Your pet lizard’s tail plays a big role in its wellbeing. Lizards are few of animal species that can regenerate broken or lost part of their body – the tail. Let’s discuss what role lizard’s tail plays in health and what to do if your pet has lost its tail. I will also give advice on how to help your lizard heal properly. We will also talk about lizard species that can and cannot drop and regenerate their tails. This article will be in Q/A format, so you can easily find answers to your questions.
So, what is the role of tail in lizards’ life?
Lizard’s tail is an important organ, which carries out a lot of functions, too. Your pet’s tail is not only important for its health, but also makes it attractive and proud in front of other lizards.
But what is the purpose of tail in lizard’s health?
- Tail helps lizard feel and balance on the ground and to climb on the walls and trees. It also helps to balance the body and move smoothly.
- The tail helps lizards living in water dive and swim.
- It helps lizards jump as well.
- The tail helps lizards stick to the walls (for example in a vivarium) and other slippery surfaces.
- Lizards can use their tail to give signals to other lizards. Specific tail poses tell other lizards about their health, mood and even age!
- Lizards’ tails also contain a lot of nutrients and fat (in some lizards) required for the wellbeing of your pet. So, note that if your lizard has lost its tail, it has also become weaker.
- The tail helps lizards to find and attract potential partners as well as during mating.
What happens if the lizard loses or breaks its tail?
Your lizard’s tail plays an important part in its life. If for any reason the lizard loses or breaks its tail, it can cause many problems for your pet.
If you have only one lizard in a terrarium, it is fine. But however, there can be problems if there are few lizards living in the same terrarium.
The lizards with a broken or lost tail will look weak and small in other lizards’ eyes. Due to this reason other lizards might start losing ‘respect’, neglecting, bullying and even attacking the affected lizard.
When does a lizard drop its tail?
If their tail muscles contract too much, it makes it fall off. But why do lizards do it? They mostly do it in a threatening situation, when the reptile wants to make its escape. This process is known as ‘autotomy’. The tail separates at a ‘breaking point’ or fracture planes, separating blood vessels, skin and nerves from the falling tail.
As your pet lizard will be living in a terrarium, chances of a potentially dangerous situation should be very low. However, your pet can lose its tail due to severe stress, illness, infection or any other physical damage (pulling of a tail in some species will make a lizard drop it).
Why does lizard’s tail is still moving after falling off?
Lizard’s tail is still moving after it has fallen off. This amazing phenomenon helps vulnerable and weak lizards make their escape. The broken tail is moving to draw predator’s attention.
And the tail that is moving and making noises (due to skin scales) distracts the enemy and gives the lizard some time to run away and hide.
Why do lizards drop their tails?
Most common reasons why lizards drop their tail include:
- Being bullied by other lizards in the same terrarium. It is usually better to house lizards separately. If you house them together, make sure they are getting enough food, space to bask and hide.
- Males should never be housed together. They can attack each other, cause stress and even bite each other’s tail.
- Hatchlings and babies might get competitive or confuse a moving tail for food and bite it.
- Poor terrarium conditions – low or high temperatures, improper humidity levels can all cause stress.
- Infections and illnesses.
- Inexperienced handlers might pull or grab lizard’s tail. This will cause serious stress and the lizard might drop its tail.
- The tail might get stuck between terrarium’s structures and be pinched off.
Can lizard survive after breaking a tail?
Yes, your pet lizard will not die if it loses or breaks the tail. When the tail breaks, blood vessels near the base of the tail contract along with tail muscles. This helps to break the tail without any bleeding.
The tail just falls off, with no signs of trauma. Your lizard shouldn’t experience any or much pain when their tails is falling off.
Lizard has two or more tails?
Sometimes you may hear stories of pet lizards growing two tails. But why does this happen? The explanation is simple, and you shouldn’t worry or think that your pet is sick. If your pet lizard decides to get rid of an old tail, it might not fall off fully, but break only partially.
However, lizard’s body receives the signal to start growing a new tail, while the old tail is still in place. The broken point successfully heals, and the new tails grows quickly.
In rare occasions, lizards can even grow 3 or 4 tails. Your pet will be fine living with two tails, with no problem moving around. However, if it grows 3 or more tails, your pet will have problems moving around with so much weight on its back. You should then take it to your vet to surgically remove unnecessary tails.
Should you take your lizard to the vet?
If an old tail breaks very close to the base or starts bleeding excessively, take your lizard to the vet straight away. You should also take your pet to the vet is there is swelling that doesn’t subside in 10 days.
What are consequences of a lizard dropping its tail?
