Once the lizard has shed and regrown its tail it can only shed its tail above the point its old tail was lost. A larger slower lizard will give up more of its tail than a smaller species. Desert lizards usually lose all of their tail because in the desert there are few places to hide and it will give the lizard more time to find a place to hide. Some iguanas shed their tails when they are young but when they are old and mature they tend to lose the ability to shed their tails and are more able to defend themselves. A tail will often wiggle after it has come off to distract the attention of the predator so the lizard can escape.
Lizards sometimes eat their own tail after they have shed it to regain weight from losing the tail.
A species of Skink can survive 35 days without food but may die in 24 days after losing its tail. It may take only a month for small lizards to regrow their tail but for larger lizards it can take a year. Geckos can live without food for 90 days but if they have lost their tails they may last only 50 days. Female lizards that have lost their tails produce fewer eggs because their body's energy is used to regrow their tail. So just remember what a marvellous creature the lizard is next time you see one.