Reptile & Amphibian Forums

what flavor baby food should i get my brown anole?

I have read peach, meat flavored or banana. Mine hates it all though.

Peach is the best bet..mine love it. I'm not sure about banana, because it's pretty high in potassium, but I'm not sure on this one, won't try it. My anoles also like apricot, pear, and strawberry. I've heard of some anoles even liking the meat flavors, but I don't know about that, I've only ever fed mine the fruit ones.

I also feed mine the carrot one sometimes, they like that one. Tried the peas...definitely didn't like it!

How are you feeding them? Maybe I'll try one of these other flavors but mine is the ultimate picky eater.

Andy

My little female eats it right of the tip of a spoon..but my Haitian won't eat with me around (and he's picky too) so I just put a little bit on a small lid (the plastic lid from the baby food, or yoghurt, or whatever) and put it up on his hammock - he won't usually eat off the ground, and he comes around when I leave the room. Peach tends to be the one they always seem to like, some people will even put a bit of honey in it, but I don't recommend this.
Will he let you get close to his face? Mine wouldn't go near it until I put a little bit on the tip of their nose and they licked it off and realized they liked it.
Good luck

Yes, I can get something up to the tip of her mouth but she's none too happy about it most of the times. I have gotten her to eat small pieces of waxworms that way. She is SO picky though. She won't even eat anything with a speck of vitamins on it. She will run up, smell it and turn away.

She recently went on a stretch where she didn't eat for 3 weeks and one day. Then she ate good for 2 weeks and now she hasn't eaten in a week. I'm gonna try the peach and see how it goes.

Thanks,
Andy

Anyone find better luck getting them to eat a specific brand of baby food? I tried some peach a while ago, and they just ignored it, even when I'd put it on their nose/mouth. I was going to try again, just thought I'd see if I should try one of the name brands over a store brand.

Howie

I found some store brands are pretty bland tasting, and didn't even smell like fruit! Which is weird being that the ingredients should be same..but some use more water during processing, and even use "crappy" fruits and veggies (cheaper than nice, healthy ones).
I also came across some brands that use sugar in almost all the jars, so be sure to read the ingredients.
There wasn't much of a difference in price, so I just use the brand names.

>>Yes, I can get something up to the tip of her mouth but she's none too happy about it most of the times. I have gotten her to eat small pieces of waxworms that way. She is SO picky though. She won't even eat anything with a speck of vitamins on it. She will run up, smell it and turn away.
>>
>>She recently went on a stretch where she didn't eat for 3 weeks and one day. Then she ate good for 2 weeks and now she hasn't eaten in a week. I'm gonna try the peach and see how it goes.

Ke aloha no, Andy:
(Greetings)

I *think* I know how you feel. My Anole has been causing me
some concern in that he seems confused and not eating or if
he does eat he doesn't seem to have much gusto for it.
At this point I can't seem to pin down anything that might
be causing him to be the way that he's been the past week.
I *think* it may be that he went through a stressful period
with me putting him in a new and larger tank and then me
having to re-adjust things in his new tank. I tried to keep my
intrusions into his tank to a minimum, but I don't know. Maybe
the combination of being put in a new tank and me going into
it to re-adjust things (like those stupid rubber stick-on
plugs that keep falling off the inside of the tank after I've
stuck them securely to the inside of his tank - Grrrrrrr) has
been a lot more stressful than I imagined it would be for him.
Although today he was quite a bit more active in his tank
after sleeping for about 12 hours last night. If that's the
case , I think the key is not to get too fussy with your Anole
when it seems to be in a period of less activity including
feeding and let her just settle herself down making certain
not to disturb her anymore than absolutely necessary. Offer
her the regular food in the regular amount at the regular time
and if she eats it, fine and if not, after a reasonable amount
of time, remove it from her tank.
Just make certain that her water, humidity, heat and light
are all within recommended ranges and that everything else in
her tank is good such as cleanliness and so forth. IOWs rather
than going into her tank and fussing over her which is of
course our natural reaction to one of our own species or
domesticated cats and dogs, with Anoles/Herps that may very
well be a bad thing to do. It may be best to keep a "as little
as possible" policy and try not to disturb them at all and let
them go through whatever it is that they need to go through.
I don't know how true this is, but I recently read that
Green Anoles and some other herps can and sometimes do go into
brief periods of hibernation! Now the text also said more often
Green Anoles will go into a lesser state called Brumation where
they slow down their activity and food intake and so forth, but
the text clearly says that sometimes Green Anoles can and do
go into brief periods of hibernation.
Green Anoles may very well go into these periods of Brumation
when they find themselves in unmanageable stressful situations
and they react to those type of situations by laying low for a
while until conditions become more favorable and also having
rested a bit more than usual they are better able healthwise
and physically to handle the stressful situation.
My Anole(and maybe yours - it's not clear why you are as
concerned as your message indicates that you are about your
Anole's fussy eating habits...) may be going thru a period of
needing extra downtime (Brumation) to get back to a more normal
relaxed state having recently been inadvertently put through a
somewhat stresful period by me.
A I said to you, I've decided the best thing for *me* to to do
at this point is just to keep his tank conditions as normal
as possible, offer him food every morning, as I usually do, and
otherwise leave him alone completely. I've got his lighting on
an automatic timer so that's one less thing I have to go near
his tank for and be tempted to "do this or adjust that or check
that" and so forth. I do mist his tank several times a day
still and make certain to monitor the temperature and humidity
levels in his tank but otherwise I'm keeping a hands off
policy. Good luck. Peace.

