FEEDER BECOMES PET, help on many levels please

[ChameleonsInMyHouse]

so since my Tokay Gecko hasn't been interested in any fuzzy or pinky, and ONLY crickets since I've had him, I decided I would try a feeder anole. After bringing it home, common sense came into play and I decided not to use it due to risk of parasites. He is a cute lil guy too, so I decided to make him a new home in a 5 g tank I had lying around. I only have an older 5.0 CFL suspended for lighting and heat at the moment. i would imagine his temps are about 78 at the moment, as that is what it is in my pygmy tank and there is only a 6500K CFL.

The anole loves it, he is so active and cute. I didnt think I'd get so attached to him, but the damn thing just makes me laugh and smile lol. I was just wondering though, if anybody knows better care for little green anoles, and can the co-habitat with something else in a 5g tank?

here he is. HELP ME WITH NAMES!

 

[JackP308]

Glad you opted out...Not necessary at all to use pinkies or any other reptiles as feeders for your tokay to be healthy and varied diet. Dust your feeders and if you want bigger go with roaches and hornworms. I think most feed lizards and mice to geckos for pure cruel amusement


http://caresheets.net/lizards/green-anoles.html


they sure seem like roaches in South FL though they are everywhere ..Malls houses restaurants you name it there is a little anole.

 

[Scott85]

LOL! I couldnt do it either! Feed it off to something that is. Anywho can't be much help with a name, as a few of mine are gecko 1, 2, 3 etc. . I am fairly sure that he is a she though. Long time ago I had a 1.2 group in a 10 gallon. They laid eggs like crazy, never did anything with them though. I dunno if they would be ok with other things tbh, probably not in a 5 gallon.

 

[jannb]

You guys are awesome! I have a Cuban Knight Anole and she is the neatest lizard. She has the best little personality and it just so sweet. She free ranges in my house and it's such a pleasure to care for her.

 

[pssh]

I'm pretty sure that's a girl. It needs a hot basking spot around 90. I think a 5 gallon is too small for them. They seem to like to have space and to be able to get up high.

 

[jojackson]

You can actually buy them as feeders? are they cb or wild harvested?

 

[ChameleonsInMyHouse]

Glad you opted out...Not necessary at all to use pinkies or any other reptiles as feeders for your tokay to be healthy and varied diet. Dust your feeders and if you want bigger go with roaches and hornworms. I think most feed lizards and mice to geckos for pure cruel amusement


http://caresheets.net/lizards/green-anoles.html
thank you for this care sheet! i will check it out when i get home later. my tokay is picky and will not tong feed, he is more of an ambush predator or what i like to call, a lazy hunter. lol he likes things that move to him, so i have not been able to get him to eat supers, horns or silks. i've talked with Syn about this, and as long as not given as a staple or anything close to a staple i am fine. which is what i thought since the beginning. my tokay is the only herp i have that i would feed live to.

You guys are awesome! I have a Cuban Knight Anole and she is the neatest lizard. She has the best little personality and it just so sweet. She free ranges in my house and it's such a pleasure to care for her.

jann, i am happy to inform you that i will be recieving a C.K.A when my exotic shop receives theirs! I thought of you as soon as he said Cuban Knight! lol well, actually i thought of Dulce but you followed right behind lol

I'm pretty sure that's a girl. It needs a hot basking spot around 90. I think a 5 gallon is too small for them. They seem to like to have space and to be able to get up high.

from what i've read, they need 90 as well. i will hook him up with proper lights tomorrow, like i said i have a 5.0 CFL so he is close to the high 70s or low 80s. i will provide him with something better tomorrow. as well as more vines and climbing space. 5 G is all i can provide to him at the moment.

You can actually buy them as feeders? are they cb or wild harvested?

oh yes, and 95% of the ones you can buy are WC, which is why i decided NOT to use it, even with a lizard with a tough immunity like Tokays. not a risk im willing to take.

 

[ChameleonsInMyHouse]

also too, thank you for determining the sex for me guys! how do you sex them anyways by the way? i'd like to get get another one and have a 1.1 breeding group going on just for fun, and i could always donate them to a nature center or do something productive with them.

 

[jojackson]

I have a vague recollection of reading that the brown species can be sexed according to markings on the back? No idea at all about carolinensis though, (isnt that the green ones?) good eyesight psssh?
How can you tell?

Ok I googled, males have the dewlap, females a pink coloration to the underside of the throat (neither visible in the pic)
and like many species there is sexual dimorphism with the male being a little larger to 8 in females to 5in (though no comparison animal here, tough to gauge size).
Cute species. I dont understand the harvesting of these, why dont they harvest the cuban variety for feeders?
Are they not the introduced species?
Perhaps some folk just dont care ?

I learn things here every day, its like exotic reptile school!

