Tater's Tail

Tater shared a tank with Mater for 5 years. They both were surrendered with chomped off tails. :(

Since the vet wanted to immediately amputate Mater's tail, I knew that we should have Tater checked out. 

Sadly, my vet left for a national bird bet conference two hours after amputating Mater's tail. But I have an appointment for Tater on Monday when he's back. 

Last night, Mater's owner picked him up and brought me Tater who will stay with me until Monday. To be safe, I sent pics of her tail to my vet so he can tell me if I should bring her in Monday morning (before the surgery block) or if waiting until 4:30 pm is okay. 

Her tail is not as bad as Mater's, but it's still gross. 

Supposedly she was taken to a vet, but I cannot fathom why it was not amputated. That's why I only trust my reptile vet. 

Mater at the Vet

Mater is a recent rescue by one of my friends. He and his "girlfriend" lived together in the same tank since they were little. Both were surrendered with nasty bites on their tails. Yes, they bit each other's tails off. :( 

Mater's tail is the worst off. 

I've been coaching my friend how to do wound care for the past week, but when I saw the tails in person yesterday, I knew Mater needed immediate vet attention. 

In order for the tail to heal, Dr Folland decided to amputate about an inch to an inch & a half of it. That meant putting Mater all the way under and doing surgery. The other option was to do nothing and let the rot spread and slowly kill him. :( Luckily, there was room on the surgery schedule for Mater. 

He's in recovery now and I'll go pick him up at 4 pm. His owner will take him home tonight. He'll get pain meds for a week and stitches out in a month. I think he will feel SO much better now. There were nerve endings and tendons sticking out of his tail end! Ow! 

Here's a close up of his tail. It's gross. I apologize if it's too much. 

This is why adult beardies should NEVER EVER cohabitate!!!!!