Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Dear Anole Forum,

I've had a beautiful pair of green anoles for a couple of months, and they were doing wonderfully and growing rapidly, until both died suddenly, at the same time without any warning at all. I went through a list of anything that could cause this, and could not come up with anything right away. Nothing had changed in their environment or diet, and they were both vivid green and spirited up to a few hours before their sudden death.

Then I realized, when I had been carrying them around the night before, I thought they may be thirsty, so I let them drink from a nearby tap (instead of giving them their usual conditioned water). They both drank readily, and I didn't think anything of it. Next morning (maybe 8 hours later), I go to feed them and they are both not only dead, but shriveled like prunes and completely hardened. The only thing that I did differently was to let them drink from the tap (which I'd never done before).

So for anyone who has an anole, please, please do not give them tap water. Do not mist their enclosure with tap water either. I learned the hard way that even trace amounts of chlorine, floride, etc. that is in tap water can be fatal to the little guys. Depending on where you live, the water may be more polluted than you know. Don't make the same mistake I did!!

I think the best thing to do is use only bottled water, and also add reptile water conditioner to be safe. A dripper system saves $ on the water expense, and you never know, the people on this board talking about lethargic, sickly, brown, not eating, hiding anoles might benefit from this information.

I'm going to try again, and get a couple more of the little cuties, but this time I will know better!

Good luck all,
Michele

My tap water has never killed any of my anoles. I figure the tap water is probably safer than the non-potable water they drink from the sprinklers outside. Maybe it wasn't the water.

Perhaps your anoles are conditioned to your tap water, or maybe your water is not as polluted as mine, I really have no idea. All I know is, letting them drink from the tap was definitely the only thing that was different for them in the past week, and they suddenly went from healthy to dead in a matter of hours after drinking it. I'm no expert, but I'd say it's better to be safe than sorry...

Do not want to alarm you, but if your anoles died that fast from drinking unpurified tap water, then I would get your water checked asap. Anytime water kills something with no warning it is not a good sign at all. Taking even a shower in that kind of water can be bad for your own health. I have never heard of water of any kind killing an anole (I have heard of them getting real sick then dying, but not just up and dying) so I would get it checked. Contact your local or State department of public health for more information on water quality and testing in your State. They can direct you to private laboratories that are certified to perform drinking water analyses.

This is just my opinion of course im no expert.

Shaon94

Some other possibilities:

Anoles, like most reptiles, are very good at hiding illness. You mentioned carrying them around...this is never a good idea with easily stressed reptiles like anoles. Stress makes animals more susceptable to disease and illness from parasites.
Wild caught anoles always have parasites, unless treated for them. These can build to lethal levels in a captive situation.
The anoles could actually have been very ill, even though they seemed active to you.

Heating accident:
You mentioned they were dried out and hard. Could your heating equipment have malfunctioned, and the cage got too hot? Better double check that!

The fact that both anoles died suddenly IS odd...one would expect that if it were some sort of illness, that one would have died before the other.

Poisoning: Something on one of their feeder insects, something on someone's hands if they were handled. Spraying or fumigating for insects in a community building like an apartment complex...

It's not unfiltered tap water that kills anoles...but I guess we can't rule out that YOUR tap water might have. As the other person suggested...get your water tested! Better to be safe than sorry. It's horrible to imagine tap water so lethal it can kill two lizards after they drink it once.

I will definitely get my water checked. I understand the water in our city has a very high level of floride, although the city claims the water is totally safe for human consumption. The building I live in is over 100 years old, and perhaps there is rust or lime in the pipes. I will definitely get it checked asap, although I've been healthy for the last 8 years drinking the water here.

But I do want to confirm for the group that I'm 99% sure it was the water... there was no heating accident, their food was only small captive crickets from the pet store, dusted with Reptivite. Before handling them that night, I did wash my hands, and I wasn't wearing any perfume or skin lotion. I didn't change the detergent my clothes were washed in, nor was there any chemical spraying for insects anywhere in the vicinity... if they'd have had parasites I doubt they would have been so lively and growing for the 2 months I had them... plus they would have died slowly, and not at the exact same time... up till then, they were each eating normally, and were bright green and alert.

