Baby Peppermint w/necrotic tip of tail

My baby Peppermint (Amel Cinder) Sunkissed Corn Snake had a shed that didn’t clear the very tip of the tail. looks like it may have constricted the blood flow and now necrotic. do I snip off the dead part, or will it correct with next shed?? not sure if I should be concerned or not??

6 Likes

Absolutely do not “snip off” any part of your snake’s tail, that is literally their spine, you could cause damage, pain, and worsen the injury. I’d personally consider treating the tail with something like betadine, vetericyn, or an antibiotic ointment without pain relief and monitoring. It’s possible it may fall off on its own. If it looks like it’s getting worse, starts affecting more of the area, or fails to detach, then I’d consider seeing an exotics vet if you have the ability to do so. You don’t want it getting infected.

In the future, do make sure during a shed cycle that you have the appropriate humidity, or provide a humid hide, and make sure to check after shedding that there aren’t any remnants.

7 Likes

The red irritated part has healed a bit, so just the dark tip is left. She had a full good shed and quite frankly the tip with a tiny bit of the shed stuck was impossible to see without a magnifying glass. I soaked her tail and I couldn’t get it off so thought it would come off the next shed. Thx for the advise… I feel horrible!

6 Likes

It happens, stuck shed is one of the more common problems, especially at the tail tip. It is even harder to see stuck shed on the lighter morphs like yours, without factoring in the small size. Important part is you’re addressing it. Don’t really mess with the tail tip aside to treat it, best to let it detach on its own. It looks clean and there’s not much redness. You’ve got this!

6 Likes

Extremely common situation. You’ve been given good advice. Set up a humid hide to prevent future issues. :slight_smile:

4 Likes

There is absolutely no reason for you to feel horrible! You did not cause this on purpose. You sought advice in a timely manner and now you know what to do to remedy the situation!

Now that this has happened you can check the tail after your corn sheds each time. You might even be able to help someone else who has a snake with the same issue!

4 Likes

I forgot to mention this last night, but it’s important to keep the tail dry (aside any betadine/vetericyn/antibiotic) while it heals. While you might think soaking would help, in this case the tail necrosis is dry gangrene, and you do not want to introduce any moisture to that which could encourage bacterial growth & infection.

5 Likes

Aww, poor baby. You’ve gotten good advice, asks odds are great that your baby will be okay. It does look like it will loose that dark bit on the tip. This will drop off on its own. When it does, if the new end of the tail looks irritated, you can dab a small bit of antibiotic ointment on it (without pain killer - it’s toxic to herps). Chances are that this won’t be necessary, but do have a look at the new tail tip once the animal loses the damaged bit.

3 Likes

All good advice here. If you notice any changes that is not in the direction improvement while you are treating it, it is time for a vet visit.

Keep the area from getting wet as much as you can. Monitor each shed closely, it can be hard to catch in those lighter Morphs but it may look grey-ish and dull the reds you see in your baby if there is stuck shed. Look out for any odor, drainage or redness, thats a definite sign of infection. Another thing to watch out for is if the necrosis begins to travel, it will be very obvious as it discolors scales, makes them flaky and unhealthy feeling as well, this would be where Veterinary intervention is absolutely necessary and will save your snake’s life.

I hope for both the snake and you that it never gets to that point.

4 Likes

I personally would keep it coated in Aquaphor. You can buy it at Walmart and it is similar to neosporin, but better. I use it on all my bearded dragons that get nipped up and it 100% helps their injuries heal up faster. By keeping it coated you prevent it from drying and breaking off as easily.

2 Likes

At this point, I would expect that the darkened bit at the tip of the tail is going to break off. The goal at this point is to ensure that this happens with a minimum of distress to the animal.

I don’t think we’ve said, but do go ahead and keep feeding the snake as usual. Gentle handling is also okay, avoiding pressure on the tail. When the snake goes into blue again, make sure he’s got a moist hide. Do examine the tail area closely after he sheds. There’s often a tendency to for the old skin to stick in these sort of areas which have become roughened.

2 Likes

In this particular case, Aquaphor would not be appropriate as it doesn’t have any antimicrobial properties. This type of injury needs to be kept dry to heal properly, if it’s too moist it can become infected.

Edited to add: The whole point is for the tail tip to break off, it is dead and has to be removed somehow. Either by falling off naturally, or by being amputated.

3 Likes