Please, I need reptile help ASAP D:

cafe • 21 September 2011 at 10:08 AM

Copying and pasting my question from yahoo answers;

Anole lizard won't eat?
About two weeks ago, I switched my Lizard's cage [He was in a 10 gallon, we moved him to a 30 gallon.]

That's when he stopped eating. So yesterday, after trying everything I could think of. [Putting the food bowl near the water, taking it far from the water, hand feeding, putting him next to the bowl] I set up his old cage and put him back.

He still won't eat.. And he's getting really skinny.

I've been trying to give him the food I've always given him, live giant meal worms. Before I switched his cage he could eat one and that last him 3-5 days.


His cage info;
10 gallon
Same mulch I've always used
A few extra items in the cage, but nothing over the top.
An under heater
A lamp that I turn on and off, depending on the heat in the cage
Glass food bowl
Glass water bowl with stones in them so he doesn't drown

Cage temp;
80 F
Humidity;
55%


I can't really take him to our vet, they don't work on lizards.

Please, any suggestions?
20 hours ago - 3 days left to answer.
Additional Details
Oh, also, we don't know the gender; I just dubbed it male.

*~*~*

I'm getting desperate Dx I have him in a little animal tank right now beside me, and about five giant meal worms, hoping he'll see them in such a small space and eat them. No luck...


//EDIT//

I GOT HIM TO EAT
I had to force feed him, by making him try and bite me, but I did it!!!!

cqpkytty • 21 September 2011 at 10:10 AM

@cafe
How long have you had him?

cafe • 21 September 2011 at 10:12 AM

Since a little before my birthday, So maybe end of March/Beginning of April [Birthday is April third]

cqpkytty • 21 September 2011 at 10:19 AM

@cafe
So, in the spring.

We have a bearded dragon called Pattern; we got him around spring 2010. In the fall, he stopped eating/barely ate at all and we were REALLY worried. But then we found out that during fall and winter, bearded dragons always eat less and move less. Kinda like semi-hibernation.
I think that's what's going on with your anole lizard.

I hope that helped! 😊

cafe • 21 September 2011 at 10:21 AM

I really hope it is :[


He's getting really skinny, and his tail is stringy kinda.

@wolf_obsessor

I know you have reptiles [Snakes, I think] any impute?

silverserpent • 21 September 2011 at 11:36 AM

Take him to a vet that knows something about lizards. There must be one in your town at least. Call around and ask. Poor thing should get proper care if he is sick. ☹️

cafe • 21 September 2011 at 12:16 PM

@silverserpent

I've tried

No vets around my area work on lizards that small, because they're not common

But; I did get him to eat :] I had to force feed him [Make him bite me basically, and put it in his mouth] and he ate!!

dreamer • 21 September 2011 at 2:51 PM

@Cafe You have an anole? 😃
I love anoles. In fourth grade, we worked on the food chain, andwe got to take care of anoles and bring them home. In myu year, I got four. BUT, one of them got an infection that spread to the rest and they all died. X3 Lol. My little sister got another one last year in school when she did the unit though. She named it Lily. xD
Good that you got your anole to eat, even if it did wanna bite you. xD I know a lot of people who give their anoles meal worms, but maybe switch to crickets? My sister's anole eats crickets.
Also if you don't know the gender, check hisd back. The males are ususally larger and they haver a red stripe going down their back. 😉

cafe • 21 September 2011 at 6:03 PM

@dreamer

All the ones at the store I got them, were all green o;

I feed him meal worms, and give him crickets as treats. We bought some crickets today; he hasn't eaten any. But, it's easier shoving a worm in his mouth than a cricket x3

The lady at the pet store said not to, to crush them and get the "goo" with a syringe and feed him with it. That didn't work, we had to crush about 5 and couldn't get him to eat it. So, we're going to do it with solid ones.

Deleted • 21 September 2011 at 6:07 PM

@cafe Have you been giving it crickets with calcium? 😱 sometimes if you dont they dont eat. My friend has an anole that wouldnt eat. So it ate half of its own tail. XD

cafe • 21 September 2011 at 6:07 PM

@bluegirl80

O_O


I give it meal worms, which are in a little thing that puts the stuff on it already. xD Crickets are treats

Deleted • 21 September 2011 at 6:09 PM

@cafe XDD Her anole has problems. XDD XDD But uh she fed them JUST crickets. Can you show us a pic of him? 8D

nenielsen • 21 September 2011 at 6:14 PM

@cafe

1. You could have him in a cage that's too big, I used to have anoles we got from a friend and he had them in a cage that was way too big, and they couldn't hunt their pray... D:

2. His food could be too big for him, anoles are pretty small lizards...

3. He could be sick, take him to a doctor!!! (Seriously, if your having problems GO TO A VET!!!)

4. I dunno... I'm not really an expert... -_-'


He could have something wrong with his digestive system so you really need to take him to a vet...

Also there's this goo stuff you can buy for carnivorous reptiles that you feed them with a syringe, my mom has that kinda stuff for my leopard gecko, who has a bad eye and can't hunt that well.

Feed him more crickets, small ones, more often, I think we fed our anoles crickets more often than worms.

Maybe he can't hunt? VET VET VET!!! D:


FIND A REPTILE VET!!!

