Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Last month, I rescued a very small female anole from my dogs. She was bleeding and close to death when I brought her inside. I nursed her back to health but she refuses to eat anything but flies (which I can no longer find) and peach baby food. I have tried pinhead crickets, mealworms, wax worms, etc. She doesn't seem to know that they are food. She has gotten even skinner though she did shed a couple of weeks ago when I could get her flies easily.

Anyway, I would love to release her back into the wild, but I have a couple of concerns:

1. Is it too cold to release her? I live in Myrtle Beach, SC but the weather varies from 30 degrees during the winter.

2. I don't mind keeping her until the spring, but since she isn't eating anything except flies (and I am so stressed out about not finding any...I even have gone to the dump trying to find one...got ONE last week)

Does anyone have any suggestions? She is so little, maybe she needs other anoles to show her what to eat? Should I bring her to a rescue? Does anyone know of any in South Carolina?

Any help would be greatly apprecaited. I don't want to hurt her or starve her now that she has gotten better.

Thanks!

If you can possibly keep her, do. If she's not up to snuff yet, she probably wouldn't fare well if you let her go again.

Any chance of other flying bugs? Moths or anything?

Beyond that, you can mail order fly pupae. I've only done it once or twice, and it's kind of awkward and expensive, but it would give you something to feed her. You can keep them in the fridge to slow the hatching, and take out a few at a time to put in the cage. As I recall, they tended to hatch out sooner than I wanted anyway, even in the fridge. But at least it's something. This is one place to get them:
http://www.oregonfeederinsects.com/feederinsects.html
There are probably others as well.

Have you tried large fruit flies? They're a pain and possibly too small to interest her, but who knows.

Good luck with her, and hang in there.
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1.3 Saharan Uros (Joe, Arthur, Hitch, Lefty, and Skywalker)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
1.3 Collared Lizards (Ripcord, Thiamine, Riboflavin, and Niacin)
2.0 Green Anoles (Bowser and Sprocket)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

Thanks for the link, Torey. I will order some today.

She does eat moths but she isn't really intereseted in fruit flies (large, I'm not sure?) I haven't been able to catch any moths either since it has gotten cold.

I think we might keep her. She is so little and very gentle and trusting. If we can get her eating something on her own that is readily available, that would be wonderful, though!

Thanks, again for your help.

Heather

Hi el toro,

I just got the fly pulpa yesterday. How long does it take for them to hatch? I followed the instructions on the website but they really aren't moving away from the light like I thought them would have been. I put a few in another cage to see if anything happened overnight but still nothing. I wonder if they are dead? I was so excited to finally get something for Sweet Pea (my anole) to eat but now I am worried it might be a bust.

I will keep you posted.

thanks again!

Heather

Fly Pupae!!

Honestly, it's been so long since I've used them, I'm not sure. I just tossed a few pupae in the cage every few days and let them do their thing in the warmth. The rest I kept cool to slow the change.

I hope it works out for you, and you get *something* for her to eat. Let us know how she's doing.
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1.3 Saharan Uros (Joe, Arthur, Hitch, Lefty, and Skywalker)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
1.3 Collared Lizards (Ripcord, Thiamine, Riboflavin, and Niacin)
2.0 Green Anoles (Bowser and Sprocket)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

Very sorry to hear that. Any updates?
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Reptiles
Bearded dragon food