Hello

[ladybug_2u]

Hello,
I am the new owner of 3 green anoles. I have had them for 5 days.
I am new to reptiles and would love to learn more about their care and behavior.
I have one large anole "Rex" who seems to think he owns the cage (30 gal. critter cage) and all food and water.
I tried to get 1 male and 2 females. I depended on the pet shop for sexing them.
Now I wonder if I don't have 2 males and maybe 1 female.
There is a lot of head bobbing and flaring of Rex's dewlap.
One anole will bob back but does not change color or move.
The other one will bob then turn brown and perhaps run away.
The same one(I think)stayes hidden most of the time and I worry about how much she or he is eating.
Ok, speaking of food. When I first brought them home they ate like mad. Now they don't seem to be interested in their food.
It has not changed. I feed them pinhead crickets 2xdaily and meal worms 1 per anole 2xweekly. They also have some peach baby food.
I mist their cage at least 2xdaily.
They also seem a bit sluggish.
I need advise, I don't trust the pet shop. They tried to talk us into putting them in a desert enviroment complete with a sand substrate.
No, we did not do that.
Ty Ladybug

[mulder]

i know nothing of reptiles, other than from friends. doo they not need a heat rock or heat lamp to help them digest food? they also may just be getting used to your home?

[lady_crotalus]

Definatly no heat rocks, but they do need a basking light aswell as a fluorescent uvb bulb so they can absorb calcium. I use zoo med's reptisun 5.0 and 10.0 and exo terras repti glo 5.0, and 8.0. They need to be replaced every 6 months and the lizards need to be able to get within 6 inches of the bulb wich i accomplish with a piece of driftwood and vines in the tank. Try and keep their humidity level at 70-80 percent aswell as provide plenty of fake plants and stuff to make them feel secure. Adult anoles should be able to handle medium 1/2 inch size crickets, pinheads are practically microscopic. Hatchling anoles are the ones that should be eating pinhead crickets and fruitflies. Dont even bother feeding mealworms, they are high in chitin and hard to digest, not to mention they suck nutritionally. A steady diet of crickets with the occasion waxworm moths, and flies and other soft bodied insects is fine, just make sure to dust the crickets with calcium powder atleast once a week because crickets are high in phosphorus. Dont feed the anoles fireflies, they are toxic and dont feed them any wild insects if people spray pesticides around your house. I give the anoles at work 3 crickets per lizard everyday. Use the distance between the 2 eyes as a size guide for crickets to feed.
For substrate i would recommend you use shredded coconut fiber. Its completely digestible if accidentally swallowed, it will help hold humidity, and it will give the female anoles a place to lay thier eggs so they dont become egg bound. Dont use liner, dont use walnut shells, dont use bark, and i think you know not to use sand since you said the moron petstore people tried to get you to set the tank up desert style. I would by the way, print out everything on anole care and make those people memorize it and fix the problems they most likely have with their anole set up.

[ladybug_2u]

Thank you so much for your reply! They have a lamp but not the uvb yet. Hmm.. they like worms so I will have to change to wax worms. They seem to be doing better now. I changed things around a bit and baked some branches and add greenery to them to give them more hiding areas and better basking areas.
It is good because Rex spends less time intimidating the smaller one.
Instead, he goes off on his own and has started spending time on the rock cave. They stay green more now also Tg.
Where do you find the coconut fiber? I will look again for it on my next visit to the shop. I discovered shortly after I brought them home that the bark was not a good idea.
I don't understand..Do pet shops have no sense of responsibilty?
When I bought my ADF (different store) they did not know the difference between an ADF and an ACF.
I am SO glad I have my computer!
Oh yes, one little tidbit.. I caught one of the smaller anoles drinking out of the water dish!!

[lady_crotalus]

The coconut fiber i use is called Eco Earth, it comes in a brick that you have to expand in water. Its under different brand names too like Bed-A-Beast.

Quote: Originally Posted by ladybug_2u Thank you so much for your reply! They have a lamp but not the uvb yet. Hmm.. they like worms so I will have to change to wax worms. They seem to be doing better now. I changed things around a bit and baked some branches and add greenery to them to give them more hiding areas and better basking areas. It is good because Rex spends less time intimidating the smaller one. Instead, he goes off on his own and has started spending time on the rock cave. They stay green more now also Tg. Where do you find the coconut fiber? I will look again for it on my next visit to the shop. I discovered shortly after I brought them home that the bark was not a good idea. I don't understand..Do pet shops have no sense of responsibilty? When I bought my ADF (different store) they did not know the difference between an ADF and an ACF. I am SO glad I have my computer! Oh yes, one little tidbit.. I caught one of the smaller anoles drinking out of the water dish!!