Phelsuma Grandis had to cut tail off.

[JIGSAW818]

So yesterday I decided to cut my geckos tail off with a clean razor. (Sterilized Razor.) Her tail had gotten to the point where she started developing a rotten looking infection on a majority of her scales it started looking black and blueish. when she would shed that part of her tail would not shed anymore. I took me about 20 mins to do this.. I couldn't stand to even think about physically cutting the tail off from my gecko.. Myfirst gecko that Ihave had since she was a baby.... My point is I cut straight down then sliced left and right and it came off. I hope I did it right and I hope she will heal orrectly cause if she dies... My question is how many Phelsuma owners out there have had to cut the tails off or have had the tail fall off and what were the results.. how long did it take.. and was the tail deformed... I don't care what her tail ends up looking like.. Ijust want her to survive.

 

[colinmelsom]

Sounds a bit drastic.I would have taken it to the vet.How much did you cut off?

There is no guarantee that it will grow back.when lizards shed their tail they do it at a joint in the bone.I would guess that you haven`t done this.Have you put any antiseptic on the wound?


I suppose that she has survived the first day ,she has got through the worst.Is she bleeding much?

 

[JIGSAW818]

Sounds a bit drastic.I would have taken it to the vet.How much did you cut off?

There is no guarantee that it will grow back.when lizards shed their tail they do it at a joint in the bone.I would guess that you haven`t done this.Have you put any antiseptic on the wound?


I suppose that she has survived the first day ,she has got through the worst.Is she bleeding much?

She is not bleeding at all. Probably about half. and my gf is at home taking care of her and the wound. We are trying not to bother her to much. She is eating though.

 

[JIGSAW818]

You mean general antiseptic? I didn't know that was fine to use.

 

[colinmelsom]

Over here you can get them for reptiles.I guess that it will have started to heal now so its probably best left alone.

 

[JIGSAW818]

Over here you can get them for reptiles.I guess that it will have started to heal now so its probably best left alone.

Thank you for your responses.

 

[terradas]

Youch, graphic. Sounds like it was caused by either low humidity or by your male nipping at her tail. Agrression is a tougher fix if that's the case so just keep an eye on them. Otherwise, I'd try to increase humidity to avoid losing any more tails or toes.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

You mean general antiseptic? I didn't know that was fine to use.

Be sure to keep her tail wound clean and dry to promote quicker healing. A paper towel substrate might be a good idea till you are certain the wound has begun to heal just to keep stray particles from that area.

I would NOT use any topical antibiotic I know of available in the USA like neosporin.

 

[JIGSAW818]

Be sure to keep her tail wound clean and dry to promote quicker healing. A paper towel substrate might be a good idea till you are certain the wound has begun to heal just to keep stray particles from that area.

I would NOT use any topical antibiotic I know of available in the USA like neosporin.

Terradas and Elizabeth,

Thanks for your responses. I have seperated her and put her in a huge screen cage she is in a good place with the right temps and humidity. So what else can i do to clean her tail? I still don't trust the razor... i have a feeling it will cause more damage... this sucks.. hopefully it does not become infected.

 

[daggekko]

I've had geckos drop their tails. Usually takes 2-3 months to grow back. In my experience, the tissue coming out will be a dull black color for a little while. Smooth looking too.

Pictures?

I'd probably leave it be and not keep hacking at it. Or take her to a vet.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Terradas and Elizabeth,

Thanks for your responses. I have seperated her and put her in a huge screen cage she is in a good place with the right temps and humidity. So what else can i do to clean her tail? I still don't trust the razor... i have a feeling it will cause more damage... this sucks.. hopefully it does not become infected.

Excellent that she has a separate enclosure till her tail is healed! Does her tail wound look clean? How did you sterilize the razor blade? Rubbing alcohol? (Don't put rubbing alcohol on the tail...might sting her wound!)

What would people think of hydrogen peroxide to the wound? Don't use that without the approval of a Phelsuma person!

You mention that she is eating. How is her behavior?

Your surgery probably removed the infected tail section.

Pics, JIGSAW818?

 

[JIGSAW818]

I've had geckos drop their tails. Usually takes 2-3 months to grow back. In my experience, the tissue coming out will be a dull black color for a little while. Smooth looking too.

Pictures?

I'd probably leave it be and not keep hacking at it. Or take her to a vet.

