Thanks for the A2A, Henry Modisett. I'm as much in the dark as Al Klein is about what iguanas would have to say about this. One of my grandsons has a pet iguana, but like Al's he's a pretty taciturn reptile. read more
Still, for the same reasons about the operation of nerves that Al cites, I'm guessing the animals may indeed experience phantom pain after losing part of their tail. There are natural break points in iguana tails designed to make it easier for the animal to escape a predator that grabs them by their tail. read more
Like many lizards, iguanas can"drop" or autotomize their tails. Iguanas have muscle bundles with special attachments to the vertebrae in the tail. These are areas where it is easier for the tail to break, should a predator grab hold of the iguana’s tail. read more