End of Leopard geckos Tail is bright red!

Solagratia

New member
So I'm pretty sure he got bite by a cricket but not actually chewed on. I didn't think to check back on the crickets because he always gobbles them up no problem and he's mostly fed mealies just the occasional cricket or two. But regardless I'm pretty sure that's what happened but i wanted to get a second opinion. It doesn't look like tail rot now but I'm not sure if it's the early stages?
He's also an albino so I'm not sure if that adds to the pink coloration. The skin tissue itself doesn't seem to be dying, I put a diluted mix of water and betadine on it so kill off any infection. Beyond that any suggestions? None of my geckos have ever had a problem and no tail losses I'm going to feel horrible if he loses a tail over my negligence. photo(1).jpg
 

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
Had there been stuck shed constricting the lower tail? Does the pink area feel warm?

Be sure you keep this leo on paper towels right now (or tiles) to prevent any infection.
 

Solagratia

New member
He's always on a towel and never a shed problem. He has a good humid hide and when he does look like he's about to shed I give him a soak in shallow warm water. Debating on taking the humid hide out so the bacteria don't have warmth and moisture to thrive off of.
photo(2).jpgI have quite a few leopards and rarely any trouble so when I saw this I got freaked out because I've never seen such a thing. I attach a picture from this morning about 12 hours later, the redness has gone down but that brown that's creeping in has me super worried. He's a sweet boy and really pretty tremper albino so I'd just feel awful if he got tail rot. He doesn't seem lethargic, doesn't seem to hurt him when I touch it, although it does feel firmer than the rest of his tail and it doesn't feel warm to the touch.
 
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Conched

New member
I am thinking maybe tail rot.

As opposed to soaking, why not try upgrading your moist hide.
 

Solagratia

New member
I soak them as a precaution but no he never actually needs it to shed well. I looked into making very good humid hides for my geckos so they never have that problem. He has awesome skin, not that dusty shitty look a lot of them do. I make a point of never letting them get like that. It's from the cricket bite, not a bad shed, I can see the bite.
I do believe it may be tail rot what's annoying is there's no scientific information about what tail rot is (bacterial fungal ect.) I'm finishing up my degree in biology so understanding what I'm against would help me a lot more. Currently I got it to stop spreading all together but the tissue is dying at the tip regardless.photo 1.jpgphoto 2.jpg

I added a picture of him and his humid hide.
 
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