Have you EVER seen anything like this before???

Comments: 29

penni d. Mar 31, 2008, 10:31pm EDT

lol...this one is growing a NEW Tail, Jean.... a 'something' must have grabbed him by the old one, which will fall off and twitch, giving a lizard time to get away from predators.... i see this a lot, due to owning 4 cats.... :)

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Bridget ♥ Mar 31, 2008, 10:32pm EDT

Very odd tail!

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Jean, just the teensiest bit odd, F. Mar 31, 2008, 10:42pm EDT

Okay, Penni... But I have shots of a lizard with part of its tail popped off and it doesn't look like THIS at ALL... I'm going to edit this and add that photo so you can see the difference...

It IS, isn't it, Bridget?

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Jean, just the teensiest bit odd, F. Mar 31, 2008, 10:53pm EDT

Now what say you, Penni?

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Jean, just the teensiest bit odd, F. Mar 31, 2008, 11:08pm EDT

I actually know a lot about lizard's tails... I won an award for answering someone's question: "How does a lizard's tail continue to move after it's been detached from the lizard?" in the science section of the USA Today website:

How Do Lizards' Disattached Tails Twitch? USA Today

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Alison H. Mar 31, 2008, 11:41pm EDT

Wow, that is odd.

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Gary Gentry Mar 31, 2008, 11:42pm EDT

Leaping lizards!!! That's great.

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*Holly *. Mar 31, 2008, 11:48pm EDT

Very cool and very odd!
lol

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Jean, just the teensiest bit odd, F. Apr 1, 2008, 12:19am EDT

I thought so, Alison!

Indeed, Gary!

Totally, huh, Holly? ;o)

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CC Miranda the artrat (or am i?) Apr 1, 2008, 12:22am EDT

my iguana dropped it's tail once when i tried to catch him as he ran under my bed. freaked me out. haven't seen one as it grew back in though, so i couldn't say for sure what that would look like.

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Jean, just the teensiest bit odd, F. Apr 1, 2008, 1:10am EDT

Wow, CC, I wasn't aware that iguanas could do that, too... I mean, it makes sense because they're lizards, too, of course... I guess I just never thought about it before is all... That WOULD freak ya out!

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Andrea "slackermom" R. Apr 1, 2008, 1:47am EDT

No clue, but I was here. Read and rated.

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Quirky Jessi Apr 1, 2008, 2:18am EDT

It still looks like it's growing a new tail to me. The new portion isn't going to look like a "normal" tail yet, but if you were to follow the same one over the next few weeks, you'd see it transform into a more typical tail.

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Darlene M. Apr 1, 2008, 2:26am EDT

I think that it is growing a new tail. The other one that had lost his tail just hadn't started started growing a new one yet.

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penni d. Apr 1, 2008, 9:34am EDT

if you could watch the lizard thru the days, jean, you would see the tail thicken where it is skimpy, then lengthen, with the tip finally coming to a point.With 4 cats in my yard and two next door, believe me, I see the poor lizards in all stages of "tails",lol....

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Toni V. Apr 1, 2008, 9:46am EDT

That is pretty strange. I guess it could be any number of things. Very cool.

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Kathryn E. Apr 1, 2008, 10:13am EDT

Yep he is growing a new tail. Molting season.

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Glenna J. Apr 1, 2008, 10:28am EDT

that's the wildest lizard I have ever seen.

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Rose H. Apr 1, 2008, 1:17pm EDT

Yup - the critter is growing a new tail. I have hundreds of these running around in the garden. Some of their tails look like that.
What I find most amazing too is that their body markings and size and color varies. They are fun to watch and after almost ten years in Florida I've almost stopped jumping when one decides to hop on me while I am sitting still in the garden.

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Michael the #2 Ninja Kitteh Apr 1, 2008, 1:26pm EDT

As an armchair herpetologist, I'd say he's growing a new tail, too. (Did that sound like *I'M* growing a tail?). I've seen similar lizards. Also saw a lizard with two tails (where the first apparently was not fully detached and continued to grow).

You may want to check out beaded lizards:

http://www.helodermahorridum.com/beaded_lizard.php

As you can see, their tails are quite distinct and not-at-all like the rest of their body.

Great pictures, Jean!

Maybe the tail is growing a new body?

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Jean, just the teensiest bit odd, F. Apr 1, 2008, 1:48pm EDT

Thanks for commenting, Tinch, Andrea, Jessi, Darlene, Penni, Toni, Kathryn, Glenna, Rose & Michael!

I'll take all of your words for it, I guess... But it still looks to me like a "tap" from a "tap and die set"... ROFL!

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Jean, just the teensiest bit odd, F. Apr 1, 2008, 1:51pm EDT

And, Michael... Somehow "armchair herpetologist" conjures, for me, the mental image of a guy sitting in a chair with a bunch of "lizard legs" all sticking out of it... **shudder**

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lena lemieux Apr 1, 2008, 2:30pm EDT

why can't i see lizaeds outside stomp...stomp ...stomp stupid new england!

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Holly G. Apr 1, 2008, 4:57pm EDT

I am in Florida, and when my cats out on the screened in patio, he catches lizards all the time...themn I will see then running around with no tail, and the next time they will look all pointy like the onein your photo...that may be just how they grow back, but I am not positive...pretty sure though!

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