Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I no that leopard geckos lose their tails when its tuged or they feel threatened and ive been really careful, but today i was moving the water dish/hide to change the water and i thought that my gecko was in another hide but when i moved the dish her tail must have got caught and it came off the tail remained moving and i am goin to remove it from the tank obviously. I no that geckos store most of their fat in their tail so i should feed my lizard more during the regrowth, but my lizard didnt have that fat of a tail to begin with and i've had her for less then two weeks. So if anyone has had any experience with this i would like all the help i can get. I'm kind of a beginner to herps and even though i knew that the tail could fll of it still freaked me out and I'm not exactly sure what to do. Is it normal for the lizard to bleed a bit when it drops its tail and for the tail to move around the tank afterwards? Will my lizard become more shy because of this insident? just for some starter questions. PLEASE respond if you have any advise
thanx,
mal

Yes, it is normal for some blood to be present when they lose the tail, but the blood vessels are built to cap themselves off. You should try to clean the area however. It is also normal that the tail move around after its dropped, thats so the gecko can run and get away...

Jeff
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0.3.0 Nannar, Abbie and Aspen
0.0.1 Ball Python Striker
1.0.0 Parakeets

It happens all the time... it IS pretty gross, isn't it? One of my crested dropped his tail about 5 minutes after we got him home, only cresties don't grow theirs back. The tail was still moving for like... 30 minutes. Weirdest thing. This very same gecko tamed down a lot since I've had him, so I think that the tail incident is a distant memory for him. I've got another geckos (a leopard relative) that had a regrown tail when I got him, and he doesn't hate me any more than his girlfriend who has an original tail. Which is to say he hates me a bit but not too much.
The lizard will be fine, just maybe dab some antibiotic on the wound and feed a lot while it's growing back. It's a natural thing for them to do.

what kind of antibiotic should i use?
thanx,
mal

n/p
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0.3.0 Nannar, Abbie and Aspen
0.0.1 Ball Python Striker
1.0.0 Parakeets

n/p

The kind that is in petrolueum jelly, in the tube...triple antibiotic ointment

its not a big deal the only reason why the tail moves after being pulle from the body is because in the wild when the leos are cought by a predator the tail breaks off and the preator thinks the tail is the gecko pretty weird huh????

put some neosporin on it. Keep them on a clean paper towel substrate while healing. Make sure food is always available it will need it. They will stress some because of it. They will bleed a bit and the tail will move. I had a baby blizz here just 2 weeks ago loose his tail in a dramatic food fight. I lost the poor little guy last night, he just stopped eating and wasted away. Don't feel bad it happens.
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Even if your on the right track you will get run over if you just sit there
22 leos,1.1 redtail boas,1.1 rainbow boas,1.1 cornsnakes, 1.0 tokay gecko,1.0 veiled cham, 5 dogs and a cat. Oh, can't forget Tater my parrolet.

could i put a new, clean cage carpet in or would it be better to use paper towel so i could change it every day?
thanx,
mal

I would use paper towel so you can keep everything super clean, at least until it heals over and is not an open wound anymore. Best to keep everthing as sanitary as you can to help promote healing. Oh, by the way if you use neosporin don't use the "pain relief" kind it is not good for them. Hope she gets well soon.
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Even if your on the right track you will get run over if you just sit there
22 leos,1.1 redtail boas,1.1 rainbow boas,1.1 cornsnakes, 1.0 tokay gecko,1.0 veiled cham, 5 dogs and a cat. Oh, can't forget Tater my parrolet.

would bactine work the same as neosporine or which is better?
thanx,
mal

I think neosporin probally the best, isnt bactine that spray on stuff.
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Even if your on the right track you will get run over if you just sit there
22 leos,1.1 redtail boas,1.1 rainbow boas,1.1 cornsnakes, 1.0 tokay gecko,1.0 veiled cham, 5 dogs and a cat. Oh, can't forget Tater my parrolet.