I finally solved the mystery of why Denize's dorsal scales stop before the tail tip.

snakegore999

The interesting thing about Denize the dragon is that her dorsal scales stop before the tail tip. It appeared weird at first, since I thought ventral scales wouldn't usually cover the top of the tip.

After taking a look back and checking on the actual scale coverage of snakes, due to Denize's snakelike body, I concluded that the tail tip is covered by dedicated caudal scales, hence the possibility that the dorsal scales stop well before the tail tip.

Caudal scales, as they are defined, cover the underside of a snake's tail, with the first one starting after the cloaca. Scales beyond the cloaca towards the head would be ventral scales covering the belly. Caudal scales and ventral scales cover the underside of the body, but differ physically, in that caudal scales are split while ventral scales are undivided segments.

Thus, the underside of Denize's tail, as a snakelike Eastern dragon, are dedicated caudal scales. No details are given in her official appearance to make her ventral or caudal scales distinguishable from one another, but they are different anatomically. Her ventral scales are positioned between her shoulders and her hips, with her cloaca being wedged between the ventral and caudal scales, guarded by an anal scale.