Lizard~King

I have been really concerned since that 3 week period where I figured she was gonna starve to death. I don't want that to happen because I saved her from starving to death a year and a half ago.

I did just move her to a bigger tank at the end of that 3 week period to try to spark something in her. That's what got her into that 2 week eating period. It's been one week so far and she has some decent weight on her but one week turns into 3 real fast.

She does drink water so no problem there. She doesn't hunt or anything but otherwise seems to look and act normal. Today I even saw her jump onto her basking area and head bob a few times. I don't think she would mess with that if she was sick.

Thanks for all the info. Maybe I should leave her be, too. I guess I have been fussing over her tank a bit more than usual.

I'll keep you posted.

Andy

One of the reasons I'm concerned with her going so long without eating is the fact that she's not getting calcium either.

Andy

I'm curious...does she look healthy? Size, color, etc.?
Do you put the crickets in the enclosure, and count the same amount in there after a certain amount of time? I'm asking because she might be eating when you're not watching, which is very common (mine are like that). If her weight, color, activity, etc. are good, then maybe you don't need to worry.

Sometimes they become very stressed about hunting when we stand there and watch them, thinking us to be a threat. Try this..gutload 6-12 crickets, dust them, then put them in the enclosure. Place a small dish in the enclosure with some food for the crickets, so they stay loaded and don't pick on the anole. I use dry baby cereal for this (I found on that has fruits in it and alot of the needed vitamins) and the crickets love it. Check the enclosure about 5-7 days later and see if any are gone.

Exo Terra sells a product called Calcimize, that apparently provides calcium when added to the water they drink (you said she was drinking?). It claims to have high levels of calcium, preventing hypocalcaemia, so maybe this would be an idea?

Try houseflies or moths. Anoles find it almost impossible to resist a flying insect. You can dust flies quite easily. Put the flies in a yogurt cup with some RepCal, MinerAll, etc. (with a lid, of course). Stick the cup in the refrigerator (not the freezer) for 4-5 minutes. The low temperatures will make the flies immobile and unable to fly. Shake the container to coat them with the calcium supplement and dump them in the Anole enclosure. They will revive in a minute or two and the Anole will enjoy the chase and get a dose of calcium as well.

>>I have been really concerned since that 3 week period where I figured she was gonna starve to death. I don't want that to happen because I saved her from starving to death a year and a half ago.

Ke aloha no, Andy:

One food you can try to add to her diet temporarily if you can
buy it locally is waxworms which are quite nutritous although
also quite high in fat. A little extra fat temporarily is
better than no food temporarily, IMO.
Also check online for different insect food suppliers as
there are other insects that Anoles can, will, and would eat
if provided to them.
One place you might want to try is www.ReptileFood.Com
I don't recall which insect it is but one of them you can buy
from them is a self-contained vial of about 500 newborn
insects that take either 12 or 24 days (depending on which
you order) to reach maturity after you recieve them and that
should last you and your Anole at least 2-3 weeks and would
provide a variety to your Anole's diet which is reportedly a
good thing healthwise for any lizard in captivity.
I *think* a 500 count self-containing vial costs like $10.00
or so. Another great food source although I've yet to locate a
source that sells them in a small enough quanity for me with
only a single male Green Anole is silkworms. Silkworms are
reportedly an excellent highly nutritious food source for
Anoles. Fruit babyfood is *I think* a good treat and a good
supplemental source of water for a dehydrated Anole but does
not contain any animal protein which is a very important part
of an Anole's regular diet.

