Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was reading this site and they said bearded dragons can drop their tail off to escape predators. Is this true?? I hope not I don't want my guys tail to fall off some time.
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Lizard Smoke

1.0 Veiled Chameleon - King George 4yrs old (RIP buddy, you'll always be my first)
1.0 Bearded Dragon - Frank Beardie 2yrs old

Absolutely not. A beardie's tail is not brittle like some garden lizards, and as such can't "snap off" and regrow like they can. A beardie can lose it's tail to predators as a preference to other body parts and survive just fine, but it will never grow back.

It will cause shock and stress as well when this happens, which is never a good thing for a beardie, so definitely try to avoid tailloss whenever possible.

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Dl

No a Bearded Dragon cannot ever "drop" his tail. I have seen beardies picked up by their tails many times. I wouldn't suggest this and I've only seen it done to babies at shows. It kills me how some breeders treat their animals. Iguana's have natural break points in their tails. They can choose to "drop" them without something pulling on it. The only way a Beardie will lose it's tail is by trama. Crushing, being bitten off, forcibly pulled off, etc. And yes it won't grow back.

sorry off subject but dragonlord how do you get your beardie up in that hammock? i like it. that seems like a comfy place for the little guy. did you have to train him or did he just do it?

It's HIS, like everything else in the house... LOL.

No, he lounges up there when he wants to. I took out the old hammock you see in the picture and replaced it with a soft leather one I cut from the pattern. It's waterproof, and I don't have to worry about his claws getting caught in the nylon holes. To make it, all you need is some nice strong waterproofed leather (old rain slickers work well for this) or soft oil skin cut into a triangle, three suction cups with a "crimp" to hold up whatever's been pushed into them, and a leather hole punch. Best way to accomplish all of this is to just buy a regular hammock, pull off the suction cups, cut the triangle from the pattern left by the hammock, and punch holes in the corners.

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Dl

Bearded dragons are unable to drop their tails for any reason. Though many species of lizard naturally have this ability as a way to evade predators, bearded dragons are not one of these. They can no more drop their tails than a cat or dog

Lizards who can naturally drop their tails have built in mechanisms that seal blood vessels so little to no blood lose occurs when they drop their tails. Iguanas do have a slightly different method as their tails can break at certain points along the entire lengths but again, these methods are designed to happen with little to no blood lose or trauma. Also, not all lizards who can drop their tails can grow them back. Crested geckos are one such lizard I am aware of, they can drop their tails, in this case the entire tail, but they do not grow one back. Instead the tiny bit of tail seals over and becomes more like a knub. The loss of the tail doesn't impact on the gecko's life at all. Other species of lizards and geckos will grow their tails back after dropping but the regrown tail is never as long or patterned as the original was.

Typical bearded dragon tail injuries are the result of cage mates nipping the tail tips thinking it is food. This usually happens with hatchling and young dragons kept together in a tank and not fed often enough or just having too many in the cage. Even older dragons can bite off tail tips or toes if cage mates do not get along.
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PHLdyPayne