Hi there! I used to have anoles in college (10 yrs ago) and decided to buy one the other day. It's been so long that I've had one that I didn't really know what to look for other than finding a female, so I asked the pet store guy to pick out a healthy girl. He handed me the box and I took "her" home. I open it up and release my new pet into my naturalistic vivarium and she looks terrible! Skinny, skinny with black spots behind her eyes. And as soon as she lands inside she fell asleep. I left her alone to calm down for awhile. I came back about an hour later with some dusted waxworms and she ate. She won't chase crickets, she sleeps all the time. It's been three days and I am noticing an improvement but she still only eats the worms and ignores crickets. Then, today she flared her dulap, does this mean she is in fact a male?? I called the store about her health and they said there is a health guarantee and I could bring her back. That just seems cruel to put her under more stress! Any opinions on tricks to speed her recovery? Her color seems to be improving from blotchy to bright green but I worry about her diet. I know waxworms are fatty but is that the best thing to feed her? Thanks everyone! I just want my new Lil buddy to get plump and happy!
Are you spraying the cage down at least once a day with water? That will help a LOT. I have noticed anoles are happiest when misted down several times a day, just be careful not to let the substrate get saturated. I would keep offering her small crickets, when she feels better she will probably start going after them.. Give her a couple at a time, so the ones she doesn't chase and eat won't bite her overmuch when she's sleeping. waxworms are good for now, but also check to see if you can get some mini mealworms *the black ones* or calci worms. if you're putting your worms in a dish, make sure there is calcium powder in this dish, so the lizard picks up some calcium when she eats. If you don't have a uvb light on her already, she does need one, since she is a diurnal lizard.. they love to bask in the sun. as to the dewlap thing.. if its flaring it, its probably a male, but I think females have them also, just smaller. I hope this is helpful
I don't mist but she has a drip system and there is a waterfall in the viv...u think more is necesary?
As other food items that are more nutritious than wax worms that you can probably pick up at your local pet store would be phoenix worms (cali-worms, etc, there are a couple of "brand names" for soldier fly larvae), you can also try small butterworms or even small silkworms. All of those are slow moving, not hard-shelled, and more nutritious than wax worms I hope he perks up soon!
Update: she seems to be doing better. She sleeps much less and actually watches me now. He is still extremely thin and she doesn't change color efficiently...it's like she gets stuck between green and brown occasionally. I replaced the light bulb with a new reptisun 5.0 my original one was a bit old, so hopefully that helps and I added a moon glo night light to keep her warmer at night. Thank you for the advise everyone, I'll look for the other food options today! It's exciting to see her responding to treatment, I figured she wouldn't make it.
