Just a general question about geckos - Does anyone know if geckos are able to drop their tails for any other reason than immediate stress or danger? For example, if a gecko had a severe infection in its tail from an open wound, could it autotomize the tail to stop the infection from spreading to its body?

i've never heard of it to be honest... possible though. we don't really know a lot about them in the wild and I don't know anyone who has had a wound get that bad (treatment). It sounds like a neat trick but I don't know if it is possible. Sorry I couldn't be of more help

We had a user on here a year or so ago with a leopard gecko that had a severe tail wound. As far as the owner could tell, instead of dropping the tail the gecko was actually trying to eat it. So I suppose it depends on the type of gecko and what use their tail provides them.