End of tail black!!

raven1139

Established Member
I was thinking he would shed it off, but it is still dark and doesn't change color very much. He just shed and one side is lighter, but it still remains dark. Will it improve over time? He is 5 months old, healthy and tail is fully functional. Husbandry is on point as well.

Thanks for any help!!!

WP_20160103_11_51_13_Pro.jpg
WP_20160103_11_51_09_Pro.jpg
WP_20151231_17_49_56_Pro.jpg
 
Last edited:
Does the tip of the tail still have mobility? Can it wrap around branches and curl up properly? If it can do this, then ruling out necrosis is easy. It may have been damaged at some point. Do you remember any trauma to the tail, even if at the time it did not seem significant? Have you seen the black area increase with size or has it stayed the same?
 
He has full function and mobility...it has stayed the same and has improved on one side..thanks for the help!
 
I have a Panther with the last 1.5 in. of his tail is black, but only on one side the other side is normally colored. Not sure how long it's been this way, but I noticed it about 4 months ago. All his behaviors are completely normal otherwise.
 
That makes sense, it does look like a bruise of some kind. Has anyone else experienced this before?
 
I was thinking he would shed it off, but it is still dark and doesn't change color very much. He just shed and one side is lighter, but it still remains dark. Will it improve over time? He is 5 months old, healthy and tail is fully functional. Husbandry is on point as well.

Thanks for any help!!!

View attachment 148458 View attachment 148459 View attachment 148460
My bearded dragons tail looked like this, I found out that it was his feces that his tail dragged through. Have you tried to wash his tail? I know chams don't like being messed with but just a thought.
 
Yeah it didn't shed off, so I don't think it is dirty. I have a beardy as well and he this can happen.
 
He could have bruised it somehow. I actually closed my chameleon's tail in the door when I got my first one! It looked just like that and was still able to curl and bend. It took about 4-5 days to go away. Maybe he got it caught somehow on something and pulled it and bruised it. As long as it does not get necrotic looking, I would not worry too much and give it some more time to see if it fades.
 
does he have a little cut there? above the black part it almost looks like a wound and this could be anentry place for bacterial infection maybe..black i would say means brused or dying flesh. let me see a close up if that is a slice/gash. Also does the black part of the tail have any odor..compared to other parts of the body?
 
Last edited:
I don't believe there is a cut, it seems to be only on the surface. Some of the body color does work its way into the black tail portion. I have seen other threads on this in the past, and was wondering if anyone saw improvement? It has been there since I received him a few weeks ago.
 
ok just to make sure were looking at the same thing i circled what i was talking about
 

Attachments

  • possible.jpg
    possible.jpg
    120.8 KB · Views: 140
Seeing that it has been there for a few weeks, I would say it is not a bruise. I did not realize it was there for that long. It seems bruises heal up quicker than that. I did have a chameleon who had a dark tail tip and my vet thought it was lack of blood flow from some neurological problem. He really did not know for sure and was kind of guessing. He even told me that. This was the same chameleon that I closed the door on, but this was like 2 .5 years later. I would say just watch that it does not continue to spread up the tail and if it stays like that, maybe have him seen by a vet to get another opinion.
 
Definitely keep an eye on it like everyone said. My rescue guy went through something similar and his previous owners let it progress pretty far. They ended up having to amputate quite a bit of his tail.
 
Back
Top Bottom