Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I woke up this morning and my crested Little Jerry dropped his tail. Why would this happen?! i found it in his tank and it is not anywhere that it would get caught, it's just lying there. He was in his usualy sleeping spot this morning and he looks healthy but I'm afraid to pick him up and stress him out.

He has a "natural" tank w/ dirt and plants and 2 water dishes and a cave and paper towel tube for hiding (he hardly ever uses them tho). Do they just decide "eh i don't need this baggage" one day or is something wrong?

He is 4yrs old and I have had him since he was a month old. He just shed cleanly about 2 days ago. Please help, I feel like the worst pet owner in the world.

Many thanks.

--Sam

P.S. there are no small children, dogs or cats in the house to frighten him.

You dont need to feel like the worst pet owner in the world .
4 years is a pretty good record Ild say.In fact Im willing to bet not many on this forum has a 4 year old crested gecko

The reasons that cresteds drop their tails and they do not grow back unlike most geckos has yet to be determined. The texts all say a adult crested in the wild almost never has a tail. So when they keep them in captivity it suggests a less stressful life all around. There is a theory mentioned in the crested geckos in captivity book that adults tend to bulk up and the tails become a liability at some point so they might just drop them.

One of mine lost thier tail last week..it does suck and I much prefer thier tail on for looks. I too considered what might be wwrong with the enclosure the enviorment ect. In this case I could find nothing wrong so I chalked it up to the mysteries of life and find it much easier to identify that specific one now.

Bottom line it doest hurt your gecko in fact he will put on some weight. It happens sometimes through fright ,sometimes through stress and sometimes it just seems they do for no reason.

thanks for all the info, I was pretty upset. I guess I'll wait a few days to pick him up in case he's sore (I like to hand feed him now and again).

well I guess I won't worry unless he decides to drop off more body parts (Gecho Leprosy!! heh). He hatched 3/23/00 so he's techically 4 1/2.

--Sam

I've had the same thing happen (for no apparent reason) and can't really put my finger on why it happened, but I certainly don't feel that it was my fault.

If it makes you feel any better, I've spoken with people who've been to New Caledonia and said that adult Crested Geckos rarely have tails in the wild.

It's been theorized that their tails help them get around as babies, but as they grow larger, it becomes a hindrance and may just get in the way when they're trying to maneuver through brush/trees.
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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com