Opinions are opinions I guess... But I base mine on knowledge and scientific understanding… And I guess now I have to get all scientific…
Autotomy has evolved in numerous taxa as an answer to many different situations… ie. predator avoidance, infection, damage, ect ect… Many species in these taxa have been extensively studied and autotomy has been shown to reduce overall fitness (which is an animal’s ability to procreate) in nearly every case… It is an immediate survival benefit in most cases, but it comes with great costs…These expenses may come via compromises in locomotion or balance, lower social status in hierarchical communities, energetic costs from tissue loss and subsequent regeneration, ability to mate and the ultimate being death… And more often than not, more than one apply…
That being said, one has to understand the physiology that goes into regenerating a tail… Look at your gecko with original tail closely; you’ll notice two anterior to posterior bumps along the middle plane of the tail… These are vertebra… And if you have a gecko with a regen, look at it and you’ll notice a single, more broadened bump (not always this obvious)… This is LACK of vertebra which has been replaced by cartilage… Knowing this raises questions for me about the extent of neuranagenesis that may take place… That is, to what extent are nervous tissues regenerated… I have no knowledge of this area, but I would think that because there is no “real” vertebral column the function of the new nerves do not perform in quite the same way… This is aside from the fact that the tail is probably less robust and not as fully developed in size… In my experience with geckos with regenerated tails, I have paid particularly close attention to any changes of use of the new tail… And I have notice less use for balance… With your index finger, lightly push up against the bottom of your original tailed gecko and it’ll often wrap its tail around your finger… Do this to one with a regen and it will often have little or no response…
I don't see how a male having a regenerated tail couldn't affect breeding... The tail plays an important role in gaining leverage to pull the female’s body towards the males (I have witnessed this use many many many times)... Just because 40-50% come in with regens, doesn't mean that tail regeneration doesn't have an influence in breeding... That stat means nothing in these terms… Dropping a tail for a gecko is a last ditch effort, a desperate answer to something its facing that it doesn’t like… whether it be a predator, stress, or reasons we don’t even know… Uroplatus have camo as a primary defense, they gape, and perhaps vocalize as a secondary, and even after fleeing comes dropping the tail… There are reasons that it doesn’t just drop its tail right off the bat, although in some cases they seem to (in these cases there is undoubtedly something else going on that we don’t understand)… The tail is obviously important for a number or reasons…
In addition, the rate of growth of an animal regenerating a tail is noticeably slower… When I consider factors for pairings, size and weight are at the top of my list… And that’s my goal, to bulk them up for breeding… Like I said, who really knows, these geckos still hold some mysteries…But I do know that having a regenerated tail will not HELP the breeding cause…
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Ben
Well Ben, like you say all and all you have HEALTHY animals, thats REAL important.
