slam the door? Same story, you didn't go to the dentist to get a tooth taken out that was naturally going to fall out anyway.


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## Liddard (Jul 31, 2012)

Nicnet i think we are on the same page here.

Im doing this to try and save him. The vet has already told me at his age by operating he may not live through it anyway! If he drops his tail manually his body will be far better off. Ive already been to two other vets who both advised me that its no problem but due to his size they couldnt lower the concertration of sedative enough to knock him out but i was reassured with 'Dont worry though we will snip it off and he will grow it back in no time' Now call me sceptical but im not letting someone operate on my little cresty who A. Is gonna literally slice it off (I beleive this will cause more trauma than what im trying to do) B. Informs me he will grow another one! TOSH!

The vets i have been speaking to are very helpful i just cant afford it right away. You have to understand that i do fully intend to get him to the vets i just need to really try and get him to drop it naturally first. In an ideal world ofc. 

At the moment he doesnt seem to be shifting it at all so shall have to wait and see. Unfortunately nicnet his tail could come into contact with his face as he quite oftem climbs on it etc due to having no feeling at all. I might try putting something on it though that wont harm him. 

I think 90% of you would come to a similar conclusion if you saw him. Very quick to judge.

Thanks for advice though i really appreciate it and i am really trying for little George :2thumb:


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## nicnet (Apr 3, 2011)

You could try using the cord around it. Cut off the blood supply. That will do one of two things. Make him drop it but at least it will stop any of that bad blood poisoning him also. Do not tie the cord to anything though, you don't want him to pull it off, you want him to drop it. Not perfect solution but best I can come up with atm.

Also try talk to the reptile house at london zoo for advice. If you can find out the physical process of what goes on when they drop their tails it might give you some idea's


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## triggertroika (Jul 28, 2012)

Honestly I would never take an animal on without being able to pay for their treatment. perhaps you should consider insurance? My horse would have cost me thousands in vet bills by now without good old insurance! ! ! 

but that isn't going to help right now. ring as many vets as you can, get add many quotes as you can and get the gecko seen to. Do you have any good local reptile shops? Maybe they could help? Or a local veterinary college? We sent a bird to a veterinary college for specialist treatment once and they charged vet reasonable rates. 

I don't see how a book trapping its tail could help, forgive me as i'm new to this. If they drop their tasks when they think they are going to be eaten by something then the only way the gecko would drop its tail is to make it think its going to be eaten. Horrible yes, but a necessary evil? 

I also think you should ring the vet and ask if they would consider allowing you to pay over a few Weeks for the sake of the animals health. That's what we have done for horse bills (40.just for them to come to the yard! ) and they were happy to sort something out.


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## nicnet (Apr 3, 2011)

triggertroika said:


> Honestly I would never take an animal on without being able to pay for their treatment. perhaps you should consider insurance? My horse would have cost me thousands in vet bills by now without good old insurance! ! !
> 
> but that isn't going to help right now. ring as many vets as you can, get add many quotes as you can and get the gecko seen to. Do you have any good local reptile shops? Maybe they could help? Or a local veterinary college? We sent a bird to a veterinary college for specialist treatment once and they charged vet reasonable rates.
> 
> ...



Insurance for reptiles is idioticaly expensive and doesn't cover most things that they would need, also the excess is more than the treatment a lot of the time. There is only one company in UK that does reptile insurance.


The vets will do pretty much the same thing as OP is trying to do. They have already told her that it would be better for the lizard to naturally drop its tail than to knock him out to do it. They are tiny at that age and chances are the vet would not knock it out anyway and would pull the tail off instead and force an autoamputation.

Sometimes vets are not the honest nice people some think they are. I had a vet remove a tooth from my dog, and they deliberatly left the root in so they could reap the rewards of the major infection she got. The 'antibiotics' they were giving her each week was simply vitamin injections. After nearly a year of her having that infection we took her to the PDSA and they went nuts. Said that the root had been neatly cut off at the base and the entire root had been left in.

This is no isolated either, there was an entire program on tv a while back on how vets rip us off at the expense of the animals healthy. I think it was a panarama type documentary from BBC.