>>I did just move her to a bigger tank at the end of that 3 week period to try to spark something in her. That's what got her into that 2 week eating period. It's been one week so far and she has some decent weight on her but one week turns into 3 real fast.

How is your plants in her new tank? Do you have enough so that
she can hide out inside them? I think that is very important
and allows Anoles in captivity to have a sense that they are
still living undisturbed in their natural environment in the
wild.

>>She does drink water so no problem there. She doesn't hunt or anything but otherwise seems to look and act normal. Today I even saw her jump onto her basking area and head bob a few times. I don't think she would mess with that if she was sick.

The things to look out for are: black spots beneath the eyes (
real bad and will likely die soon), very visible rib cage,
difficulty breathing, very thin tail, sunken eyes, not being
green at all during normal daytime activity and unusual looking
droppings.

>>Thanks for all the info. Maybe I should leave her be, too. I guess I have been fussing over her tank a bit more than usual.
>>I'll keep you posted.

Please do. I hang out here a lot and learn a lot from everyone
and anyone else who hangs out here, too. There are some very
knowledgeable Anole keeper folks here and I've learned a lot
from them and continue to learn a lot. I think this is a
lifelong learning process. And me, I'm still kinda new to all
of this and working as hard as I can to learn as much as I can
as fast as I can. Just the way I am I guess. I'll keep you
posted on how my Anole is doing. Right now it's after midnight
and he's been asleep for about 6 hours already tonight. He
sleeps a lot more and a lot better than I do. ttys. Peace.

Lizard~King

As far as moths, she ignored the one I tried yesterday but she may have been a little stressed. I have more that are turning so I will try those later. There are also a lot of perfect sized spiders throughout my house, mostly due to the fact that I love messing with spiders and usually don't kill them. I have been thinking of throwing some in the tank. They are a natural food so, would that be a problem?

I have been able to keep track of all the food and it has all been accounted for. She is a bit thinner than usual but nothing drastic. No bad spots, no mites, eyes look good and she's very alert and quick. I forgot to mention that she's a Cuban Brown, so no green to watch for of course.

I have waxworms and that's probably what has saved her when I first rescued her and after that 3 week hunger strike. I was able to get her to take a small piece of a WW from tweezers today. I just think if she was sick, she wouldn't have taken it no matter what. She wanted nothing to do with the baby food.

I may have to look into that calcium product for the water. She has stuff to climb on and several hiding places but I guess the tank could use a couple of more plants although she seemed very comfortable in it for the first 2 weeks.

Andy

No, No, No on the spiders!
Atrax can give you the best advice on this subject, as he knows tons on the subject of feeders.
I'm curious about your lighting? Inadequate light (not just UVB, but actual visible light, provided by flourescent lights) will hinder the way they see their food. Visible light is very important, it effects the way they see colors and such.
But I'll leave the bug thing up to Atrax, he's knowledge is awesome

Plenty of light. Incandescent basking bulb, Repti Sun UV and one Grow light (flourescent). All in a well lit plant room. It gets sun too.

I still don't get it about the spiders. I was reading in 'Under the Leaves' that they are a natural food item for Anoles. I'll wait and see on this though.

I'm starting to wonder of she isn't just plain old and slowing down. I've had her for a year and a half and I don't have a clue as to how old she was when I rescued her. Just a thought.

Andy

Yeah, I'm not sure about the spiders, I've just always been told not to, as some are poisionous, but I could be wrong.
Your lighting sounds great..
so I'm wondering if you're right about her age..I had a female that was a rescue and had no idea how old she was, too bad there's no way to tell.
One of my turned the same way a couple months ago and passed away, I stressed for weeks trying to figure something out, but if you're doing everything right, and it sounds like you are, then don't worry too much, she's probably just an old lady

Rather than post a long response, go to "The Anole Forest" at:
http://anoleforest.2ya.com and read the article about wild caught insects and also the one about raising feeder insects.

All spiders are venomous. Some more so than others. Anoles eat a lot of things in the wild and not all of them are good choices for prey items. It is one of the reasons they seldom live beyond 2-3 years in the wild. You could also try Acidophilus drops (available at pet stores). You can put them on a prey insect. They are purported to increase appetite in reptiles. I have never found the need to use them, though.

