UH OH!! MY BAD

[Ares2010]

My Amel, Ares, shed a couple of days ago and last night I noticed that the very tip of his tail was a little brown. So I thought perhaps it was a bit of shed skin stuck to it... I soaked him a little and tried to gently get it off... but he jerked his tail away and I accidently took off the very tip of his tail.

I felt terrible, but didn't mean to do it.

Do I need to put something on the end of his tail to help it heal? What is the danger of him missing the tip of his tail?

He didn't seem to be bothered by it. He ate fine and still acts normal.

[VickyChaiTea]

He won't be bothered by it, just keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't get infected. Also from now on I'd offer a humid hide to avoid this problem or similar problems in the future. Also make sure the water dish is full at all times.

[wendhend]

If the tip of his tail was already brown, it probably was dead tissue (caused by a previous stuck bit of shed) and would not have gotten better anyway. His tail will be slightly stubby, but he ought to be fine, especially if all the brown part is gone now.

[Ares2010]

Thanks, it's a relief to know it's not a fatal thing. It really upset me when it happened. I checked on him when I got up this morning and it looked the same. I will keep an eye on him to make sure it doesn't get infected.

And I replace his water every single day. And I am looking into getting him a humid hide for sure. He normally has been having good sheds.

[knox]

Field Herpetologists clip the ends of tails for DNA. I wouldn't worry at all.

[Naagas]

It is fairly common for snakes to loose their tail tips due to sheds or other injuries.

My girl Ophelia lost the tip of her tail when she was in brumation. I think she stuck the tip under her water dish or something and cut off the circulation- it was black and fell off the next day. It is healing nicely and she doesn't act like it hurts her at all.