Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Not surprisingly all four of our cats are obsessed with the lizards. They can't get up near the tank, but watch from the floor and the edge of the bed (a few feet away). Anyway, the male seems to HATE our white cat, Kuma. You will come in to look at the lizards and he will be on the front vine puffing up and threatening the cat! He also turns so brown (whole body, even his belly) that he's almost black. Is he afraid or territorial?

He's been a little on edge the last few days since we took his girlfriend out for an hour (big arms in your living space must be awful) and has been puffing up more often at the cat.

I feel really bad he's getting upset, but the cats get free roam of the apartment and there is no way to close them off from the lizards (the claw at closed doors and I rent!).

Is there anything I can do to help him relax? I think the main reason Kuma freaks him out the most is because, being white, he's more visible. The female couldn't care less about any of the cats. Thanks!

-Martha

Well, could he be so upset because he was getting ready to shed? I came in last night and his tail skin was lifting off, we didn't see it coming at all! I watched him eat the tail skin and clean it up. The thing is, no other part of him seems to be shedding, just his tail. Could it have gone so fast we wouldn't have seen it, or did it just start on his tail? Could the fact that he dropped it recently have anything to do with the tail shed? It's starting to grow back already!

Do they tend to get all hopped up and grouchy when they shed? I feel bad that he's always in a tizzy over nothing!

In my opinion snakes do get a little extra irritated just before shed when there eyes go blue but I don’t think it’s the same for lizards, Cats are a predatory animal and do in the wild catch and eat Anoles, They are natural enemies and should not be in close proximity to each other. In my opinion your cats are more than likely crossing the line and stressing your Anole out. Stress is the #1 killer in captive lizards so anything that causes stress is not good. I was into reptile husbandry many many years ago and got out of the hobby. I eventually got married, had a son and of course I married a cat lover. We had 2 cats for a while and then for an unknown reason several years ago I got back into the hobby. All the cats were kicked outside do to bad experiences the first time I was a part of this hobby. I will not allow any breed of feline, no matter house “reptile friendly” they are. This is just my opinion.
My Research and Collection

Posted by: jasonw at Wed Apr 5 02:32:02 2006 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ]

In my opinion snakes do get a little extra irritated just before shed when there eyes go blue but I don’t think it’s the same for lizards, Cats are a predatory animal and do in the wild catch and eat Anoles, They are natural enemies and should not be in close proximity to each other. In my opinion your cats are more than likely crossing the line and stressing your Anole out. Stress is the #1 killer in captive lizards so anything that causes stress is not good. I was into reptile husbandry many many years ago and got out of the hobby. I eventually got married, had a son and of course I married a cat lover. We had 2 cats for a while and then for an unknown reason several years ago I got back into the hobby. All the cats were kicked outside do to bad experiences the first time I was a part of this hobby. I will not allow any breed of feline, no matter house “reptile friendly” they are. This is just my opinion.
My Research and Collection

You could just keep the reptiles in a room with closed door and problem solved.
I had a Basenji for 14 yrs and he made cats look like bad hunters he lived to kill lizards , snakes in the yard. I just had the lizards and small snakes in a room with closed door.
In her case only thing she can do is either put anole tank in bathroom (they like the humidity to) or put dark paper with tape to cover glass so lizards and cats cant see each other because your right the cats will stress them out till they die.