No pics at least not until a couple more days... I really don't feel like bothering her.. she just had her tail sliced off by force you know? + She's in hiding right now behind her favorite plant. Thank you so much for that info though.. i appreciate it.

 

[JIGSAW818]

Excellent that she has a separate enclosure till her tail is healed! Does her tail wound look clean? How did you sterilize the razor blade? Rubbing alcohol? (Don't put rubbing alcohol on the tail...might sting her wound!)

What would people think of hydrogen peroxide to the wound? Don't use that without the approval of a Phelsuma person!

You mention that she is eating. How is her behavior?

Your surgery probably removed the infected tail section.

Pics, JIGSAW818?

Hey Elizabeth, Just call me mike I doused the razor with rubbing alcohol for about 2 minutes and scrubbed it for a while then rinsed and doused again. then dried off. the tail wound looks very clean, it's starting to turn dark.. for our records here at GU I will take pics about every 5 days with one starting tomorrow or thursday.. So it can help Phelsuma owners in the future. I don't know about hydrogen peroxide.. it might still sting her.. although maybe a little won't hurt... That's just what I heard though. She is still acting the same hiding like always.. She loves to be covered by the plants.. She is eating, which makes me feel better. I am keeping her tail dry like you said. I threw her tail away.. I won't take pictures of that.. It looked bad enough as it was.

 

[hexentanz]

When I had to remove a tail i waited until the gecko was still and placed the blade down very quickly. I would think any other method of removing the infected part would hurt the animal. :yikes:

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Hey Elizabeth, Just call me mike I doused the razor with rubbing alcohol for about 2 minutes and scrubbed it for a while then rinsed and doused again. then dried off. the tail wound looks very clean, it's starting to turn dark.. for our records here at GU I will take pics about every 5 days with one starting tomorrow or thursday.. So it can help Phelsuma owners in the future. I don't know about hydrogen peroxide.. it might still sting her.. although maybe a little won't hurt... That's just what I heard though. She is still acting the same hiding like always.. She loves to be covered by the plants.. She is eating, which makes me feel better. I am keeping her tail dry like you said. I threw her tail away.. I won't take pictures of that.. It looked bad enough as it was.

Nice to meet you, Mike. Always like to know the real name of GU members !

Excellent that her tail wound looks very clean AND that you will be recording her progress to benefit Phelsuma owners. The archives is one of the things I love about GU!

Yes, the hydrogen peroxide might sting (and stress her) too. Don't know whether hydrogen peroxide would be effective in a watered down dosage.

When we get a wound, our docs always say to keep it clean and dry for best healing. I would not use anything unless her wound starts looking problematical.

Happy healing. Ya did good!

 

[JIGSAW818]

When I had to remove a tail i waited until the gecko was still and placed the blade down very quickly. I would think any other method of removing the infected part would hurt the animal. :yikes:

That's what I did. the difference is she trusts me holding her or she tolerates it. I layed her tail down on the table and placed the the blade down quickly but the damn thing did not cut off immediatley! so I had to go right then left to finally get it come off. She squirmed a little bit then stood still. but her tail was twitching..There were specs of blood on her flesh but other than that she was not bleeding. It's been 2 days? hopefully a tip starts growing within 3 or 4 days.

 

[JIGSAW818]

Pics up in previous post.

 

[daggekko]

Tail doesn't look bad. I bet it is going to take more than a few days to start growing the tip back out. I can't believe you can still hold your gecko after that. My borbonicas were eating Repashy out of my hand until I cleaned their tank and caught all 3 of them. Now they are very very nervous about my hands being in their enclosure at all.

 

[JIGSAW818]

Tail doesn't look bad. I bet it is going to take more than a few days to start growing the tip back out. I can't believe you can still hold your gecko after that. My borbonicas were eating Repashy out of my hand until I cleaned their tank and caught all 3 of them. Now they are very very nervous about my hands being in their enclosure at all.

Wow maybe Borbonicas are a more timid species? Well no actually my giant days tend to flip out when I tear down the cage to clean. Hopefully it grows back yellow lol. My male has a full yellow tip where his previous tail had fallen off. anyways thanks for your responses. as soon as she grows something I'll post more pictures. Fyi the reason her head looks discolored is my male is about 2x the size of her and the mating ritual for giant days that I have seen they like to grab that part of the skin ( The neck area ) with their mouth. he always takes the scales off from her neck. :?

 

[colinmelsom]

If the male is so much bigger I wouldn`t keep them together,personally.