Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just got my green anole on friday and put him in a 10 gallon terranium. I bought him while he was finishing his shed and now hes completely done. I keep the humidity in the 70% range. My problem is that it has been 3 days and i havent seen him eat a cricket. Some walk right by his mouth and he doesnt do anything. Hes brown in colour, so im guessin he's stressed out. Should i give him a couple more days and then start lookin into an appetite stimulant or is there something wrong im doin? Thanks in advance

Make sure he's got plenty of UVB, and I'd go out and buy a larger cage, at least a 20 tall... Anoles require lots of height and LOADS of UVB...

I had some greens a couple of years ago, and the were never as happy indoors as they were outside in reptariums.
-----
Axe
The Reptile Rooms

Hey Axe, long time no see!! Good to see you again!! Do you remember me when we were in this forum a while ago? So, what have you been doing in all these days? Well, I'll tell you my updates: my first hatchling was born in Friday!!! You can find more information about it here. I'm planning to get a pair of leopard geckos in early 2004. Well, that's about all of my updates. How 'bout yours? Did you had any updates with your anoles or other herps?

Tim

well i am using a Repti-Glo 5.0 UVB bulb, and hes kinda small now, only 3-4 inches. Ill be upgrading to a 35 gallon i have later on.

A 10-gallon is fine as long as it's a juvi... but at 4" I'd really move up.

Anyhow, are you providing a light at the top of the enclosure for warmth? Is the set-up naturalistic and very lush, as they live in trees? Are there enough hiding places?

I'd make sure of all these things being certain, and maybe also cover two or three sides of the tank and give your little one lots of alone time, and also wait a few days until stress improves--although it will only happen given the enclosure is set-up correctly. Good luck, and let us all know how he/she does.
-----
Got hips like Cinderella / Must be having a good shame / Talking sweet about nothing / Cookie I think you're Tame

All anoles have potential of being a bit stressed out when they arrive into their new home. Even mine did for a few days. Don't worry, this is normal, and if everything goes well, your anoles will be soon happy and green enough. But if your pet stays same brown and having no interest in eating for a long time, tell us, and we'll see what we can do.

Tim

ok my setup is like this, sorry if its hard to dsecribe, but theres a fake wood branch that extend from side to side almost, sloping upwards to the left, on the left theres the heat lamp, the UVB lamop goes across the top mostly, i have it angled to give the heatlamp more room. Heat lamp gives off like 95 degree temp on the top of the log. on the right side i have fake plants pretty well covering the side for him to hide in. One thing i am missing is the backdrop, so im gonna put one on today. I have a little dripper drippin on the leaves/branch and bed-a-beast substrate.

The temperature's a bit too high. Lower it a bit, probably down to 80's.

Tim

I think he's talking about the basking spot. 90-95 Farenheit is fine as long as there are cooler parts to the enclosure and the light comes from the top.

Anyhow, the set-up sounds fine as far as I can tell, so, yes, I'd just give your bugger some more time
-----
Got hips like Cinderella / Must be having a good shame / Talking sweet about nothing / Cookie I think you're Tame

update: still hasnt eaten as i found 2 dead crickets in the corner, but his colour appears to have improved somewhat to a mix of green and brown.but another negative is that i dont really think he moved from one spot for a long time, live over 5 hours, well he coulda moved and moved back but we'll see tomm.

should i look into an apetite stimulant? like one of these:

Jurassiguard

JurassiFruit

Exo Terra Electrodize

This is rather odd. My anoles were bright, active, and well-eating in my cage a week after they arrived, but two weeks passed and they're still not eating? And no color improvements... well, it's possible that you have chosen a wrong anole, a diseased or sick one.

Tim

whoa back up, its been 5 days, not 2 weeks, sorry if u got confused by something i said.

Update: Today i bought waxworms, put 2 in the tank, 1 appears to be missing so hopefully he ate it. But the other one is dead and the cricket i havent seen in a while so he might have gotten eaten *fingers crossed*

colour is sligtly getting dark green with brown patchs all over, still not close to normal green

given him plenty of time alone today, cause last couple days i might be stressin him by over watching him.

so slight improvements i guess

Just because hes not green doesnt mean he's not healthy or happy. Ive seen anoles in 200g planted aquariums, brown all the time. It depends on the individual, though i think i would keep worrying about the not eating part.

