Bad Tail?

[Sharpy6272]

Should I be worried about his tail the shop said he had a bad shed and it will sort itself out with the next shed.

This pic is about a week old i will get an updated one tonight

[SatanicIntention]

If there is any leftover shed constricting a tail tip, and it's not taken off immediately, it will dry and strangulate the tail(meaning, no blood flow). If this is not remedied soon, the tail tip will die and fall off, possibly causing infection.

I would start soaking the tail in betadine solution and keeping it moist with polysporin(neosporin w/o pain killer). Then, get the snake to the vet so he/she can prescribe some burn cream(usually sulfadene cream) that will aid in healing and prevent infection. At best, the tail will heal with some scarring, and worst, the tail tip may need amputated.

If a snake has a bad shed, ALWAYS get the shed off of the eyes, any that is encircling the body, or any that is constricting the tail. Anything else can wait until next shed.

[starmom]

I respectfully disagree about ALWAYS getting shed off of the eyes. It is my experience and educational training that no harm will come to the snake by having one layer of eye caps on the eyes.
The observant owner will notice this and take steps to improve husbandry techniques (specifically humidity levels) thereby allowing the eye caps to shed off properly during the next shed.
I feel that allowing the retained eye caps to shed naturally allows for a far less chance of harm to the snake's eyes from a novice snake keeper mucking about on the eyeball.
Just my thoughts on this.... no disrespect intended.

[Cam]

This is strictly from the experience of our 07 hypo charcoal corn snake.

He had a tail tip retained shed...
Did the moist hide thing and it came off.

The next shed also was incomplete on the tail tip.
Had him slide through my hands (wearing damp cotton gloves).
The tip came off BUT so did the scales.

Kept Neopsporin on it.
Turned black, fell off in the next shed.

Unless you are REALLY looking you can't even tell what happened...But I feel horrible he had to go through that and have figured out the moist hide during shed phase is not enough.

Due to the really dry air here I now have a moist hide with the moss in the viv at all times instead of just when they go blue. (the damp paper towels do not seem to be as effective).

So in a way they are correct that it will sort itself out and your snake will most likely lose that tip and be at risk for infection.

Best of luck

[starmom]

Just to be clear~ I was only addressing the eye caps. Any shed left on the tail tip ought to be manually removed if possible; along with any other shed skin that is wrapped around any portion of the body.

[Sharpy6272]

Thank you

I have only had the snake for about three weeks and he has not had a shed whilst in my care yet. I kicked my self for not seeing it in the shop before i purchased him. When i noticed it and called the guy in the shop he arrested my fears and told me not to worry about it. But having spent a considerable time on this forum it dawned on me that he might not be entirly honest.

I will post a upadted pic tonight

[starmom]

Hi Dan~
It's really hard to notice everything all at once, especially whilst being so very excited over the prospect of a new snake!! No need for self-mutilation!!
I would give the snake a little tubby: fill a plastic container with enough tepid water to go half way up your snake's belly (he shouldn't be swimming!) Place the container back into the snake's enclosure, on the warm side, if possible. Let him hang in there for a bit. Take him out and see if the skin has loosened enough for you to be able to manually remove it.
Let us know if this helps

[SatanicIntention]

True, but seriously, how hard is it to pop a snake in a tub with water and some paper towels, and push it back into the rack for an hour? If my snakes ever have bad sheds, which is a rarity, I clean their tub, put papertowels and about 1/2" water in the bottom, put them in and push the tub back into the rack. Leave them alone for an hour or two and by then, ALL of the shed is off or at least loose, and there isn't any worrying. I have 45 Ball Pythons right now and can still afford them invididual care if I need to. It doesn't take me more than 5 minutes to prepare their tub. Plus, they get hydrated in the process, so it's a win-win situation.

If the snake has been soaked once a day for a few days and the eyecaps haven't come off by then, then yes, you can leave them until next shed. But if the shed comes off easily with a soak or two, why not do it then, instead of waiting for the next shed and possibly having 2-3 sets of eyecaps to get off then..

Just my personal experience. Better to fix it sooner than later, when it may not be fixable.

Also, McKinsey, if you look at the picture, you can easily tell that the tail is irritated and raw, which indicates lack of blood flow. To prevent possible infection, especially so close to bone, soaking the tail in betadine or chlorhexidine will do two things: hydrate the constricting skin as well as cleanse the area. It's not as simple as soaking the snake in lukewarm water and hoping that it heals itself.

If your toe was doing the same thing, would you want the doctors to just soak your foot in lukewarm water and send you home without any antibacterial solutions or antibiotics? What if infection sets in and gets into the bone?? Bone infections are not easy to treat and generally require amputation.

To the OP, you can go to WalGreens or any other pharmacy and get betadine solution. Mix it to a medium tea consistency in lukewarm water, and soak the snake's tail. Do not let the snake drink the betadine. After soaking for 15-20 minutes, let the tail air dry and put a generous amount of polysporin on the affected area. Remove any loose substrate from the enclosure and use paper towels or newspaper in the mean time. Keep the enclosure as clean as possible. Hopefully this will resolve itself with a few treatments and won't require vet intervention...

[starmom]

Wow, Becky, I said that I meant no disrespect to you and I meant it. I also have the expectation that I will be treated with the same amount of respect and general kindness....
That said, I am glad you have so many royals and I am glad that you can give them individual care when you need to. I'm uncertain as to whether that was ever an issue within this thread... However, I am glad that soaking them for a while and for a few times works well for you for getting off any retained eye caps. Many novice snake keepers believe that a poke in the eye with a q-tip does the job and so this is why I prefer to give the advice of leaving it be til the next shed, given that a bad shed typically means the husbandry was off somewhere. I would prefer to help a person identify the husbandry issue needing to be fixed, rather than fixing the snake after the husbandry issue has wreaked havoc. I realize this is my opinion and while I am comfortable with it, I am also comfortable with you having your own opinion as well!
Regarding the tail: I believe that soaking it is still good. I also think that getting betadine into the water is a further good idea, as is cam's suggestion of neosporin after a soak. It is my feeling that after doing this, the OP will have the smarts to determine whether a vet appointment is called for. I can't put a whole lot into the picture given that the picture is a week old~ we have no idea what the tail looks like now.
So, these are just my impressions, thoughts and suggestions. If I have riled you Becky, I would urge you to PM me and allow me to understand how.
To the OP, it would be nice to have an updated photo of the snake's tail, which I heard you say you would try to post later today.
In the light, McKinsey

[littleindiangirl]

Just going to state something, not meant to push any buttons, but I have to say while Becky's posts are forward, I have never read them as being disrespectful. Perhaps it's because of how I read them, but I have only ever read them as direct, to the point with no sugar coating or beating around the bush. (How I imagine she is in real life)

I read neither disrespect nor gloating or a direct posting towards any members ability to keep their animals. Rather I read it as an easy solution to common problems that can very easily turn into an even bigger and tougher problem if left alone. (Regarding the stuck eye caps comment)