Hello, im new to having a dragon and after the first couple of weeks ive had my red dragon the very tip of his tail looks it its falling apart. right now the spot that looks like its decaying is about a half inch long. i dont know if thats normal or if im doing something wrong. i feed him meal worms and crickets and the occasional wax worms for a treat. he gets romaine lettuce, cucumber, zucchini, and the occasional strawberry. he also has a bowl with maintenance formula pellets for bearded dragons. his insects are dusted with calcium and VIT.D which is phosphorus free. i tried to take a picture but they didnt come out too good. he is currently in a 40gal breeder with 100wt basking bulb and a U.V light. at night I switch the the red bulb forgot what it is called but its a night time bulb.

You don't mention temps... what are they?

You shouldn't give him lettuce, not only it's very poor in nutritional terms but it's also known for upsetting their bellies, to put it nicely =)
Cucumber is also poor and zucchini is very high on phosphorus.
Better than making recommendations, just visit Veronica's website and see for yourself what's best.

As for your problem, a picture would really help.... otherwise it will be just guessing.

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Wish list: Blue Tongue Skinks and Uruplatus =)

wow thanks **** pet store told me to feed him romaine. so what I saw that was good for staple was alfalfa, mustard green, collard green and a variety of squash. and I guess strawberries are ok occasionally

Yes and now that we have reworked your Bearded Dragons diet a bit, lets focus onthe tail. it doesn;t sound healthy and you should probably find a vet in your area who can look at it before the issue spreads.
Check out www.arrav.org or www.herpvetconnection.com to find vets in your area.

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Definitly change up his diet and ditch the mealworms as a stape, they should be a treat only. Here is a diet list to go by also. http://www.herphabitats.com/reptile_...ragon_diet.htm

Also, you mentioned UV light, does it have UVB? As for the tail, it could be old shed or may have been injured. A pic would be great.

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

Can you give a more detailed description aside from its decaying and falling apart? Is the end dry and shriveled or does it seem wet? Since this is your first dragon are you sure it isn't just shedding its skin and it hasn't come off completely.
The more details you can give us the better we can help.

With what little you have told us it sounds like perhaps the tail has been damaged and become infected. If this is the case and it is not treated it may spread up the tail into the dragons body and kill it. This needs to be addressed quickly.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Definitly change up his diet and ditch the mealworms as a stape, they should be a treat only!!--venus
Totally correct! They are to be more on the veggies the anything. Romaine is def. bad and yea those pet store people suck!! Good luck with your Bearded Dragon they are awesome!

Don't forget to take into consideration the age of the Bearded Dragon, younger Bearded Dragons need more crickets or protein then older Bearded Dragons. For younger Bearded Dragons they can be fed daily. There should also be a selection of good veggies available also. As the Bearded Dragons gets older (I think around a year) you can cut down the amount of times you feed crickets or protein to 3-4 times a week.

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Colleen

the end of the tail is dry not wet and I it does look a little shriveled. he is around 8 months I believe and yes im sure its not just shedding he was done with shedding about a week ago and he had the tail problem before. i will work on getting a better pic tonight

If it is dry and shriveled it could very well be what is known as dry gangrene. I suggest a vet trip.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!