garters tip of tail is dead..

[Hazeldarc]

so my garters tip of his tail is dead i know i was told to either let it fall off or cut it off what is the best thing to do cause he just shed yesterday and the skin from this shed got stuck on the dead part of his tail and so im not sure what really would be best thing to do? Plz help

[guidofatherof5]

Many time when you pull the old shed off the dead part of the tail will come off also.
When that happens there is usually a very small amount of blood.
I sometimes hold a paper towel on the tip to stop the bleeding or just return the snake to its enclosure.
I've never had a snake bleed excessively from this situation.
I don't like leaving the dead tail on as it seem to reduce the chances of future clean sheds.
Just my opinion.

[Hazeldarc]

k step by step exactly what do i have to do im kinda scared ill hurt him

[guidofatherof5]

If there is left over shed I usually just grab the shed and pull it off. The tail piece usually comes off with it.
If that doesn't work I simply use my fingernails to pinch the dead section off. You could also use a pair of toe nail clippers to do the job.
The tail dies in sections and usually comes off at those section locations.
It will probably hurt you more then him.;)

[Hazeldarc]

ok im gonna try it wish me luck

[guidofatherof5]

You'll do fine and so will your snake.

[ConcinusMan]

I would take steve's advice. Try to figure out what's dead and what's alive, and get the dead part off even if you have to cut it. If you don't, it could prevent shedding on the part that's still alive and result in even more loss of the tail. To prevent this from happening (dead tails) make sure each time your snakes shed, that the skin comes off the tail all the way to the tip. Failure to shed the tip through several sheds, is likely what caused it to die. Loss/injury to the tail usually doesn't harm the health of the snake. He'll be fine.

[Hazeldarc]

k so i did it and i have regular triple antibiotic ointment that im putting on him 2 times a day ... am i doing it right? tomorrow ill post some pics i have to charge my camera so that maybe you guys could help tell me if we got it all the way plz

[kibakiba]

If it's dead it doesn't need to have anything applied to it as if it were a deep wound. I doubt that there is a chance of infection if the tank is clean.

[Hazeldarc]

will the antibiotic cause any type of harm to him like is it ok if i put that on him as an extra step of precaution?

[kibakiba]

No, it won't harm him. You can put it on as extra protection, but the chances of infection are very slim

[Hazeldarc]

31763177317831793180here are those pics did we get it all? i dont know...

[chris-uk]

From the pics I think what's left is living tissue. It's going to be something you can feel more than see in a photo.
Did it bleed? If it did you cut away at a point that there was still blood flow in the remainder, so likely to still be living tissue.
Does the remainder feel flexible and squishy? Rather than solid and dry?

A "before" photo for comparison would have been useful, and a closeup of the both cut ends (it depends how close your camera can focus how well they'd come out). But from what I can see, I wouldn't go any higher until it's healed, then decide if you need to do anything else.

[Hazeldarc]

yes it bled a little not bad i didnt think to get a photo before my bad and will his tail always be stubbed?

[guidofatherof5]

They don't grow back. Stubby forever.

[Hazeldarc]

ok that black line through the middle of the end of his tail was there before we amputated the end but do you think i got it all from the pic

[guidofatherof5]

It doesn't look like a clean break(between tail sections) You will have to watch future sheds to be sure the new tail tip isn't compromised.
This snake may still lose some tail until it becomes a clean stub.
All in all you're better off then before you removed the dead part of the tail.

[d_virginiana]

You might want to do a quick warm-water soak next time he sheds and make sure it all comes off clean. If mine have issues with a bit of retained shed on their tail, that usually fixes the problem in about 30 seconds :) Like Steve said though, he might lose a bit more until the stump is more of a clean break.

Also, you mentioned on the last page that you were using a triple-antibiotic ointment? Nothing wrong with that, but for minor reptile/amphibian injuries, I really can't brag enough on pain-killer free Neosporin. That stuff works miracles, and it's super cheap! It even works on deeper-wounds too if you don't have anything else around.

[Hazeldarc]

ok ill get some for him ... umm so should i wait till next shed to see if i should amputate more or go ahead and do it and do i do the warm water soak before or after he sheds next time?

[kibakiba]

I highly doubt anything more needs to come off, if it does, it'll come off with his shed.