You can get a magazine on anoles/lizards at the pet store... ;3

Deleted • 21 September 2011 at 6:17 PM

@cafe
My anoles always ate well throughout the year. They would never eat out of a bowl or food already dead or anything bigger than their own head. So I had to feed them small live food. They would eat nothing else.

cafe • 21 September 2011 at 6:25 PM

@nenielsen

You make me feel guilty about the vet thing, but we can't. The vets won't take him in my area. He's too small for them to do anything, they said, and they said it would be a waste of money to take him if they can't do anything. But, they couldn't advise me on anything because they can't look at him. So I'm at a catch 22


He doesn't have to hunt, his food's in a small glass bowl.

I moved him back to his old 10 gallon cage yesterday.

I've had him since March/April, and he's been eating the giants for two months.

@siri

He eats live meal worms, and crickets on occasions.

Deleted • 21 September 2011 at 6:29 PM

@cafe
Anoles should not be fed mealworms. They are bad for them and quickly kill their energy. Crickets need to be their primary food source. Small ones. Dusting the crickets with supplement powder while they are alive in the bag would also be a good idea.

cafe • 21 September 2011 at 6:33 PM

@siri

Not what I was told o_o

He's been eating them since I got him [Or her, don't know the gender] and has been fine [well, until now, but it happened when he was moved into a new habitat]

I'm going to do some research however, thank you for bringing that to my attention. If I find out they are actually bad for him, I'll switch him to just crickets.


We were feeding him crickets at first, then were advised meal worms were better.

Deleted • 21 September 2011 at 6:38 PM

@cafe
Would be the quickest to find out if your anole really is sick. An anole never turns down a small live cricket meal.

cafe • 21 September 2011 at 6:43 PM

@siri

I'm looking it up, and it says mealies are good on occasions because they're basically junk food, with high fat content and make them gain weight; which would normally be bad, but right now as skinny as he is I actually think that is a good idea.


So, while I'm trying to make him gain weight; give him mealies [and a cricket, just in the bowl, to see if he'll go for it] Because right now I'm having to force feed him [like described in this video; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-0wLHQKkGM] and it's easier to put a worm in his mouth than a cricket. And when he's eating on his own and a good weight, switch him to crickets and the occasional mealie]


He's not eating at all, and I'm just glad I got food to him in general.

Deleted • 21 September 2011 at 6:48 PM

Use tweezers to feed to him the live crickets. and the key word should be junkfood. Junkfood is never good eating on a primary bases no matter how starved. He needs energy to stay alive. And fat is not energy. and what I read about meal worms is that they tend to pass through undigested, wasting their energy and not getting any energy in return from the food.

cafe • 21 September 2011 at 6:51 PM

@siri

Thank you ^^;
I feel like a idiot, for thinking junk food was good. But I though fat = make him gain weight.

I'll try feeding him a little cricket later, the way I do the worms.
[Tweezers scare him]


But again I say, I'm still glad I got something in him. Something's better than nothing.

Deleted • 21 September 2011 at 7:02 PM

@cafe
you're welcome. hope it helps.

lizardfeather • 21 September 2011 at 7:05 PM

@cafe what kind of reptile are we talking about? Green anole or brown? I have a chameleon (which are really picky xD) so I might be able to help with your problem 😸

Deleted • 21 September 2011 at 7:07 PM

@lizardfeather
lol there are only green anoles that can change their color to brown. They are not a separate species.

lizardfeather • 21 September 2011 at 7:08 PM

@siri

Nope 😈

There is a species called the Cuban Brown Anole that was brought to Florida from... Cuba... and they have since killed off most of the native Green Anoles ☹️

And they are brown with the ability to change from light brown to black-ish

The person who's name is lizardfeather knows about lizards xD

cafe • 21 September 2011 at 7:09 PM

@siri

He was at a good weight; nice and plump from the meal worms. When I switched the cages [He's switched back yesterday] he just stopped eating. Couldn't get him to eat meal worms or crickets.

But thank you so much, I got him to eat two crickets [the same way I got him to eat the meal worm] but when I got the first one in his mouth, he seemed to like it and ate the second one easily. [With coaxing]

He has one left [I bought a few and split them between the turtle and him, because I thought they were the junk food] So I'm going to have to give him meal worms until I can buy more.
Which may be a few days, since my mom goes to school and I can't drive. But I'll try.

@lizardfeather

Green Anole 😸

I think I have a picture of him, from a while back, hold on.

lizardfeather • 21 September 2011 at 7:11 PM

@cafe He may also be suffering from Calcium Deficiency, you should try dusting your crickets/mealworms with a calcium dust. Also you should give them fresh food. One mealworm for 3-5 days isn't exactly healthy, as it can attract bacteria which can get your pet sick.

Deleted • 21 September 2011 at 7:11 PM

@lizardfeather
Killed off the green anoles? I see nothing but green anoles around where i live in the wild. I have never seen a brown one.

lizardfeather • 21 September 2011 at 7:12 PM

@siri Well that's Florida I meant the native Florida species x) They might just not live where you are http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Anole

rawrcookies08 • 21 September 2011 at 7:14 PM

@cafe OH NO! You should take him to the pet store ASAP to get him checked out! ☹️ ☹️

My hamster is losing his hair, and we took him to the pet store and helped us out. Apparently it's dust mites or too many sunflower seeds in his food. D: So definitely take your lizard to the pet store !! 😱