Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I really have a picky eater here. I thought this brown Anole was sick and gonna die but I found out she just hates crickets no matter what size I try. She's very alert and watches them walk all around but rarely eats them.

Rather than let her starve to death, I went to waxies and she tears them to shreads. I know they are too fatty even though I do starve the fat off of them and I need something else too so I tried mini meal worms and sure enough, she rips into those too. She just hates crickets.

Now the mealworm question. Do any of you people really crush their heads or cut off their mouth parts so they won't eat the stomach of the Anole like was mentioned on the 'Under the Leaves' site? Is this really necessary? I just fed her the first one and I didn't do this. Will that be a problem? Any other feeding ideas for an animal that hates crickets?

Andy

Hi. I had read in an anole book that squashing the heads of mealworms was necessary. I haven't fed mine mealworms b/c of that and I'd hate to find that the worm ate its way out of my pets! I can't think of the book's title at the moment, but can provide that later in the week if you want it.

I've been told that younger anoles will eat fruitflies, have you considered trying those? My local petshop sells flightless ones; yours might also (?)...

hope this helps!

Sure, I would like to know what book you read it in. I just don't know how it's possible. I did a test. I dropped a couple of mealworms in water and they squirm like crazy for a few seconds and they are dead in about 15 or 20 seconds and that's without being chomped on and no digestive juices either.

She ate fruitflies early on but she ignores them now. I think she's too big for them.

Thanks,
Andy

The mealworm story is one of the Anole "urban legends". Anoles are frequently parasitized in the wild by Bot Flies. When the larvae are ready to pupate, they burrow out of the Anole leaving a hole and a usually dead Anole. I'm sure the process is painful and would likely cause the Anole to disgorge a recently-eaten meal (mealworm?). Since 90% of Anoles in the pet trade are wild caught, it is not difficult to imagine how an owner could find a dead Anole with a hole in it and a mealworm in the vicinity. In almost 40 years of keeping Anoles, I have NEVER had or seen a mealworm burrow out of an Anole. I no longer feed my Anoles mealworms -- not because of the story but because they are nutritionally deficient. Besides, their hard exo-skeleton is more difficult to digest that other feeders.

Thanks. I figured as much. I just got a little paranoid. This little Anole has been through so much and survived that I tought it would be a shame for it to get sick over something like this. I have had her over a year so I'm sure she's safe from the bot fly thing.

Any other suggestions for feeding? She's strong and healthy but won't eat crickets. Last night, I found the one I thought she had eaten several days ago (BTW, yes, there is cricket food in the tank).

Andy

I'm sure she would eat silkworms and that would solve some problems but I can't find a place where I can buy smaller quantities. If I ordered online, by the time one little Anole ate a few of these, the rest would be getting way too big to feed and then I would have a whole ton of useless silkworms.

Andy

I know - I would love to get silkworms. If only I had bigger bug eaters, too!

You could try houseflies. You can get them as pupae and only use them as you need them. They were mentioned in a recent thread here. I got some once, but there was a problem with shipping so most were dead by the time I got them. The few that made it got snapped up in an instant (they can't resist food on the wing). I'm planning on getting some from Skipio's soon - or you could try the Carolina Biological Supply. I know Skipio's are raised clean for use as feeders, but I don't know about the Carolina place.

And of course there's roaches. I can't handle that one - I have enough trouble with crickets. But they are very healthful!
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Uromastyx Geyri (Joe and Arthur)
2.0.1 Uromastyx Dispar Maliensis (Tank, Turtle, and new neighbor Spike)
1.2 Anolis Carolinensis (Bowser, Leeloo, and Sprocket)
1.1 African Dwarf Frogs (Bruce and Sheila)
1.0 Betta Splendens (Mr. Miagi)
1.1 Felis Domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)
And several miscellaneous community fish

I had thought about flies once but had forgotten. I think that could do the trick. I wasn't sure if they were any good for them or not. I wonder if that's what spikes are at bait shops. I know they have maggots but I wonder if that's a healthy source. Did you ever feed the pupae (can you?) or just the adult flies? I'm with you on the roaches. NO POSSIBLE WAY! Where do I find that source that you are ordering from?

Andy

It's www.skipios.com. You have to call to place the order. If your critters will eat the larvae, I imagine they would be better for them than the adult flies - which shouldn't be an only food source, but it's a great way to get them to eat or add variety. I've never tried feeding larvae. That's almost as bad as the roaches.

I don't think I would trust the bait shop ones. Goodness knows what they are raised on. A place like Skipios raises them as a food source for birds and reptiles so it's healthy and clean.
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Uromastyx Geyri (Joe and Arthur)
2.0.1 Uromastyx Dispar Maliensis (Tank, Turtle, and new neighbor Spike)
1.2 Anolis Carolinensis (Bowser, Leeloo, and Sprocket)
1.1 African Dwarf Frogs (Bruce and Sheila)
1.0 Betta Splendens (Mr. Miagi)
1.1 Felis Domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)
And several miscellaneous community fish

Thanks El Toro. Let me know how it goes when you get your flies from Skipio's. Maybe I'll give that a try too. I looked at Carolina's page and I didn't see any.

Andy

Yeah, I had to do a search for "housefly". You can get them in smaller quantities than Skipio's, but they seem a little spendy to me.
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Uromastyx Geyri (Joe and Arthur)
2.0.1 Uromastyx Dispar Maliensis (Tank, Turtle, and new neighbor Spike)
1.2 Anolis Carolinensis (Bowser, Leeloo, and Sprocket)
1.1 African Dwarf Frogs (Bruce and Sheila)
1.0 Betta Splendens (Mr. Miagi)
1.1 Felis Domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)
And several miscellaneous community fish

Another source for larvae is Grubco.com. They have them in 50 per cup (minimum of 12 cups) and the total comes to less that $12 including shipping. You could use a suitable medium and let them pupate and have some feeders plus anough to start a sustainable colony.

I would consider giving lobster roaches a try.

I'm sure they're great but I just can't get myself to do that. I have explored caves with bats just inches from my head, had leeches on me and spiders all over while canoeing through a swamp. All with no problem. But the sight of a roach will send me screaming like a little girl. A man has got to know his limitations. :] Thanks for the suggestion though.

Andy

Go to "Life Science", "Animals" and "Insects" on the Carolina Biological website. About $11 for 150 pupae(my experience is about two or three times that number). The last order that I had from Oregon Feeder Insects (aka www.skipio.com) was made over the internet and they quoted a minimum order of 2 ounces (5000 pupae). Their recent pricing is by the ounce (2000 ). Place a dozen or so pupae in a container and they will eclose (emerge) in 3-4 days. They can be stored under refrigeration but the motality rate is substantial. Lots in the 1000's are probably not practical unless you have a bunch of Anoles to feed. You can also "grow your own". Go to "The Anole Forest and you will find a monograph with food and instructions for just about any feeder you want to use. If you are interested in starting a colony of Lobster roaches, contact me by private email.

Well, lobster roaches look quite a bit different from brown roaches (or other types you might encounter). Perhaps they would be less unnerving than you think.

Thanks for the info and sources. there's 3 now and I'll be checking them out. Is it me or does Carolina make it a bit harder than it should be to find stuff?

It's funny, my wife freaked out when I mentioned that I was gonna order flies. Can you inagine if I had said the *R* word? LOL.

Andy

They cater to schools and school systems so they have their stock arranged under various course disciplines. The diivisions aren't logical sometimes except if you remember to look as if you were trying to stock a science classroom.