plesae help! tip of tail looks a dark color :(

[Mr. Burns]

Hi

i picked my corn up today to check on him..and the tip of his tail seems to be a dark black kind of colour. I'm guessing this is not good. What could it be and what can i do...

i was kind of hoping it would be dirt or much or something but i bathed him and it didn't seem to wash off...:(

can anyone help me..

thanks

mr burns

[pinatamonkey]

Can you remember when he sheds, if the skin on the tip of the tail comes off? If skin is left on the tip of the tail, it can constrict bloodflow and the tail tip will die and fall off.

[Susan]

Sounds like your snake has either injured it's tail (such as getting it caught in something) or it did't fully shed the tip of the tail several times, which can cause a lack of blood flow eventually causing the tip to die. Either of these things can happen without you taking great notice (it happened to me). The tip will probably eventually fall off, but your snake should do well without it. To prevent further complications, apply a topical antibiotic ointment the the tail tip and make sure any future sheds come off completely.

[Mr. Burns]

hey there

thanks for replying

he shed only last week...and yes i made sure that all the skin was off.

so what happens if the tip falls off will he be ok?? He seems distressed at the moment really jumpy and when he's in his viv he doent move and is really docile.

what other kinds of cause might have made his tail go this way.

Is there anything i can do to help him right now?

also will it spread, coul he die?

sorry for all the questions

mr burns

[13mur 6]

No, no worries, he won't die unless he gets an infection.

When the tip falls off, he'll bleed a bit and then the bleeding should stop and the wound should heal over. You can put some terramycin or some other topical antibiotic over it to prevent infection.

If the tail tip is hard and brittle then constriction of blood flow is what happened. I guess right now the best you can do is help it keep that end clean. Try changing bedding to paper towel for a while until the tip falls off to further prevent infection.

-13mur 6

[Mr. Burns]

thanks so much

so any clues as to how this happened

I'm reading a lot on here about humidity gauges thermometres could someone point me in the best direction to learn how to properly look after my corn...the advice and literature i have doesn't seem to be as good as what you people all know.

At the moment i have a medium sized viv with a heat mat at one end and 2 hide boxes.

What do i need to do in order to look after him so this wont happen again?

thanks

mr burns

[CornCrazy]

It can be a butter bowl or any size appropriate container with a lid. Cut o hole in the side of the bowl...make sure you smooth any rough edges. Then put damp paper towels or sphagnum moss in the container. Most corns love the humid hides and will typically go in them even when they aren't due to shed.

[PSYCOSNAKEMOM]

Sometimes it's hard to see if the tip of the tail has shed completely. When bathing place a clean ( I use ones that have never been washed so no detergents) wash cloth in the bottom of their bath container. The "roughness" of the wash cloth helps the shedding. I also may keep a damp, again clean, wash cloth in the home tank when I know it's shedding time. This helps not only with the shedding but adds to the humidity if needed. If you notice the tip of the tail is dark or black use KY jelly on the tip of the tail to help soften the shed. I also have had success with vit. e oil. A good magnifying glass is a handy tool to have. Check the tail area after each shed as well as the eyes. Sam ~~~~~:~