A point of note that supports the idea that they were poisoned is that they died in the exact position where I had placed them in their leaves... death came very suddenly to the both of them. The tank was 86 degrees on the hot side, 79 on the cool side when I found them (which was about normal). If it was too hot, I figure they would have at least died by the dripper trying to get water, or even hiding in the cool side... but they didn't even try to move from where I had put them the night before.

As well, the condition of their bodies was unbelievable! It was as if they had been dead for a week (shriveled like prunes, eyes gone, stiff as rocks) It really seemed like they had been corroded from the inside out. I'm sure the only thing that could do that would be some kind of poison.

I'm sorry for the long post, but my point is that water which is deemed "safe for human consumption" does not mean it is safe for a 3" little anole. People should be aware that this CAN happen, although not too many people would be dumb like me and let their anole drink straight from the tap!!

There is only one other thing that was different actually: A few days previous, I started dusting their crickets with Reptivite (made by Zoo Med) instead of just calcium. Is there any possibility that too much Reptivite could have killed them???? Maybe it's not meant for anoles??? I read the directions, and there was no indication of the type of lizard to use it with... I assumed it would be ok... any thoughts on this??

>>There is only one other thing that was different actually: A few days previous, I started dusting their crickets with Reptivite (made by Zoo Med) instead of just calcium. Is there any possibility that too much Reptivite could have killed them????

I don't think so. My anoles are adults, but I dust with Reptivite a couple of times a month with no ill effects.
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Torey
Salem, Oregon, USA
1.1 Uromastyx Geyri (Joe and Arthur)
1.1 Uromastyx Maliensis (Tank and Turtle)
1.1 Anolis Carolinensis (Bowser and Leeloo)
1.1 African Dwarf Frogs (Bruce and Sheila)
1.0 Betta Splendens (Mr. Miagi)
1.0 Sunset Dwarf Gourami (Sideshow)
0.0.1 False Spotted Corydoras (Spot)
0.0.2 Metae Corydoras (Frank and Jesse)
0.0.2 Dwarf Sucking Oto (Tootsie and Dum-Dum)
1.1 Felis Domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)

you use Reptivite a couple of times a month?? wow, I dusted their crickets every day for 4 days because the label says "for new animals, use every feeding"... but interestingly, the label also states "use in very small amounts"... does this mean it's toxic if too much is used?? geez, now I'm really wondering... could it have possibly been a Reptivite overdose??

I don't know enough to say for sure, but I would really doubt a sudden death like that would be from a vitamin overdose. I would think they would gradually get sick and not die at the same time. Over the long term, too much of some fat-soluble vitamins do cause health problems, and maybe even death (someone with more knowledge will have to say).

On my larger lizards, I dust their food with Reptivite once a week, but since the anoles are smaller, and crickets take a lot more dust than greens, I only did theirs a couple times a month. I use just calcium much more often - about 3 times per week.
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Torey
Salem, Oregon, USA
1.1 Uromastyx Geyri (Joe and Arthur)
1.1 Uromastyx Maliensis (Tank and Turtle)
1.1 Anolis Carolinensis (Bowser and Leeloo)
1.1 African Dwarf Frogs (Bruce and Sheila)
1.0 Betta Splendens (Mr. Miagi)
1.0 Sunset Dwarf Gourami (Sideshow)
0.0.1 False Spotted Corydoras (Spot)
0.0.2 Metae Corydoras (Frank and Jesse)
0.0.2 Dwarf Sucking Oto (Tootsie and Dum-Dum)
1.1 Felis Domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)

Hmm....Too much of some vitamins can cause sudden death, but it's hard to imagine that from reptivite dusted on crickets.

Unless the Reptivite was contaminated? Those products aren't made for human consumption, so they aren't subject to protocols as strict as human products...

That's a definite possibilty that the Reptivite was contaminated, although I'm still thinking it may have been the tap water... just the whole timing issue -- they died within hours of drinking it... pretty sure she died later than him (by the state of their bodies when I found them), which would stand to reason as I let her drink about an hour after him... in hindsight it was a really stupid thing for me to do, and I don't know what I was thinking... I know they're both in anole heaven, but still...

I did send an email to Zoo Med telling them what happened and posing the question whether too much Reptivite could be harmful/fatal for an anole... they haven't responded, although I've tried resending the email once already... I'll call them if I don't hear back, because what happened was truly strange and I'd hate to see it happen to anyone else's anoles.

I'll post Zoo Med's response as soon as I get one...