Like many small lizards, a leopard gecko can autotomize, or shed, its tail to distract a predator or escape its grasp. A muscular spasm separates the tail at a specialized fracture point found in some of the tail vertebrae while a related adaptation clamps off blood vessels to prevent hemorrhaging. A new tail will begin to grow in a few weeks, but instead of a column of distinct bony vertebrae, it will have a less flexible rod of calcified cartilage. If the remaining original part still has a fracture point, the lizard can autotomize its tail again. A newly lost tail twitches violently until the nerve impulses run down, and is very likely to hold the predator's attention while the lizard escapes.