Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We were given 2 green anoles by a friend, they have done fine for a while now we have one that won't eat. I have read on the anole care page what to do (cut up wax worms and try to feed her these) but she is very resistant, will only lick a small amount and try to spit it out. She is getting very skinny and I am getting worried. I have seen her drink and keep her cage misted, so I don't think she is dehydrated. She was attacked by our cat a few months ago (lost part of her tail) and I don't know if this trauma would have caused her to stop eating. Can anyone help?

Dario

hey dario,
I know your frustration, I had a green who wouldn't eat either, there are several reasons anoles refuse to eat, usually if the physical reasons are ruled out, that leaves psychological, is it being intimidated by another lizard? is there another lizard in the room that it can see? another lizard in it's cage that is "top dog" (lizard I mean lol). also, not saying anything against you because from your message I don't know anything about your set up, but it may be a humidity issue or a temp. issue. also, if it is a single anole, maybe it wants a friend, if this is the case please remember to properly sex your anole before getting it a friend, you don't want hatchlings until you are much more experianced with anoles. and 2 males will fight to the death, so please be careful here, if you have already checked all these things out and none of them are the problem, maybe try a different size cricket, 2 of my greens are very fussy about the size of their cricks. also, do you feed wild cricks or order them from a breeder, sometimes they don't like wild ones for some reason. WEll, I hope something in this message helps, if not, I'm sorry.

Try a flying insect like a moth or housefly (you can order antiseptically raised ones from several places). They find it hard to resist a flying insect.

I have read that in other places also. I will try and see if she eats. Thanks.
dario

She was in a cage with a much bigger anole (3 altogether) and I have put her and her companion she came with in their own cage now. She has the right humidity, and UVA and UVB light. I have a black piece of paper in between the cages so she can't see the other big anole and frankly I don't know if she is a "she" either. Could be a male. They belong to my son and he will need to look up on how to sex them. So if the other anole was the problem, will she eventually perk up and begin to eat on her own again? Do we just keep hand feeding her cut up worms until she gains some weight? Like I said, they were given to us by someone who didn't take care of them and didn't want them any more and we are suckers for reptiles. We have snakes (my son is the expert here) and a gecko and a tarantula. The anoles are very cute and I would like to see them flourish but it has been a bit of a challenge. Thanks for the information.
Dario