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My bearded dragon's tail rot is spreading. What should I do?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Exotic | Unknown - Exotic | Female

hello I rescued a bearded dragon around 6 weeks ago the dragon had a few problems to begin with a chunk out her side and a bit of tail rot my problem is the tail rot over 1 month the tail rot has reached 3 inches up her tail I was told by a friend who has them that it would just drop off but by this point I decided to take her the vets who examined her then the tail and just said it may just sort itself out and to monitor it now 2 weeks later its a farther 1 inch up 4 inches total help plz

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Miranda Sadar, DVM, DACZM

Veterinarian

Published on December 14th, 2018

Thanks for your question, and I’m so sorry that this is happening to you and Peaches. Tail rot can be a bit tricky to manage, and ultimately Peaches may need a tail amputation. Unfortunately, the tissue needs to stop dying before an amputation can be pursued, or else the tissue at the surgical site is at risk of dying as well. Due to this, for right now, you’ll need to monitor for spread of the tissue death. I recommend drawing a line at the area where the tissue seems to be shrunken, closer to the end of the tail, and another line around the area where the tail goes from a more normal orange to the white color. You can do this with a permanent marker.
It may be advisable to consider a course of antibiotics as well, especially if the tissue death doesn’t seem to stop spreading.
I hope this gives you a place to start, and that Peaches feels better soon.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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