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One of my Green Anoles has gradually been devloping this bulbous mass on the left side of his neck over the past week. It's...squishy...
And today, I see that another of my green anoles is starting to devlop it in the same place! Is it a parasite? Can reptiles get cancer?
One of the anoles has been mine for two years, but I took the other one from a person who didn't want it. It was in awful condition, as was its cage. Could that be a problem? Thanks for any info.

I've never seen that in my anoles. Sounds like an infection of some kind...possibly parasitic.

I would take it to a herp vet.

So, these growths appeared after you got the anole that had not been properly cared for?

It's always a good idea to quarantine new anoles for a time. This should include having a stool sample analyzed for parasites. If this new anole came from unhygenic conditions, it may well have spread a bacterial infection.

Again, a trip to a herp vet is a very good idea.

-Abscesses

"Abscesses are interesting things... They do not necessarily occur at the site of an injury, and often do not occur in any proximity to an injury - they may form where there was no injury, and may form months after an injury was apparently well-healed," says Melissa Kaplan. So what is an abscess? The dictionary defines one as a localized collection of pus surrounded by inflamed tissue. That is basically what it is. They can form where an injury occurred, where an injury was but supposedly healed, and even where no injury ever occurred at all. Usually swelling occurs, though it can remain under the skin as well. If it swells, it's usually fluid/puss filled, and it oozes yellow liquids. What causes them? Usually injury causes most abscesses. Anoles stress easily. Heck, captivity is perpetually stressful. Being stressed messes with the immune system, making abscesses possible. But like I mentioned earlier, they can also form where no injuries were present. Poor hygiene and improper care always seem to be a factor when people encounter abscesses.

The most common type (which is currently being debated upon as to whether or not they're even abscesses) are two large bumps on the sides of the Anole's neck. In most cases, a vet needs to be seen, and the bubbles need to be lanced and drained.

Also see Lumps and Bumps for treatment."

Lumps and bumps

A seemingly common ailment for Anoles, is one where a lump/bubble appears on each side of the Anole's neck (for some they occur elsewhere). A popular site documented such a case saying they were abscesses. Well, at this point in time I had heard of this ailment many times. I wanted to be able to link it to some sort of common flaw in everyday Anole care -- as to explain why this ailment is so reoccurring.

Strangely enough, someone on the Internet who was facing this very ailment decided to take some action. This person made a few modifications to the enclosure. She made sure the UVB light was a lot less than 12" from the basking spot. She reintroduced multivitamin supplements once or twice a week (having previously not used them), and she reduced calcium supplementation down to once a week. In a little bit of time, the lumps shrunk!!

Note the following:

1. UVB/A fluorescents emit UV very weakly. The amount a reptile receives differs greatly with their proximity to the bulb. Anything beyond 12" and they will not get enough UVB.

2. It's best to include supplements in a lizard's diet no matter what. Of course you must gutload the insects and keep them as healthy as possible, but a multivitamin supplementation must be given once or twice a week. No more though. Calcium, the most important mineral for reptiles, should also only be given once or twice a week. See my "Vitamins" page for info on what to use.

3. The calcium's benefits go hand in hand with the UVB lighting. Lots of UVB and little calcium is kinda bad, lots of calcium and little UVB is also bad, and of course, omitting either is very bad.

4. In terms of oral supplements, avoid giving D3 at all costs. Allow your reptiles to regulate and make their own D3 through exposure to UVB light.

Two lumps on the lateral sides of an Anole's neck is actually a common ailment these days. This now leads me to believe its commonality lies in typical care problems associated with anomalies surrounding supplements and UV lighting and possibly sanitary issues. So if you encounter this ailment, make the changes talked about here. If your supplementation is already fine, and your UVB lamp is setup perfectly, and you still encounter this ailment, read my "Prep cleaning" and "Disinfecting" pages, because odds are you're not keeping the cage clean enough. If nothing shrinks the lumps/bumps/bubbles, a vet will need to be seen to have them lanced and drained.
Neck lumps and abscesses

Wow! Thanks a lot for the info.

You should bookmark that site. It really has excellent info.

The author seems a little militant to me, but I think he/she is just trying to scare off people who are not serious and commited to keeping anoles properly. Probably not a bad thing...