The tip of my iguanas tail is starting to fall off!!! help@!?!? pics included!?

Question

She got a tail injury a few weeks ago, i'm not sure how. The last 3 inches of the tail have turned black, and its been that way since right after she got the injury. That part of the tail remained stiff and turned black. Now I think she decided to remove it via using the muscles in her tail to pop it off, like ig's do when caught by predators, but its only half way off and bleeding!!! not too badly, but still its bleeding! i have no money for the vet right now, like none. It's obvious that its her choice to pop it off, but i really want to avoid infection. what do i do? do i wait for the rest of it to come off, its like 80% off, see pics

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28502095@N02/

Shes not acting in pain, although when i went to pick her up she hissed at me, which is weird cuz she never does that.

Please help and don't say pet ER!!!

Price limit of like $20 cuz thats all i have in my wallet!!!!

Answer 1

Looks like a classic tail break.

In captivity, there are many reasons an iguana may lose its tail. Sometimes, the iguana causes the breakage itself, by whipping its tail against a hard surface like a wall in your house or in the cage. Injuries to tails in pet iguanas rarely happen by themselves when an iguana is living in a properly sized and built cage with correct UVB producing lights and a correct diet. A cage that is too narrow for the iguana to turn around easily can result in tail injuries. Owners sometimes get their iguana's tail stuck in a door while shutting it, or step on the tail. Iguanas also do fall, on occasion, and can injure their tail that way.

The aftercare of a minor tail breakage is simple. Cleanse the area with Betadine (providone-iodine). You can either blot it dry with a clean piece of gauze or let it air dry, and apply Neosporin ointment (or any triple antibiotic ointment) to the end of the tail. Repeat the cleaning and Neosporin routine twice daily for a week or until the wound has healed over. Watch closely for signs of infection or gangrene, if you do see these signs then you either get to the vet or you will lose your lizard.

While there are several reasons for tail amputation, infection is probably the most common. It is more common for the tail to become infected and need surgery than it is to suffer an injury and need an amputation. Generally, the end of the tail has turned gangrenous, which often is due to injury but frequently just seems to happen for no known reason.

Gangrene means that the tail has become infected, and the tissues are dying. In order to save the live tissue in the rest of the tail, the infected area must be removed before it spreads to healthy tissue. Dry gangrene is the typical type of presentation that the infection has. The tail tip turns dark or black and becomes dry, as if the fluid has been removed from the area. Less common is wet gangrene, where the area is darkened and soft and mushy. Gaseous gangrene nearly never happens when the tail tip is involved. It involves pockets of gas forming from the bacteria in infected tissue under the skin.

Answer 2

It looks like she swatted something with her tail and snapped it. This does happen alot with lizards that tail whip. It will get hard and fall off, I would keep some styptic powder around just in case she hits it again. Make sure that her cage is longer and wider then she is to avoid things like that. No ER is needed.

Answer 3

It should be ok. If you want you can try to put some antibiotic ointment on the tip to ward off infection. As long as it doesn't begin to look infected or start bleeding badly it should be fine. It may not grow back the same color or ever look the same though.

Answer 4

i have a baby eatsern water dragon then oneday after work i came to say hello and she lost about 2 inches off her tail but it wasnt hangin there it was somwhere in the cage it was only bleading a little but not bad i left her then the blood went hard i didnt want a infection so i desinfected the water bowl that se loves to play in i did it twice a day

and there was no infection it will slowly grow back

i would get a lone from someone and taKE it to the vet that doesnt look very clean so i would pay the vet but u would never no it might not cost anything

GO TO THE VET!!!!!!!!!!