Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey, I'm a noob to Leo Geckos, so I was just wondering what kind of things can make their tails fall off? I'm kinda nervous, and yet intriegued. What should I do if it falls off? And if it falls off how will it look when it grows back? The same or different? How long does it take to grow back? I keep saying "falls off", and thats probly inaccurate, cause it's not just gonna fall off...I used to live in Hawaii, and they had Geckos crawling all over the place, but I never payed that much attention, cause the Anoles (at least I think they were anoles) that lived there were much harder to find (and catch) and cooler at the time. So I never actually saw a gecko after it lost its tail...just the tail wiggeling on the ground, that is if I didn't run away...scared the pants off me cause I was about...5ish, and well... They also had cool green slugs and snails. Oops, now I'm getting off subject...so...heh...about the tails...They store nutrients in them right? Thats why they get so fat? Mines still a baby, so the tails pretty slender, like everything else about her...Ok...heh thats it; You've probly forgotten my orriginal question by now...Curse my rambeling...

im no expert but if it falls off no big deal. It is a defense mechanism. in order for it to fall off you would have to grab it by the tail, not just touching it. I touch the tail of my geckos all the time. If it comes off you would have to put the leo on paper towel substrate to keep it clean. Im sure the other people on this msg board will know more.

people often use non-medicated neosporin to help heal the dropped tail. A dropped tail is not the end of the leo's life, but is in no way a good sign. This is a stressful situation for the gecko!

Grabing a leo by the tail is one sure way to cause it to fall off. But young leos can lose them in fights with others or simply drop them when highly stressed. Really there is a lot of ways this can happen and it is something that you don't want to see.

A dropped tail also means that a leo has lost all of its stored fat reserves in its tail. This means that you would want to seperate it and keep it well fed. I bought a young jungle leo that was missing his tail at a pet store. He is now doing fine but is noticeably smaller than 2 other leos I had that were his size when I got him.