If you just bought it, it still might need time to adjust.

Keep it in a quite room with no distractions, noise, or commotion to lessen stress.

Just keep in mind that green anoles dont have to be green to be happy...

Just my opinion

M.N

My green anole is brown all the time. She's healthy and fat and eats plenty. Lots of plants and sticks, good temps and humidity. She just seems to like being brown. Several different shades of brown and sometimes with speckles. When she's sleeping she gets a sort of greenish grey brown, but that's as close as she gets to green.
-----
Torey
D'oh! 0.1 Uromastyx Geyri (Arthur)
0.1 Anolis Carolinensis (Leeloo)
1.0 Betta Splendens (Mr. Miagi)
1.1 Felis Domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)

Really? Mine's green for 95% of the time.

Tim

Yeah - my old male used to be green probably 75% of the time. As far as I can tell though, the little girl is fine, she's just brown a lot.
-----
Torey
D'oh! 0.1 Uromastyx Geyri (Arthur)
0.1 Anolis Carolinensis (Leeloo)
1.0 Betta Splendens (Mr. Miagi)
1.1 Felis Domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)

The problem could be as simple as needing to replace your UVA/UVB bulb when a Green anole is always brown. Could be many things. They should *usually* be green, but, of course, will turn brown for many different reasons for some time.
-----
Got hips like Cinderella / Must be having a good shame / Talking sweet about nothing / Cookie I think you're Tame

A happy green anole should never be brown all the time.

If it's brown for a good while, it does not necessarily mean the animal is stressed or unhappy... however, a green anole should not always be brown. If it is, something is wrong.
-----
Got hips like Cinderella / Must be having a good shame / Talking sweet about nothing / Cookie I think you're Tame

I agree. If the anole's brown for most of the time, but eating well, then the temperature could be too low, since anoles turn into dark colors to warm themselves up a bit. Dark colors collect heat, and everyone knows this. But a truly happy one must be green for most of the time.

Tim

Right. Keyword: most. A green should be green most of the time. Even half of the time is probably acceptable, but even that might mean something.

Being brown could be for a few different reasons, but I've NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER seen a brown anole in the wild that was brown for more than a little bit. Another thing could be that the anole has parasites or might not have the proper nutrition. Too much humidity, too little, too little air circulation, not enough hiding spots, a mirror nearby, other males, too many anoles in the enclosure, too small of an enclosure, aggressive individuals, mixing, ate something bad for it, etc.
-----
Got hips like Cinderella / Must be having a good shame / Talking sweet about nothing / Cookie I think you're Tame

I never kept brown anoles before, but if they're happy, their color is rather light grayish-brown, am I right?

Tim

Well, I'd worry if they're always dark, but there are many that stay dark for long periods and I wouldn't think it's as much of a problem as long as they're not always very dark. But, they're not as sensitive or stressed as greens, so it's not as much of a problem.

Some males stay very dark for long periods and it just seems like this male is usually dark and that one is usually light because they build habits like that.
-----
Got hips like Cinderella / Must be having a good shame / Talking sweet about nothing / Cookie I think you're Tame

How about lighting? Some Anoles pigments react to too much/ too little light or heat, and may cause them to change colors.

But, yea, for most people with adequate lighting and heating, this shouldnt be an issue...

M.N

Well, since anoles need UVA and UVB lighting anyway, that should never even be an issue.
-----
Got hips like Cinderella / Must be having a good shame / Talking sweet about nothing / Cookie I think you're Tame

.
-----
Phelsuma Madagascariensis Grandis, Phelsuma Laticauda, Stenodactylus Petrii, Rhacodactylus Ciliatus, Eublepharis Macularius, Anolis Carolinensis, Agalychnis Callidryas, Hyla Cinerea, Mantella Madagascariensis, Dendrobates Azureus, Mantella AurienticaMy Email

NP
-----
Got hips like Cinderella / Must be having a good shame / Talking sweet about nothing / Cookie I think you're Tame