Weird little patch of “retained skin” which i am unsure is retained skin.

Can anyone tell me what this is on my beardie’s tail base?

I’m new to this . I have not yet figured out how to post a picture but as soon as i do i will post a picture of what it looks like. It is the only part of her body that hasn’t shedded yet. It is fairly discolored and i am beginning to worry that it may be more threatening to her health or tail eventhough she is still a fairly active beardie and doesn’t seem to be affected by it any. We tried soaking and trying to remove and some of it did come off but it was not easy. She still doesn’t seem to be bothered by it, but when we touch it she jumps a little i don’t know if it is because she can’t see our hands or if it really hurts. It doesn’t look bruised, leaky, fleshy or anything just very slimy and yeah.

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It's hard to say without actually seeing what you're referring to, but "slimy" is an adjective that I've never had to use to describe a bearded dragon shed issue.

As I'm sure you know, bearded dragons don't shed in one piece but in the messiest way possible a little at a time. Retained shed is typically just dry and is obvious. I've never had any part of a bearded dragon appear slimy, especially the area that you're referring to. If it's tender to the touch, your dragon is going to let you know, and if it's slimy it has to be coming from somewhere. Does the spot feel soft/hard? Is it sunken in or raised?

It's nearly impossible for anyone on here to diagnose an animal, and if she's showing signs of distress when you touch it, it's 100% time for a vet visit.

She doesn’t act distressed it actually doesn’t seem to bother her. The spot almost looks like when I let her soak when she is shedding and all the loose skin is wet. I am going to download the app so y’all can see .

The yellow is from using vitamin E oil in the area but this is a recent picture of her soakinghttps://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...2fa490150.jpeg

The skin feels like the rest of her except when it is wet

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Originally Posted by Gclaude

The skin feels like the rest of her except when it is wet

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Does it look like that all the time or just when it's wet? It's hard to tell what's going on because your photo is her soaking and you've been putting oil on the area, so yea it looks odd, but it's explainable by the oil/the water.

Are you sure the yellow is from the oil? There is a "Yellow fungus" that dragons can get that's deadly if not treated, but I'm not familiar enough with it to tell you if this is that or not.

How often does she "soak"? Is it possible that the old patch of stuck skin is just retaining moisture from a soak, & thus feels "slimy" when the rest of her has dried?

I would not try to forcefully remove any stuck skin, btw- wait for it to come off on it's own. Is she eating okay? Where did you get the idea to use vitamin E oil on this?

Not saying that's right or wrong, by the way, just curious. I do know that it makes for "bad sheds" if one uses oils of any kind on a snake to "help" it shed...is it possible you used the oil in haste to facilitate the shed & the old skin has retained the oil & now feels slimy because it still hasn't come off?

I've only kept one bearded dragon, a rescue that never had an issue like this, so I don't know what to tell you, other than if this persists, a visit to a qualified herp vet is in order.

There is a limit to how much we can help you online with a medical issue, & that is as it should be. A vet should probably be diagnosing this- they have the training & lab capability.

This may help you find a vet, if you haven't already: https://arav.site-ym.com/search/custom.asp?id=3661

Hugsplox mentioned a possible fungal infection & I do recall reading something about that too, so maybe a vet visit is in order.

Without soaking and oil it is a grey color. I also thought yellow fungus but i thought maybe it would’ve spread to the other parts of her lower body by now.

She does not soak very often . I have been doing it once a day now for 2 days because of that little spot. I think the slimy concept does come from the usage of oil and water. I got the idea from some you tubers. She is eating okay ... she really eats when she wants and i think because she has been in the process of shedding she has lost some appetite.

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Originally Posted by Gclaude

Without soaking and oil it is a grey color. I also thought yellow fungus but i thought maybe it would’ve spread to the other parts of her lower body by now.

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It's possible that it just hasn't started to spread yet, and then of course it's possible that that's not what it is. I've been fortunate that I've never seen it in person and never had to deal with it. It may even just be a reaction to the oil. I'm with Boger though, I think your best bet is to see a herp vet and just make sure it's not something that requires some type of treatment. Best case you get some peace of mind and she gets a check up, worst case it turns out to be something bad, but either way at least you know and can get some help with it.

I'm hoping it's just a "leave it alone and it'll resolve" type deal, but I'm just not sure and I'd hate for it to spread and you lose her over something that's probably treatable.

Yea , i would be so hurt if something happens to her she’s my baby. I will take her to a vet next week since we’ve been having bad weather and everything is closed. Hopefully by that time it’ll be healed or has fallen off by then.

Actually I just did a little digging...have you looked up scale rot in bearded dragons? I think that fits what you're describing far more than yellow fungus, & frequent moisture is part of the enemy if that's what it is- a bacterial infection. So stop that soaking, first off. And do look that up, there are way too many links for me to add here. And it can also be painful- so that might have been a good observation on your part. :gj:

If scale rot, I'm seeing some suggestions for using diluted Betadine (povidone iodine) dabbed on the spot, OR raw unpasteurized honey (it's antibacterial)- you could try either or both (not together), because neither one will hurt anything if it's not scale rot anyway. (don't let your dragon lap up any Betadine, just dab on with a Q tip or similar thing)

And here is Vetericyn's "take" on scale rot (not just beardies): https://vetericyn.com/blog/how-to-tr...t-on-reptiles/

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Actually I just did a little digging...have you looked up scale rot in bearded dragons? I think that fits what you're describing far more than yellow fungus, & frequent moisture is part of the enemy if that's what it is- a bacterial infection. So stop that soaking, first off. And do look that up, there are way too many links for me to add here. And it can also be painful- so that might have been a good observation on your part. :gj:

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Good call Boger!

I just did a little digging having never dealt with scale rot in dragons myself, but one of the symptoms talks about blisters forming between the scales, that might explain the "slimy" feel of the skin.

Take a look at the below thread from beardedragon.org and see if that's what you're seeing. This is a pretty severe case so just.. be warned it's a sad photo to look at, but a good example.

https://www.beardeddragon.org/forums...?f=45&t=218779

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Originally Posted by Hugsplox

... one of the symptoms talks about blisters forming between the scales, that might explain the "slimy" feel of the skin...

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Yes, exactly. This seems to be the most likely explanation.