new baby albino with out tail

[nimrodfiftyfour]

I got a new baby albino jungle morph. She only has about half of her tail. She is very young, not sure of the age but maybe just over 3.5 inches as a guess. Is there abything special I need to do to help it grow back? any tips?

[joer]

Yes this is a very imp time for the new little one. You will need to make sure the end of the broken tail is clean. Leos store fat in thier tail So being said that you will need to make sure she is fed real well and make sure you give alot of calcium.

[nimrodfiftyfour]

What do I have to do to ensure that the tail is clean?

[ChristinaM]

Describe the end of the tail if you don't mind?

If it is already healed over, then you need not worry.
If it is still an open wound, you will need to clean it....water, then an ointment like polysporin.

When I got my two Stubby's, the first one's stubb was healed. I did nothing. Second one was raw. I used a q tip, washed it, and put ointment on it daily untill it was healed.

[nimrodfiftyfour]

The tail ends rather abrubtly, doesn't taper off, although I don't notice any blood or anything. Also, neither of the two albinos I have have eaten since I got them 3 days ago. I've had mealworms available at all times and offered crickets twice. Temp. is 86 at warm end 78 at cool end. Any ideas? Thanks...

[Bighead]

Describe the enclosure. Are there hiding places? What substrate are you using? What size is it? What is the humidity at? Are the ribs or hip bones very noticable? Does the belly seem big? Make sure the meal worms and crickets aren't too big. Just some things that may effect eating. As far as the tail goes, is it red or raw looking in any way? If not, chances are that's not the problem but you definitely want to get them eating. I would also strongly consider hand feeding them insectivore diet that you should be able to find at a petsmart (or other large pet store) or on the internet. You don't want to wait much longer before you resort to this as long as everything else is ok. A vet would also be a good idea if you are willing to spend the money. Let us know how it goes.

[nimrodfiftyfour]

Well, I got her eating! It just took a while. She seems pretty good in size, don't think she lost any weight. She is very active and some of its tail started growing back already. As far as the insectivore diet, what are the odds of getting them to readily eat a dead, dry food? I've heard that they rarely accept that type of thing. Thanks again...

[Painted Desert]

Glad she's eating.. it often takes a few days to get them going. The tail will grow back quickly... although it won't look the same. Forget the dead dry food. Doesn't work, never will. Just open up the variety of food you feed... mealies, silkworms, butterworms, cirx, Kingworms and.... i'm just about to try Hornworms (the jury is out... i'll let you know)

[ChristinaM]

Keep giving her lots of healthy foods, she'll need the extra to put into her tail regrowth. I've never heard of a leo accepting the dead foods....I think they are less value nutritionally as well. Good luck with them :)

[Linds]

IMHO the warm side needs to be increased to around 90 or so (let your lizards give you the specifics, if they are spending too much time on. Make sure they are not on loose substrate for a few reasons, to prevent any possible impaction, but also so it doesn't aggravate the healing process of the tial at all. I also agree with Linda, forget about the dry foods for these guys ;) As everyone said, just keep her well fed and she will do the rest :)

[nimrodfiftyfour]

Thanks alot everyone. I've now got the warm side just about 90 and shes a pig! She ate 4 mealworms and 2 crickets yesterday! Also, for subs. I have terrarium carpet, not loose at all, so that shouldn't be a prob. Thanks again...