N. Kaiseri escapee - Recovered - now tail skin is decaying

[Linus]

I'm having kind of a hell week over here with my caudates, here's the rundown:

I've been keeping a group of n. kaiseri for a little over a year without any problems. Somehow last week one escaped it's aquatic enclosure, and I found it within 24 hours, COVERED in my german shepherd's dog fur. I dipped him in clean dechlorinated water to get rid of the dusties, and placed him in terrestrial quarantine. I've since moved all the others to a terrestrial enclosure dubbed "alcatraz."

He's been feeding, and for the most part inactive and hiding over the last week. I did take note that the end of his tail looked shiny or wet, and upon taking a peak at him today I can see that the normally black pigment has turned pink, as if it's decaying away. This is just on the last quarter of the tail. I've never had this happen before, Ed advised me to try bathing in a small tub with indian almond leaves. (Will do this tonight, thanks Ed!)

I've grown quite attached to these guys and I'm just wondering if anyone has anymore advice.

I'll take a photos tonight.

/sigh

 

[froggy]

Make sure it is kept cool (under 15C would be brilliant) and quite drym so that the wound can dry out properly. If the wound becomes open and ulcerated, a vet will be able to prescribe 'Silvadine' cream (Silver sulphurdiazine - it has several brand names), which seems to work well in these ulcers. Amputation of the infected area may be necessary if it spreads rapidly, again best performed by a vet with analgaesics to hand.

 

[Linus]

Temp is about 14-15C, is there an Over The Counter equivalent to Silvadene? Would bathing in almond leave water be a bad idea at this point? Should I stay away from water and try neosporin? Just brainstorming here.

 

[Linus]

I'm trying to take the dehydration from the escape into consideration here as well, though I must say he doesn't look dehydrated and seems to be adapting to terrestrial life despite the tail problem.

 

[Linus]

I appreciated your input Chris, thanks.

 

[Jake]

Keep it in the dark and disturb it as little as possible.

 

[Ed]

It may be sloughing off tissues that died from lack of moisture. If you have a local vet that sees exotics it may need to be examined as exposed bone can become infected and these can be hard to resolve.

I do not believe that there is an over the counter equivalent to silvadene cream.

Ed

 

[Linus]

I think you nailed it Ed. It looks very clean, I picked up Indian Almond leaves a few minutes ago and made him some tea. Now I'm going to leave him alone and let him heal!

I'll be sure to update when this comes to a resolution.

 

[Linus]

Quick update:
The top layer of skin sloughed on the tip of the tail, and there is slight discoloration on the top of the head of this kaiseri, but the areas never worsened. I did place neosporin on the two areas for about two days, but it may have been unnecessary. The kaiseri is still quarantined, but behaves normally and has a healthy appetite. I'm not sure these areas will ever look 100% black like the rest of the body again, but at least he is okay!