 

[jannb]

Here's Kathy's care sheet for the Cuban Knight: http://thereptilewhisperer.blogspot.com/2009/02/cuban-knight-anole-anolis-equestris.html

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

If it has a red colored throat flap (collapsed and hard to see when relaxed) then it's a male. There's a pic of it expanded a few pics down on this page. You can gently pull the skin on the throat down to see it. The males also have a distinct tail bulge, but it's easiest to see with another to compare it too. If that or the red throat flap is not there then it's a female.

 

[ChameleonsInMyHouse]

View attachment 32212

 

[fluxlizard]

Males have a very pronounced hemipenile bulge just like most chameleons. One sex or the other is more likely to have the pale stripe on the back like that but I've forgotten now which sex that is and it doesn't always hold true.

This is the first species I bred as a kid many years ago. A friend at that time ordered a years supply of mealworms for $2.99 with a free anole out of boys life magazine after seeing mine. Lizard and worms came in regular postage mail in a little box about 3"x5" x 1" (which was just left in the mailbox along with his parents bills) and the worms were in one little cloth bag and the lizard in another. Ah those were the days!

They can be kept not too differently than a chameleon if you want- tree and screen cage and everything (set up and pretend like a panther cham and he will thrive), or a small tank is fine too. 5 gallons is a little snug- 10 or 20 high would be better. In a tank you can add a substrate and a pothos vine. Mist for drinking or provide a drip or in a screen cage mist like a chameleon. Eats same stuff needs same lighting with a basking spot around 90ish and same vitamins/calcium, etc.

My pair as a kid became surprisingly tame- would take mealworms from my fingers and would sit on my shoulders and let me pet them under the chin. The male would display and court the female right in front of me too. They are flighty at first (named mine Zip and Zing) but can tame down with a lot of patience.

 

[ChameleonsInMyHouse]

Males have a very pronounced hemipenile bulge just like most chameleons. One sex or the other is more likely to have the pale stripe on the back like that but I've forgotten now which sex that is and it doesn't always hold true.

This is the first species I bred as a kid many years ago. A friend at that time ordered a years supply of mealworms for $2.99 with a free anole out of boys life magazine after seeing mine. Lizard and worms came in regular postage mail in a little box about 3"x5" x 1" (which was just left in the mailbox along with his parents bills) and the worms were in one little cloth bag and the lizard in another. Ah those were the days!

They can be kept not too differently than a chameleon if you want- tree and screen cage and everything (set up and pretend like a panther cham and he will thrive), or a small tank is fine too. 5 gallons is a little snug- 10 or 20 high would be better. In a tank you can add a substrate and a pothos vine. Mist for drinking or provide a drip or in a screen cage mist like a chameleon. Eats same stuff needs same lighting with a basking spot around 90ish and same vitamins/calcium, etc.

My pair as a kid became surprisingly tame- would take mealworms from my fingers and would sit on my shoulders and let me pet them under the chin. The male would display and court the female right in front of me too. They are flighty at first (named mine Zip and Zing) but can tame down with a lot of patience.

ha! that's such a cool story, i honestly never would have thought I'd become so attached to an anole, initially a feeder lol. thank you for the husbandry tips though. she is still very small, so I will keep her in the 10g for now, i supplimented crickets with D3 today, as I noticed in the pet stores they weren't getting proper lighting since they were being sold as feeders. i will plain calcium the rest of her feedings for another 2.5-3 weeks.
she has a piece of driftwood and some fake plants, but as said earlier, will be placing some vines in there for her.

i couldnt imagine trying to pick her up though, she's so small and fast i'd be afraid to break her lol. but i will attempt, i'll have more patience taming the anole than the tokay lol. any tips for safetly and quickly catching them and handling them?

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Just grab it! I catch them around my house all the time. They're very resilient, I've rescued many out of the mouths of my cats. Just don't grab them by the tail...

 

[pssh]

The females are more likely to have a white stripe on their backs. Hence, my post.

 

[ChameleonsInMyHouse]

thanks pssh this helps alot, since i wouldn't know how to begin how to sex them lol. do males have the white stripe down the back as well? or do they just have red skin flap?

 

[pssh]

It is much less common for males to have the white stripe. Trust me, males have a very noticeable weewee buldge. how long is your animal?

Also, to me, it looks like she might even be gravid.

 

[ChameleonsInMyHouse]

hahaha! you know you're a bit of an immature adult male when you laugh at "weewee bulge" thanks for the laugh.

she does look gravid? YAY! she is about 3 1/4'' snout to tail, and about 2'' stv. oh your info is great! thank you so much

 

[pssh]

Maybe not then. That sounds rather small, though I suppose it could happen. Time will tell. I have some females that are around 4" that I am trying to prevent from clutching. So far so good.

Edit: if you take clear pictures of the underside of its tail, I can try to definitively sex it. (males have these two enlarged scales whereas females just have normal uniform scales down there.)