Andy:
>>As far as moths, she ignored the one I tried yesterday but she may have been a little stressed. I have more that are turning so I will try those later. There are also a lot of perfect sized spiders throughout my house, mostly due to the fact that I love messing with spiders and usually don't kill them. I have been thinking of throwing some in the tank. They are a natural food so, would that be a problem?

Well if you already have plenty of regular live insect food(s) for her that you know for a certainty are safe for her to eat it's probably best not to take any chances with a food you're
not entirely sure about given your concern over her current
condition. Plus if like you said, you usually don't kill your
spiders it's probably best to stick to that practice.

>>I have been able to keep track of all the food and it has all been accounted for. She is a bit thinner than usual but nothing drastic. No bad spots, no mites, eyes look good and she's very alert and quick. I forgot to mention that she's a Cuban Brown, so no green to watch for of course.

Ok. Just make certain not to leave live uneaten food in her tank
for an extended period of time. If she is stressed out even insect prey animals left in her tank for days on end may add to her stress and you want to provide her with an environment where she feels as safe and secure as possible.

>>I have waxworms and that's probably what has saved her when I first rescued her and after that 3 week hunger strike. I was able to get her to take a small piece of a WW from tweezers today. I just think if she was sick, she wouldn't have taken it no matter what. She wanted nothing to do with the baby food.

That's good news to hear. Waxworms can also help put/keep weight on her a bit more quickly than other insect foods. Just remember that the thing that's most important for lizards is a varied diet of different insects. I just mentioned waxworms because I know from reading about Anoles that many Anoles enjoy waxworms
quite a bit and thought that might work in your favor in getting her to start feeding again and as I said waxworms can help keep/put weight on her faster than other insect foods that Anoles like to eat. Just remember no matter what not to associate a particular food with this sort of thing and that Anoles require a varied diet in captivity just like they are able to get for themselves in the wild. Waxworms once in a while
whether she's feeding regular or when she isn't feeding as she usually does along with a variety of other insect foods that are known to be safe and good to feed Anoles is best.

>>I may have to look into that calcium product for the water. She has stuff to climb on and several hiding places but I guess the tank could use a couple of more plants although she seemed very comfortable in it for the first 2 weeks.

I wouldn't put off getting that calcium additive for her water.
It's not likely to be very expensive and hopefully it isn't and there is a local pet store in your area that carries it in stock. I hope she starts feeding again soon and that you'll make certain to let all of us know. Peace.

Lizard~King

My Anole ate a bigger piece of wax worm with calcium on it today from the tweezers. She ignored the cricket from yesterday. It still took some work and patience to get her to eat it. She would taste and then stop. Finally she took it. I'm gonna get a couple of more plants for the tank and see if she gets more comfortable.

Andy

Well that's good to hear
I had to basically annoy my anole when she wouldn't eat..sticking it in her face until she got so mad she snapped at it! Then she looked at it as if to say "mmmmm..why've I been refusing this?!" Then she decided to eat on her own..like a pig!
The plants are a good idea, it'll make her feel safer, plus the crickets will crawl around in the plants and she'd be more likely to eat them in there.
Good luck

Have you tried a flying insect. Moths and flies are good. When given a choice, mine will often choose a flying insect over one that crawls around.

I had ordered flies once but it was so bitter cold that they didn't make the trip (I didn't get one fly to hatch) Now that it's getting warmer, I can try that order again.

A couple of days ago she ignored the one moth that I had. I don't think it was a fair test because I had tried to feed her a wax worm and I think she was aggravated already. The moth has since 'expired' LOL.

I feel a little better since she ate the WW piece with calcium yesterday. I should have a few more moths to try in a few days.

I added some plants and she has much more cover now (she always had a few hiding places) so I'll see if she relaxes a bit.

Andy

I guess this animal is on the come back trail, *again*! She just goes into a funk every once in a while and it seems if I don't step in with a bit of mild force feeding (I should call it coax feeding), she'll die. Anyway, She has this hollow log that she hides in and I used to take crickets that had gotten too big for her, kill them, cut them in half (gory, I know), set them on the log and within a few minutes, she would nail them. Go figure. She hadn't done that in a long time though. Yesterday, after failing to get her to take a piece of WW held into the log with tweezers (another thing she used to do), I decided to leave it outside and a few minutes later, it was gone. She is starting really look filled out too. I'll switch over to crickets this week and see how that goes and if she'll start hunting again. Things are looking up. :]
Andy

As soon as you can, get your hands on some flies or moths and see what she does with those. I routine feed mine both and they love the action.