Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I flew back from Florida last Sunday (1/14). An hour or so ago, while unpacking luggage, I find that a little critter has stowed him/herself in my luggage. It is currently safely nested in a large ziploc baggie with some water and a place to climb. However, I don't want a pet and don't know what to do with it. My options thus far are:

1- Next-day air the poor thing back to Florida and hope it survives another trip. I have family that can release it.
2- Keep it as a pet.
3- Find someone who wants to keep it as a pet.

Any other suggestions/advice?

THANKS!!!

Update: I went to the local pet store and got some crickets and a mister. I also put a heat lamp close to the little critter and it seems livelier. It's basking in the light/heat from the lamp, and I think it might have eaten a cricket. Anyway, so I'm concerned about it surviving a trip back to Florida. I can't guarantee that it won't be subjected to freezing temperatures enroute. Does anyone know how hardy these little guys are?

They are pretty hardy but I sure hope you have gotten it out of that zip lock bag by now. My aunt moved here from Fl without knowing a female Cuban Brown Anole was trapped in a box. It escaped 2 weeks later into a tight and dry sewing room of a brand new house (no food or water).

One week later, my aunt mentioned it to me so I went looking and found it. Still alive but skin and bones. I nursed it back to health (it took a while) and I had her for another 2 1/2 years.

They aren't that easy to care for if you want them to live long. They need space (at least a 10 gallon tank), the correct unobstructed UV lighting, basking bulb, water in the form of droplets on the leaves, hiding places and live insects (mine ate stuff I killed and chopped up but that's kind of rare).

Here are a couple of links with info.
http://www.kingsnake.com/anolecare/
http://www.anapsid.org/anole.html

This was Bing after a few months.

A cuban anole, or cuban knight anole?

Thanks for the replies, all!

Since the first post, I obtained an old acuarium tank, made a screen lid for it, put in some foliage to climb and smooth rocks for the bottom and let the anole get accustomed to it's new digs. I've been feeding it crickets and misting it a couple of times a day as it's VERY dry here in NH with the furnace going 24-7 as it's been averaging -15 or so at night lately.

I got some proper lizard groundcover for the tank, but I want to wait until the anole has eaten all the crickets so that I can clean the tank. Speaking of which, is there any way to do this so as to minimize stress on the thing? It freaks out each time I mist it, and I'm concerned that if I try to lift the cover of the tank all the way to replace the stones with the groundcover, that it will jump out and I'll lose it in the house.

At any rate, I know it's been eating well, since the crickets keep disappearing and the poop seems to be on the increase.

Oh, and it doesn't look like the pictures of the Cuban Knight Anoles, and I'm starting to think that maybe it's just a plain ole Brown anole. It changes colors depending on the temperature or stress levels. Does that help to identify it? I'll try to take a picture, but it scurries into the foliage when I've tried.

Thanks again for the replies!

>>Oh, and it doesn't look like the pictures of the Cuban Knight Anoles, and I'm starting to think that maybe it's just a plain ole Brown anole. It changes colors depending on the temperature or stress levels. Does that help to identify it? I'll try to take a picture, but it scurries into the foliage when I've tried.
>>
>>Thanks again for the replies!

Brown anoles and knight anoles both are native to cuba and have been introduced into Florida's ecosystem. I think the name cuban confuses people.

Brown anoles are the tiny brown lizards people commonly see and encounter. Knight anoles are HUGE (easily grow to be 1 to 1 1/2 feet) green-teal lizards. All anoles have to some extent, the ability to shift colors a little like a chameleon. The small native Green anoles can turn brown with stress and can be confused with the brown anole sometimes...but once they adapt they go back to being a nice green. Brown anoles don't turn green....they just go from dark brown to a light brown. When they are in a light color mode, you can often see a white pattern on the back.
-----
_____

PHWyvern

>>I got some proper lizard groundcover for the tank, but I want to wait until the anole has eaten all the crickets so that I can clean the tank. Speaking of which, is there any way to do this so as to minimize stress on the thing? It freaks out each time I mist it, and I'm concerned that if I try to lift the cover of the tank all the way to replace the stones with the groundcover, that it will jump out and I'll lose it in the house.
>>

Brown anoles like being up high. You might want to think about converting the 10 gallon tank into a high rise set up. Some petstores carry convertible wire cages now that can be attached to the top of a 10 gallon tank for small animals. You'd have to probably sew on the outside of the wire cage some window screen to make sure the lizard couldn't sneak through the spacing of the bars. You could also get some fake silk plants vines from a craft store and tie a few pieces up in the screen part to give plenty of hiding spots. Add a nice piece of drift wood to the bottom of the tank that is high enough for them to get from the top to the bottom easily to go catch crickets and what not...once the lizard reaches the window screen part it can climb upward to the silk plants affixed in the upper level pretty easy. When it comes time to clean if all works out the lizard is hiding at the top of the cage so that you lift the top section off and set it on the floor while you can safely clean the aquarium part.

I recently had a brown anole rescue taken in. It somehow smuggled its way into the US from Mexico LOL. I just happen to have a tall screen enclosure with a front opening door and plastic shoe box bottom (designed for baby chameleons) so that made for a good cage. I have most of the decoration stuff towards the back so that it encourages the lizard to hang out there when I have to open the door to change the water or add crickets. The bottom is able to come off too for easy cleaning.
-----
_____

PHWyvern

Ha! Now that makes sense! OK, so I'll make a wire "top" that extends a bit and hope the lizard keeps climbing. Then I lift the whole thing out to clean the tank. Brilliant! Thanks a bunch for your reply!!!

Ilma

P.S. And I'm sure it's not a knight. It's a plain ole brown anole. Never turns green, just dark to light brown. It's got a strikingly white streak along the underside of it's neck where that red flap usually is in the males, though...does that mean I have a female?

You had me excited, I thought you had a knight anole trapped in your bag. I'd say ship it back to Cuba where it belongs. Darn things are taking over down here in Miami. Just like every other invasive species; I've personally seen red headed agamas (africa), iguanas, (costa rica), knight anoles (cuba, and they'll put a HURT on you), oodles of mediterranian geckos and other sorts of geckos and anoles that dont belong hear, and a beautiful bird called a Hill Myna (southeast asia). Can't forget about all the people releasing pythons down here. And don't get me started on stray cats, lol. We're a regular zoo.
Not to mention the other invasive species taking over Miami, but nevermind.
But anyway, good luck with your little import! Even if she is just a "plain brown anole"
~Tiff

I climbed a fallen banyan to get a shot of this knight after hurricane wilma:

-----
"Were the diver to think upon the jaws of the shark, he would never lay hands on the precious pearl."