My crestie lost her tail

Sometime last night one of my cresties lost her tail. I have my two females housed together in a 29gal tank. They are both really small, but one is a little bigger than the other. Have they been fighting? They've been living together for the past 5 months and I'm a little freaked to find her without her tail this morning. I feel bad, I don't even know what happened. :tears:

I also have to search the tank for her tail now. :weirdface

It happens.

They may have been fighting, they may not have been. I've not heard of it in cresties, but gargoyles have a tendency to eat the tails of cagemates.

I find the 'flightly' ones tend to be more likely to lose their tails just out of fear or spazzing too much.

The last time I had one lose a tail was during a half hour drive to move her to my new place. Just enough discomfort during a short car drive to make her uneasy enough to drop the tail.

They may not look as nice, but frogbutts are still cute. Keep an eye on your pair to watch for fighting.

Update: I actually can't find the tail in the tank, I pulled everything out. They wouldn't have eaten it would they? :weirdface :confused:


hmmm... sounds like they might have, thanks mainbutter! :)

It seems like a lot of crested geckos lose their tails when housed together at a young age. The little ones seem to stress out easier. The chances lessen into adulthood. I actually really like frogbutts. As long as you don't witness any aggressive behavior I don't see a reason to separate them. Just keep a close eye on them.

Don't be sad, there are a lot of recent studies that show crested geckos live healthier lives as adults without their tails anyway! There is a reason they don't grow them back. :) They tend to develop spinal problems with tails as adults. Frog butts are awesome!

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Originally Posted by purplemuffin

Don't be sad, there are a lot of recent studies that show crested geckos live healthier lives as adults without their tails anyway! There is a reason they don't grow them back. :) They tend to develop spinal problems with tails as adults. Frog butts are awesome!

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Where did you read this? Sounds like an interesting study.

I'll have to find the article again. I remember there wasn't much info on the internet about it, I mostly spoke about it in person with people, but I do remember finding a study about it at one point after a bit of searching. I actually might know who would have the information. Basically the idea is that it is useful when they are young, but by the time they are adults it drags on the body and gets in the way more than it helps, so it isn't worth the energy to regrow. That's why in the wild the majority of adult cresteds found in the wild do not have tails, and why they are so quick to drop them despite not being able to grow them back!

I'll do some searching for sure! :)

Members from my local herp society seem convinced they are fighting and I should separate them. I haven't seen them fighting, but I suppose it is possible. :/

It's really weird to see her without her tail, it's going to take some getting used to. :P

Can't find the article, but there are some things that were mentioned on other sites that show a little of what I mean--

Floppy Tail Syndrome is a very common problem in crested geckos despite healthy diet and proper caging. It can happen in juveniles and young adults and if left untreated will seriously deform the spine. Many say the FTS is caused from simply being in an unnatural cage(flat walls, laying upside down, etc, as opposed to natural branches in the wild) but since adults in the wild never have tails, some think the weight of the tail just becomes too much to drag around.
( http://www.ciliatus.com/content/inde...=30&Itemid=185 section about FTS
http://www.geckosintails.com/crested-gecko-care.html section about dropped tails)

Not to mention crested geckos are known for losing their tail more often than most other geckos, sometimes for no apparent reason at all. I actually watched it happen from just stress once. It was storming and when thunder shook the pet store, pop! Off went his tail!


Wish I could find the big article! I think it doesn't matter, tail or no tail, as long as the gecko is healthy. I've heard of tailed geckos having to have their tails removed for health issues, but never any caused by a tailless one(other than infection when the tail was dropped)

But that doesn't mean you need to pop off every crested gecko tail you see, just don't be upset if it happens. :D

I'd keep a close eye on them for any competitive actions. Even 'snuggling' is usually a dominance thing. Plus, tails look like worms! They are known to take a bite at them!

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Originally Posted by purplemuffin

I'd keep a close eye on them for any competitive actions. Even 'snuggling' is usually a dominance thing. Plus, tails look like worms! They are known to take a bite at them!

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I still find it a little gross that they most likely ate the tail, but I've never even seen them on the same side of the tank. The slightly larger one prefers the right half and the other is usually on the left half. I'll keep an eye on them and start putting in two food dishes instead of one. Thanks! :)