Key Takeaway:
- The key causes of gargoyle gecko tail loss are improper handling, stress, fear of predators, accidents, and bullying from other geckos.
- Gargoyle geckos can react to stress and fear by dropping their tails.
- Once a gargoyle gecko drops its tail, you can move it to a temporary container to facilitate quick healing.
- Gargoyle geckos do not hurt from dropping their tails.
- Gargoyle geckos do not grow their tails back after dropping them. They’ll be left with a stub which gives them the name “frogbutts”.
- You can prevent tail loss by keeping the gecko in a quiet room, providing the right conditions, minimizing handling, keeping cats and dogs at bay, housing geckos individually, and not grabbing the geckos by their tails.
- Visit a vet if your gecko’s stub wound has an infection that won’t go away.
As a first-time gargoyle gecko owner, you are likely to panic when your pets lose their tails.
But do you know that dropping tails is normal for geckos and lizards? In most cases, gargoyle geckos will drop their tails due to stress.
Gargoyle geckos can drop their tails as a defense mechanism. So, if you find your gargoyle gecko with no tail, don’t panic.
Just find out the cause and help the wound heal. In any case, your gargoyle gecko will grow another tail.
Do Gargoyle Geckos Drop Their Tails?
Yes! Gargoyle geckos can drop their tails whenever they feel frightened or stressed. Tail loss is a defense mechanism that helps geckos and lizards escape predators.
Gargoyle geckos have a perforated tail vertebrae. Therefore, geckos can easily disconnect the tail without any blood loss or formation of scar tissue.
5 Reasons Why Gargoyles Geckos Drop Their Tails
It’s rare for gargoyle geckos to drop their tails out of the blues. There must be a reason why you found your gecko with a “frog butt”.
So, keep reading to find out the possible reasons for tail loss in gargoyle geckos.
Incorrect Handling
Gargoyle geckos are cute animals and it’s normal to want to pet them often. Unfortunately, these critters don’t like to be handled a lot.
They just want to be left alone most of the time.
In any case, handling them incorrectly can trigger them to drop their tails. This can happen due to fear or stress.
Unless you’ve trained your gecko to get used to handling, I suggest you minimize any physical contact altogether.
Defense Mechanism
As we’ve mentioned earlier, gargoyle geckos can drop their tails when they feel threatened.
This is a defense mechanism that geckos develop in the wild to protect them against snakes, ants, and other predators.
Dropping the tail buys the gargoyle gecko time to escape from predators. A tail can easily distract predators because it continues to wiggle even after the gecko drops it.
Geckos dropping their tails to escape predators or a perceived threat is completely normal.
Extreme Stress
Most pets and animals don’t do well under stress. For gargoyle geckos, it’s worse because they can drop their tails due to induced stress.
Maybe you’ve kept the gecko in poor conditions or you have the wrong setup.
Accidents
Gargoyle geckos can also lose their tails due to accidents. Maybe the gecko has fallen from a high branch or you accidentally dropped it.
Bullying
Housing two gargoyle geckos together can be a recipe for disaster. You see, gargoyle geckos are territorial and they may not get along when housed together.
As a result, these geckos will bully each other and bite each other’s tail, causing tail loss
What To Do After Your Gargoyle Gecko Drop Its Tail?
A gargoyle gecko dropping its tail shouldn’t worry you too much. Besides, the disconnection of the tail doesn’t cause blood loss.
While the tail will grow back, you still need to provide your gargoyle gecko with a safe environment to heal its stump.
Therefore, you might need to move your gecko to a different enclosure.
The enclosure should not have a loose substrate that can cling to the wound. A loose substrate can delay healing or cause infections.
You can use paper towel liners or no substrate in the new enclosure or container.
The gecko’s stub should heal on its own as long as everything is fine. However, if the stub becomes infected, you may need to apply a few drops of antiseptic to the wound.
You can also visit a vet if the infection on the stub fails to go away.
Do Gargoyle Geckos Experience Pain After Dropping Its Tail?
No, gargoyle geckos do not experience any pain after dropping their tails. Remember that the disconnection happens at a fracture point to prevent any blood loss.
When autotomy happens, the blood vessels constrict to prevent blood loss.
Do Gargoyle Gecko Regrow Their Tails?
Yes, gargoyle geckos regrow their tails after dropping them. It will take a few weeks but, it will definitely grow back.
Can You Prevent A Gargoyle Gecko From Dropping Its Tail?
Yes, it’s possible to prevent tail loss in gargoyle geckos. However, you could do everything right but still, your gargoyle gecko will drop its tail for no reason.
How To Prevent Your Gargoyle Gecko From Dropping Its Tail
Here are some tips that can help you reduce the likelihood of your gargoyle gecko losing its tail.
- Do not grab your gargoyle gecko by its tail
- Do not house two gargoyle geckos together unless you are breeding them
- Avoid handling your gecko until it gets used to you and its new home
- Don’t make sudden or jerky movements that can scare away the gargoyle gecko
- Keep the gecko’s enclosure away from areas with loud noises
- Don’t handle baby gargoyle geckos that are under 10 grams
- Keep cats and dogs away from the enclosure because your gecko will view them as predators
- Always ensure your enclosure has the right humidity and temperature settings
- Don’t startle your gecko when approaching the enclosure
Conclusion
Animals react differently to stress, fear, and anxiety. For gargoyle geckos, they will drop their tail and take flight when they feel threatened.
They can also lose their tail due to stress, bullying, improper handling, and accidents.
So, if you can avoid any situations that can stress or instill fear in your gecko, you’ll have reduced the likelihood of tail loss.