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## henney2280 (Jan 12, 2012)

This is a horrible thing for you and the gecko to have to go through. id hate to have to make mine drop its tail.... all i can think of is to wait till it is calm in its viv then go in unexpectidly and pick it up by the tail. if you supprise him with it then id imagine he would drop it instantly as it would simulate bieng grabbed by a bird or other predators, but i wouldnt hold him by it for any longer than is needed id say 60seconds max, if he isnt gunna drop it leave it be and find a resonable vet... this is a horrible situation to be in and i really do feel for you and the gecko.... and im afarid the only way to get this gecko to drop the tail is by it bieng stressed its an unavoidable situation a calm gecko wont drop its tail.

GOOD LUCK keep us posted!


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## Madhouse5 (Jun 6, 2011)

triggertroika said:


> Honestly I would never take an animal on without being able to pay for their treatment. perhaps you should consider insurance? My horse would have cost me thousands in vet bills by now without good old insurance! ! !
> 
> but that isn't going to help right now. ring as many vets as you can, get add many quotes as you can and get the gecko seen to. Do you have any good local reptile shops? Maybe they could help? Or a local veterinary college? We sent a bird to a veterinary college for specialist treatment once and they charged vet reasonable rates.
> 
> ...


as the post above said insurance on reptiles is like not going to happen i re-home reptiles i spoke to them about insurance and was told that i would not be covered as the animal would have a pre disclosed illness or be already sick , so i thought i call my local reptile vet see if i can do a payment plan no good there too the only way to do this is open another bank account and put say 100 a month in it for vet fees with this poor gecko the op if it had it would probably kill it so the OP is trying to do the best for it so i say good luck to you and hope your gecko palls though 


Paul


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## polaris2582 (Jan 19, 2011)

To be honest, I've ha to have an emergency vet amputate a tail before, and I' rather do it myself, they don't like to use a sedative as the animals are too small and can die under it.
If you can get him to drop it at home by any means, o it, as he will soon forget the fright, and it will heel up majorly quicker from a natural drop than from an amputation under sedative where he could bleed out.
Cresties drop their tails every day, they don't have them chopped off every day.
It sounds cruel but if you think about it makes a whole lot more sense to go with the natural process that's built in than to risk a chemical sedative.
You just need to give him a fright. Murphies law we spend every day trying to protect our cresties from loud noises in case of drops and now you can't get him to drop it no matter what you try. :whistling2:

Keep me updated with this little guy, its a good example of nature vs. nurture in a mixed up way.


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## nicnet (Apr 3, 2011)

update on little guy? Hows he getting along.


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## Liddard (Jul 31, 2012)

nicnet said:


> update on little guy? Hows he getting along.


Okay im delighted to be able to give you all this update =D i hope everyone has learnt something at least....

So... Little Georges tail continued to dry up and get crusty and day by day it spread higher up his tail. 3 days ago it finally got to the section where the live tail and dead tail met and it seemed to stop. Then the next day he already dead and incredibly shrivelled bit somehow got even smaller, the only thing i can compare it to is as thin as a pencil led; you get the point (no pun intended)
I tried again to get him to drop his tail simply by holding it as he walked - Absolutely nothing at all! I bit the bullet and couldn't watch him suffer anymore so monday morning i got up at 6.30 and drove to the vet lol.

At the vets....

The vet said i had done the right thing by letting it shrivel but understood the risk of infection, he simply broke off (snapped) the dead part of the tail after accessing if george had any feeling at all. The remaining tail, about an inch long, was then covered in a gel stuff to protect and aid healing (gecko version of salon i presume) 

George has shown a miraculous improvement even over these 2 days, Eating has picked up hugely, he can now climb with no interference and the remaining inch of tail is being used as a counter balance thing.

Im so over the moon its all back to normal after panicking so much. Even my day job has seen an improvement in performance since im not worrying about him all day!

Thanks for all your advice and help guys i really appreciate it!

Hope this can aid someone else who may have this problem although learn from me and be careful around these little amazing Lizards. :2thumb::no1:


THANK YOU ALL! CASE CLOSED =D YAAaaaaaaaayYY :flrt:


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## Short (Jul 6, 2012)

So glad. I keep popping back to follow his progress. Fingers crossed for the future and a happy and healthy little one.


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## triggertroika (Jul 28, 2012)

I've been checking too! That's great news, so happy for you!


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## nicnet (Apr 3, 2011)

Glad to hear he is doing fine now.


Just a note though for others, just as this one turned out fine and could be left to dry itself out does not mean that you should not get them checked to make sure. Different situations need different care. I'm sure you all get the point though ;p


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