Some lizards can’t cope with growing a new tail and some weak lizards can even die. These are especially weak lizards, or those that don’t have good nutrition. Young lizards will especially struggle during healing, and their body growing process will be stopped to regrow a new tail. 
Also note that your adult lizard will not be able to make offspring while healing and growing a new tail.
Some lizards, like bearded dragons, monitors and chameleons cannot grow a new tail. This means that they will have to live with a partially of fully lost tail. This can also mean that this affected lizard will be bullied by other lizards if living in the same enclosure.
How long does it take for a lizard’s tail to grow back?
Your lizard should grow back its tail in around 8 to 12 weeks. But if it is taking too long, take your pet to the vet.
How can you help your pet lizard grow its tail back?
To help you lizard grow a new tail, try keeping your pet comfortable, providing it with frequent lager meals, vitamins and minerals, especially calcium. It will also need more protein and rest, as healing process takes a lot of energy.
Also, make sure that the affected lizard is living alone in a terrarium during this process to ensure full healing and peaceful surroundings. Don’t cause your lizard any stress and make sure to clean the terrarium every day so that the wound doesn’t get infected.
What is more, carefully monitor the temperatures and keep the enclosure warm and nice. As your pet is going to be vulnerable and stressed, don’t forget to have hide boxes so it can spend some time comfortably without anyone seeing it. You can also use tissue one the flooring and change it frequently to keep the enclosure clean.
After the lizard has dropped its tail, make sure to help your pet heal properly without developing an infection. To do this, get triple antibiotic ointment and apply it to the end of the tail once a day.
Keep applying this ointment until the wound closes and heals. You can also soak your lizard in the warm water with added antibiotic for around 15 minutes.
Another tip would be to avoid leaving any live food in the terrarium if your lizard hasn’t eaten it. Live crickets will be biting on the lizard’s broken tail and can infect it and delay the healing process.
How can you prevent your lizard from dropping its tail?
As we have already discussed, most lizards drop their tails in threatening or stressful situations. That’s why it is very important to start handling your lizard slowly, by gradually increasing handling times.
When handling, never pull your pet lizard by the tail, and only touch it slightly. Make sure your lizard is comfortable with your petting it and then you can start stroking its back and the tail.
Is the new tail quite the same as the old one?
No. Regenerated tail will be different from the original tail that your lizard had. It can also differ in color and length, and have new scale patterns on it. Most lizard species can’t regenerate a new tail second time.
This is because the regenerated tail will be mostly made of calcium that solidifies and doesn’t have any new breaking points. The new tail will be also shorter than the original one.
Some lizard species can regenerate their tails few times. If another tail doesn’t start growing within a week, that probably means that your lizard can’t perform another regeneration.
How many times can a lizard lose its tail?
Some lizards, especially smaller species like geckos, can lose their tails multiple times. However, this doesn’t happen in all lizards. Some lizards can be left with a stub shaped tail after a second tail drop.
As we have already discussed, a new tail will be only made of cartilage which has no breaking points.
This means that your lizard will only be able to drop and regenerate another tail above the old breaking point (in the first original tail). So, I would highly recommend shielding your lizard from any threat or stress and not to depend on the tail growing back another time.
Can all lizards drop their tails?
Most lizards have an ability to drop their tails. These are mostly geckos, iguanas, true lizards, skinks and anoles.
Bearded dragons, for example, don’t drop their tails to defend themselves like many other lizards do. Instead, they puff up and darken their beards, bob their heads and hiss at enemies. But they can still lose the tip of the tail or whole digit if they had a fight with a cage mate.
This is very usual with male bearded dragons and hatchling/babies, which can snack on the tail or digits of other bearded dragons when hungry. Bearded dragon’s tail or digits will not grow back if lost or bitten, but the good news is that most of them can still live a fulfilling life.
Same is with chameleons – they cannot regrow their tails. This is very usual to see a chameleon with no tail. With proper care, you chameleon can live fine without a tail.
Monitor lizards also can’t drop their tails. If for any reason (physical damage or infection) the part of the tail falls off, it will not be able to regenerate.
Leopard geckos drop their tail in stressful or threatening situations. If leopard gecko drops its tail, new one will grow back in around 2 months. But the new tail will not be the same – it will be quite discolored, round and will be holding only on cartilage. Leopard gecko can even drop a regenerated tail again if needed.
Crested geckos can drop their tail, but it doesn’t regrow as it does with leopard geckos.
I hope this article helped you learn more about lizards’ tails and how to help them heal after dropping it. If you suspect any serious problem, take your pet to the vet immediately!