Tail Rot Problem

Hi, I have a mali-uromastyx and he has tail rot and has had it for a while I just couldn't figure out what it was until a couple days ago. I think it was caused when he was shedding and skin got stuck on the tail and suffocated it. Would this have caused this, and if this was the cause will get worse? He is very active. Is betadine a good way to stop or treat this? Right now I am feeding him romaine and escarole and occasionally iceberg which I know isn't the best gets mixed in there. I always use tortise dust and iguana vitamins. What else is good to feed him. He or she is about four years old and I was just wondering how many inches from head to tail he should be right now. What substrate is good. Right now I am using millet but I like sand better and I think he likes it better too. I have heard good things about pool filter sand, does anyone use this. I had a very bad experience with blue vita sand. It stained his hide blue and a hose on full blast won't get the blue off. He also still has some shedding to do to get the rest of the blue off of him. What tanks would you recommend, exo-terra are too expensive and the max I can fit is about 65 gallons. If anyone has any links to tanks under the 120.00 mark for those tanks would be great. Thanks in advanced

Greetings Frank-

Welcome to Herp Center.

While I'm not a Mali keeper I do know that infections, fungus or "rot" on a tail can be pretty serious. With iguanas we mark the end of the decaying tail, if the area moves up past the mark, toward the body, than the infection is growing and threatens the entire tail. In this case a Vet assessment and proper treatment is necessary.

I know someone else, more knowledgeable in Mali's will come along and help you out with the other questions.

Glad you are with us. Enjoy the forums.

Get the tail analyzed by a qualified vet. I don't know of much info on tail rot.
Other than it is basically a bacterial infection.

I'm getting him to a vet on friday.

Good news. Hopefully he can help out.

While I don't know much about Uro doctoring, I know that they do like sand. A good brand is reptilite. It is calcium based, comes in natural colors and is rounded so if he eats it he won't get impacted. I use it for my Leopard Geckos and haven't had any problems in 5 years. I know what you are talking about with the blue, my Leopard Geckos turned purple and green from the calci sand I used when I first bought them. But the reptilite is good. It does have a slight dye to it, well the red ones do but I have noticed very little discoloration of them except the bottoms of their feet and toes.
Tank wise, you could probably use a 40 gallon breeder tank. I am not sure on the exact dimensions of it but he should fit nicely even full grown.

No, calcium based sands are not good for Uros. They are not good for any reptiles.

Correct! They are not as safe as they seem.

A 40 gallon is small. I'd say that a 3 foot or a 4 foot vision type cage would be the best bet.

Ugh, please DO NOT use calcium sand. That stuff is horrid and should be removed from the market.