All the vet did was amputate the tail (which is now getting silver sulf) and give him subcutaneous fluids. They also gave the owner a tall stack of red tail-specific reading on husbandry. They said that the mouse he ate was too large, which I thought was a bit strange, as it didn't create a bulge or anything. He'll be feeding on hoppers for awhile.

Apparently the girl had tried removing attached shed (and areas she thought were shedding) by pulling it off with her fingers and with tape, which produced the scabs, bedraggled scales, and missing patches.

I guess I should be glad he's been seen, but mostly I'm just worried. I got a close look at the cage today, and apparently his owner didn't know about spot cleaning, either, so there were urates everywhere. She also had to ask me if she should remove the vomitus from the enclosure. Uh...YES???