Leopard Gecko randomly dropped her tail

[FreezerBird]

We got back from a few days away today, and DS went up to check on his beloved gecko. She was fine, plenty of water and evidence she'd been eating and poo-ing while we were away.

This evening DS went up to bed and came hurtling downstairs saying she's dropped her tail! Ran upstairs and there's her tail in the middle of the viv, and she is in her den on the hot side. It looks like her whole tail - she hasn't just lost the tip.

I can't think of any reason she'd drop her tail defensively - she's on her own. No-one had been in the room.

Any experience of this? I assume we need to get her to the vet....

[whataboutbob]

Hello freezer bird- I hope your DS's gecko is OK.
Can I ask what they are like as a pet, pros and cons, my DS10 has his heart set on one. Thank you.

[FreezerBird]

Hello.

She seems to be fine - went to the vet, who got out her Big Book o' Reptiles, said it would probably be fine and took our money...

We bought the gecko for DSs 10th birthday. He absolutely loves reptiles - is obsessed with them, and we went for a leo as being the easiest to care for. He really wants a snake... when he has his own house, I say.

The set-up, once done, is easy to maintain. They need to be handled to get used to being handled - we haven't handled ours much since the tail incident as we want to keep stress to a minimum so we might have to start again from the beginning with handling.

She's fairly low-maintenance. There are all the usual pet-related caveats about how it will end you being you that looks after it. However I would say your 10-yr-old would need help with cleaning at the beginning as it can be a bit of a project. (We remove poo every day and do a bigger clean every few weeks).

The other question is how you feel about live food? We have had escaped crickets, and spilled mealworms... So do think about that!

[whataboutbob]

Thanks freezerbird, that's really kind of you to get back to me. DS has done all his research and raised those points, so that's reassuring. I am not particularly squeamish so it should be OK. I have heard they are long lived so even anticipate inheriting the LG once DS is waved down the street to Uni/ flatshare etc.
Good to know about not too much handling at 1st. DS1 is v boisterous and will no doubt want to handle as much as poss so we'll need to sit him down for a talk before the LG arrives.
Good to know your DS's LG got over her mishap!

[Mrsw84]

Tail dropping is a defence mechanism. It's natural and shouldn't cause any harm or need you to do anything. The tail should grow back but won't look the same as it did. Leopard Geckos don't easily drop them but it will be impossible to know what happened if no one saw it happen. As it was on it's own it's no one fault it may have simply felt/got stuck and panicked.