As a pet owner you can help the leopard gecko during this stressful time. Yes, tail loss is a stressful time for the animal because the tail is used as a defense and when a gecko is without a tail it is almost defenseless.

A typical scenario in which the tail is used for defense could be as follows. A predator is spotted and approaches. The leopard gecko detaches its tail and runs. The tail is still moving and squirming on the ground. The attacker's attention is focused on the tail. The leopard gecko has made a getaway and is at a safe distance while the predator is still preoccupied with the tail.

Another scenario could be that the predator sneaks up on the leopard gecko and grabs it by its tail but the leopard gecko separates itself from its tail and runs off.

A new tail usually grows back in about a month or so. But make note of the fact that the tail that regrows may differ in shape and size from the tail that was lost.

An additional purpose of the leopard gecko tail is fat storage. During the winter months, leopard geckos tend not to eat as much. Their tail contains valuable fat stored up that they at times rely on for nourishment. So you can see why for these reasons and others how stressful it could be for a leopard gecko to lose its tail.

When your leopard gecko loses its tail it should be placed by itself in a separate enclosure so that the other geckos will not try to take advantage of the situation.

To safeguard the leopard gecko and possibly prevent tail loss you can do the following things. Do not pick up, put down or try to handle a leopard gecko by the tail. Provide the reptile with several hiding places to reduce stress levels. Those hiding places can make a gecko feel safer and in turn reduce stress. Provide clean drinking water daily and clean its water plate several times a week. Clean the surroundings and droppings in the cage. Keeping the enclosure clean can help reduce the possibility of illness. Remember that illness is also a cause of tail loss. Maintain a comfortable environment for leopard gecko, far from household pets which may be perceived as predators. Maintain a comfortable temperature in the enclosure and monitor it with a thermometer.

Last but not least, try to keep the number of male geckos in the enclosure down to a minimum. If geckos are to be housed in groups then one male leopard gecko should be housed with 1 - 3 females. Housing males together can result in greater incidents of fights. Fights can result in tail loss. Mixing geckos of one species with geckos of another species can also cause conflicts.

Tail loss in leopard geckos may be reduced if leopard geckos are in good health, experience less stress, do not feel threatened, get into fewer fights and are not handled by the tail.