Tail autotomy is a crucial antipredatory lizard response, which greatly increases individual
survival, but at the same time also compromises locomotor performance, sacrifices energy
stores and induces a higher burden due to the ensuing response of regenerating the lost
body part. The potential costs of tail autotomy include shifts in energy allocation and
metabolic rates, especially in juveniles, which invest their energy primarily in somatic
growth. We compared the metabolic rates and followed the growth of juvenile males with …