Non-beardie Lizard Rescue

[Fuzzyviper]

I was cleaning the reptile cages at work today and noticed a VERY skinny anole. I've been trying to keep an eye on them since our latest shipment was kind of thin, especially one of them. I haven't been the one feeding them for the past week or so (been the habitat cleaner so I'm busy all morning) and I don't know if he's been eating. I'm assuming it's a male since he's 7-8 inches long. His hip bones are showing as well as his ribs. I think the other anoles have been bullying him and eating the crickets before he does, since he's been weak since he got here (I think he's the thin one and has just gotten worse). They're pretty hard to do medical care with since we don't have an extra reptile tank for him (we have extra beardies using it) and they're very jumpy and stress easily with handling. He puts up a much slower and weaker anole fight (They are FAST and jumpy!) but the fact that he is strong enough to try to escape from me is a good sign.

I couldn't just leave the little guy to die there so I bought him and I'm going to try to nurse him back to health. At least if he dies, he'll be comfortable and not have a million other anoles bothering him. He's taking a water/Pedialyte soak at the moment but I will try to take a couple pictures. I'm actually leaving town this weekend and am going to try to take him with me so I can give him fluids and try to get him to eat. I've dug out some of my old anole stuff from 10+ years ago so he will have a nice little sick tank and when/if he gets better, I'll probably move him to my really nice vertical tank with the front door.

 

[Terminator7777]

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[Fuzzyviper]

Snapped a couple pictures while he rested on my arm. Looking at the pictures, he's the Rocky of anoles.

He's got a perpetual sleepy look from being so dehydrated. Sunken in eyes and top of his head.

Side of his body, you can see how far his spine and hips stick out on the sides.

Top view of his ribs, hips, and the loss of muscle mass in his legs and the base of his tail. His tail is so thin all the way down that I worry it will fall off.

I bought Malygos some waxworms yesterday so my mom can feed him while I'm on vacation so I put a waxworm in the anole's tank. I have him in a critter keeper with heat and a paper towel and I put him on a shelf in a semi-dark area so he won't be disturbed very much. I'm going to soak him later and maybe give him a little water mixed with Pedialyte from a dropper.

 

[Terminator7777]

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[Fuzzyviper]

Yeah, I had one for a few years when I was little (I actually took care of it, my parents just bought his food). I just didn't want to see him waste away in the store. I've got a 10 gallon I can put him in but I need to set it up still since I decided to get him quickly since he looked awful. I think he probably is not going to make it but he's been green since I got him home so I'm a little optimistic that he might pull through. I'm going to move him next to Malygos's tank if he makes it through the night, since the UVB is on that side and I can move it over to also get the anole. He's sleeping right now but still green so I don't think he is stressed, just weak and malnourished.

 

[Terminator7777]

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[Fuzzyviper]

We don't usually lose any reptiles at our store but we have too many anoles in the cage right now and one of the shipments was a little on the thin side (this guy came with that one). He had a second soak and took some water with unflavored Pedialyte from a dropper/licked it off my arm. His ribs are less pronounced now that he's got some water but he's still very horrible to look at. He started climbing the walls after this so he's perking up some. My mom is very worried about him and is glad I'm taking him on my vacation with me.

 

[lauraj1055]

Poor thing I hope you can save him.

 

[TASTIGER]

good luck with him. its good that he is still green it meens hes comfortable

 

[AHBD]

Poor little guy, he does look pitiful, but at least he's holding his head up. I would do like Terminator said....a 10 gal. tank will be better than a critter keeper, put at least one area of moss or someting that will hold the humidity, maybe even some eco - earth, a potted plant would be good [ rinsed to get rid of pesticides ] or even a clipping from a pothos plant in a small jar full of water. A few small branches for climbing. The anoles need to drink , and the cage should be sprayed throughout the day several times. Unlike beardies, you want very high humidity and lots of mistings, and a 60 or 75 watt [ or whichever gets the temp. where you want it ] will keep it hot and humid. It's nice that you brought home and are trying to care for one of the " "forgotten" 1000's that die every year because they're not worth much to anyone.

 

[danab]

Oh geesh! We have 3 adult anoles and two babies (please don't make any more guys LOL). I look at ours for comparison and that is sooooooooo skinny!

We have our adult anoles in a tank with eco-earth on the bottom and a layer of bark chips and some moss on the top to keep it humid. They are arboreal so give them branches to climb on and hidey leaves. We use plastic leaf strands on top that hang down and that is what I mist with water for them to drink. On the bottom we have a pothos planted right in the eco earth. They are pretty hardy plants. We are in arid Colorado so its sometimes hard to keep humidity up but our set-up seems to work well. To keep the temps up I have a small UTH side mounted that adds a bit of heat as needed.

I have read that some anole breeders give them baby food. I can't recall which one but I think it might have been peach? We've never tried it but it might be a way for you to give it some supplements mixed in that it can lick off.

Sending many blesings your way!

 

[sheri85]

oh poor thing! i don't know anything about anoles, but i wish you luck in getting him healthy

 

[Fuzzyviper]

Yeah, the critter keeper is temporary. Unfortunately, I don't have anyone that can do the soaks and dropper stuff for me this weekend so he's heading out tomorrow with me on a trip and the keeper is an easier move for now. I've got a 10 gallon mostly set up right now but he'll need 1-2 small branches. He probably won't use them since he's been lying on the floor of the tank most of the time so far. He did climb a small bit but went back to sleeping. I'll probably stick with the paper towels for now so I can make sure he is pooping (I have no idea if he is. He hasn't yet.). I don't want to throw a lot of things in his tank at once since he is very low stress right now and I'm worried that moving stuff around or bothering him too much might push him over the edge. I'm very surprised that he isn't dead, given how horrible he looks.

He's gotten two very long soaks today and I'm going to give him 2-3 tomorrow plus some more Pedialyte from the dropper. I did read that they will sometimes take baby food and I think it's peach flavor? I can't find the place where I read it. I'm on the Reptic Zone forums too and was trying to find the post I read it in. I'm going to buy him some small crickets tomorrow since he is uninterested in the waxworms and I've got to leave the rest here for Malygos (I had to make daily "lunch boxes" for my mom to feed him while I'm gone.). It has been a long time since I've had an anole but the one I got when I was 9-10 lived 3 years and would have lived longer but my neighbor neglected him so badly while we were on vacation for two weeks that he was dead when I got home.

Thanks for keeping this little guy in your thoughts. I really want him to pull through and get to experience my arboreal tank (empty now that I've moved the White's tree frogs into the planted tank).

 

[Phoebe]

Good luck with him, I hope he pulls through. He's very skinny indeed. I wish pet shops looked after their animals better I'll keep him in my thoughts

 

[Terminator7777]

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