Case File

Kaktus came to see vet Mario for some growths on his tail which had been present on and off for over a year. Mario attempted medical treatment but unfortunately this was not successful so the next option was to remove the masses.

Now in any of our furry friends that would involve a general anaesthetic and surgical dissection of the mass. However, being a bearded dragon things for Kaktus were a little bit more complicated.

As you will see from the photos, Mario opted to amputate Kaktus’ tail above the growths and send the whole tail for examination by a specialist.

Mario anaesthetised Kaktus using anaesthetic gases and amputated the tail by making an incision above the growths and twisting the tail so it naturally came off (de-articulated).

This self-amputation is a special survival strategy Bearded Dragons possess to help them escape predators in the wild; how cool!