Broken Tail

[nomadbean]

Ok, guys I have a question. I am pretty sure there is nothing I can do about this, but i thought I would ask you guys. My tegu is an acrobat, and in one of his hanging experiments (from the screen on the top of his cage) he fell and broke his tail. It was a little scraped/crushed looking so I put some neosporin on it and watched it. Well, it is a week later and it looks withered now. What I mean is, the rest of his tail is pretty fat and all, and this piece looks like a withered rose stem now. It is healed over, with no sores and not infected that I can see or feel, but it looks pretty sad. It is the last inch or so of his tail. I guess my question is, will it heal, is it dead, or will it just fall off? Please let me know if this is vet worthy or if he will just tell me "He broke his tail, $45 plz", sorry if I am being over cautious. Thanks for the help.
Trina
[addsig]

[JuliusSqueezer]

Gonna need a vet on this one...Necrotic tissue will cause gangrene fairly quickly. This of course is fatal if not amputated.
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[jpaulson]

Yep, I agree with Julius. The tail will fall off on its own once it is completely dead, but infection could set in to the rest of the good tail and spread.
[addsig]

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[nomadbean]

Thanks guys, I will try and make a vet appt. as soon as I can. I am broke right now from previous vet trips already this month. How much does an amputation cost? Can I prevent gangrene with Baytril to delay the amputation or put it off all together. I read that with tail damage they can regrow it if it is not sewn over...just wondering I will make a vet appt for next week or so, or is this a NOW thing? Trina
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[nomadbean]

Ok his tail broke off completely above the injury. It looks icky(bone and open wound) but there are no signs of infection and I put neosporin on it. Should I still take him to the vet tomorrow as planned, or will he just tell me to keep neosporin on it? Thanks guys.
Trina
[addsig]

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[reptilemama]

Yes, I would still take him in. Honestly, the vet should have gotten him in within a day or two of the injury. By now, the infection could be spreading. Even if it doesn't look infected, an open wound still needs to be seen by a vet. If it was me, and the vet wouldn't work in soemthing like this within a few days, I would find another vet.

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