[Hazeldarc]

thanks all

[ConcinusMan]

Looks pretty close and looks like you got off most of the dead part. Thing is, every time he sheds from here on out, check it out and make darn sure all the shed comes off at the tail. Don't want more tail loss. Make sure all the skin comes off of the live part of the tail each time he sheds so more "good" tail isn't lost.

[kimbosaur]

How can you tell if there's shed left on the tail? My girl just shed but the tail is missing from the shed. I might have ripped it when I was pulling it off the vines, but how can I make sure? I've run her tail through my fingers a few times and there doesn't seem to be an edge or anything...

[chris-uk]

Get the tail wet as well, sometimes you can only see the edges in water. If you can't feel it or see it wet or dry, I'd just check again tomorrow. It's quite possible that the tip of the shed is in the substrate somewhere.

[EasternGirl]

Okay...I have never heard of a dead tail. I am thinking now that this is probably what happened to Seeley in the wild though, because he has a very stubby tail that looks as though it was cut short. What causes a dead tail?

[kibakiba]

Sheds can cut the circulation off and make it fall off.

I've founf that after a few days, you can tell if there is shed stuck on the tail, because you can see it. It's usually just slightly lighter than the rest of the body.

[ConcinusMan]

You do see wild snakes with stubby tails quite often. I'd say the vast majority of cases are caused by failure to shed the tip, rather than predator caused loss like people tend to think. Like Chantel said, failure to shed constricts the snake. A whole body failure to shed is usually fatal because the snake can't breathe right. Failure to shed the tip of the tail cuts off blood circulation and the tail dies. Snakes shed because they outgrow the skins capacity to stretch. The skin gets too tight. Like wearing a glove that is 1 size too small.

If you check the snake's tail right after it sheds, you can usually tell quite easily if it failed to shed. If you can't tell that the tail is dull in comparison to the rest of the snake, then it probably came off just fine. Also, check the shed skin. If the tail (or eye caps) isn't there, then check the snake. Remove manually if necessary. The sooner you do it, the easier it will come off. If you wait too long, it becomes fused to the new skin. This causes problems shedding the next time around. Usually after two times failure to shed the tail tip, it begins to die.

This is a good time to remind everyone how important it is to make sure your snake sheds the eye caps and tail tip. Check the shed skin for missing parts, and check your snake after each shed. If you do that, you can prevent this from happening.

[EasternGirl]

That's good info to provide for members Richard. Speaking of shedding...is there a general frequency of shedding for garters, or does it vary from snake to snake? Cee Cee just shed less than a month ago and she looks like she is going into shed phase again...could this be a sign that she is in fact gravid...shedding more often?

[ConcinusMan]

Shedding frequency is specifically linked to growth rate. Babies can shed every 3-5 weeks but eventually growth slows and shedding gets less frequent. A full grown snake like Big Bertha only sheds twice a year because growth has all but stopped, but she will also shed a third time in late gravid stages, because of the increase in girth. She shed, got gravid immediately, and shed again just two months later because she got so fat. Normally she would shed about every 6 months.

So as a general rule, rapidly growing babies shed very frequently. Fully grown, slow growing snakes shed infrequently. If a gravid snake increases in girth enough, an "unscheduled" shed may be necessary. Snakes will usually also shed a short time after coming out of brumation, even though they haven't grown during the winter.

[EasternGirl]

So...if Cee Cee is two and a half feet long..I am assuming she is full grown. And if she is shedding a second time in less than a month that is probably a good indication that she is in fact gravid...right? I mean...I have had her since May and I think she has only shed twice since I've had her.

[ConcinusMan]

Snakes never actually completely stop growing. They merely slow way down after reaching a large size. Rapid weight gain and girth gain is more indicative of being gravid, than shedding is. You'll have no doubt a female is gravid when she gains 50-100 grams in 45 days. I always start weighing my females every few days, as soon as I see them mate or suspect they mated. The rapid weight gain will confirm it.

[EasternGirl]

Yeah...I need to go get a scale. But...she has definitely gained weight...I can see it and feel it when I pick her up. She is eating like a pig and I think I may have felt a baby lump today. I'm just going to go ahead and prepare for babies. I'm getting a tub ready for the babies and I am trying to decide if I am going to make a birthing box.