Tail rot is a fairly common infection in bearded dragons. It usually affects young bearded dragons, but older dragons are still susceptible. In today’s article, I will explain how to treat tail rot and how to prevent it from occurring in the future.
Bearded dragon tail rot treatment
The best way to treat tail rot in bearded dragons is with Betadine. Betadine is an antiseptic that can fight off infection and help restore your dragon’s healthy tail. Below are all the steps you should take to treat tail rot for a bearded dragon.
- First, get a small cup that you can fit your dragon’s tail inside. Then, fill it up with warm water. I would suggest a temperature of around 80-85 degrees fahrenheight. While you want it to be warm, you don’t want it to be too hot to where it is uncomfortable for your dragon.
- Next, put the Betadine solution into the warm water. I would suggest putting 1 part Betadine for every 3 parts of water. After you have put in the Betadine, you should mix it around so that it is spread evenly throughout the water.
- Now, stick your dragon’s tail into the water. You want to make sure that the black/dark are of your turtle’s tail is submerged in the water. You should hold them in the water for around 5 minutes.
- After soaking the tail, you should take it out and dry it with a paper towel. Make sure to be very gentle, as your dragon’s tail will probably be very brittle and might fall off if you are too rough with it.
- Once your dragon’s tail is dry, you should apply Neosporin to the affected area. It is important that you use Neosporin that is not for pain relief, as this can be toxic to your dragon. Look for Neosporin in the pharmacy that specifically say “no pain relief.”
- After you apply the Neosporin, you should put your dragon back into their terrarium. I would suggest you put them in their basking spot, as this will help the Neosporin dry on their tail before it can get rubbed off or have stuff stick to it.
You should do this method 2-3 times per day while your dragon has tail rot. You should start to see some improvement after a week or two. If three weeks pass and you don’t see any improvement or the tail rot has gotten worse, you should take your dragon to the vet.
Depending on the severity of the tail rot, your vet might have to amputate the infected tail. While this doesn’t sound appealing, it is better for their tail to be amputated before the tail rot can infect the rest of the body.
Can bearded dragons die from tail rot?
Unfortunately, a bearded dragon can die from tail rot if it is not treated quick enough. This occurs when the tail rot goes all the way up the tail, and then start to infiltrate the dragon’s vital organs. This can cause infections that severely hinder your dragon’s respiratory system. Therefore, it is extremely important that you treat tail rot as fast as possible.
What causes tail rot in bearded dragons?
While tail rot can occur from a variety of causes, the most common reasons bearded dragons get tail rot is from trauma to the tail. This usually occurs when a bearded dragon bites another dragon’s tail. It can also occur when a dragon’s tail gets stuck in or under something.
When a bearded dragon’s tail experiences trauma, it can swell up and then be unable to receive blood flow. When this occurs, the tail becomes very susceptible to internal infections.
What does tail rot look like in bearded dragons?
Most of the time, tail rot will cause a bearded dragon’s tail to turn a dark, blackish color. Their tail will also become very brittle, and it might even fall off on its own. If left untreated, tail rot will usually spread up the bearded dragon’s tail.
Unfortunately, unliked lizards, bearded dragon’s are unable to grow their tail back. Therefore, if their tail gets infected by tail rot and needs to get amputated, they will never have a tail again.
How to prevent tail rot in bearded dragons?
As with most health issues, prevention is always the best action. Some great ways to prevent tail rot in bearded dragons include adequate basking platform, monitoring behavior, and regular cleaning.
Baking Platform
As you are probably well aware, a bearded dragon must have an area to bask in their terrarium. The basking spot should have exposure to UVB light. Ideally, you should keep the light on for 10-12 hours per day. This will help keep your bearded dragon healthy and better suited to fight of tail rot. It’s also important that your light has enough wattage.
Monitoring behavior
As with most pets, it is important to closely monitor your bearded dragon(s) on a daily basis. If you have multiple bearded dragons, you should make sure they get along with each other and do not fight. Aggression and fighting is one of the main causes of tail rot in bearded dragons. I would suggest keeping baby bearded dragons separate if you notice they are being rough with one another.
Regular cleaning
It is extremely important that you clean your bearded dragon’s terrarium at least once a month. This will help prevent tail rot as well as many other infections and diseases that bearded dragon’s are susceptible to.
I usually clean my terrarium with a mix of water and vinegar. I remove everything from the terrarium, and then put a cup of water and a cup of vinegar into a spray bottle. I then spray all of the glass and wipe it down with a clean rag.
If you suspect that your terrarium might have harmful bacteria, you should consider cleaning it with bleach. To do this, you should put together a solution that is ½ a cup of bleach, and 1 cup of water. After mixing these together, put it into a spray bottle and spray the entire terrarium.
After this, make sure to thoroughly clean out the terrarium. You want to make sure that all the bleach is gone before you put anything back in the terrarium.