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Knight Anole Care (For the few of us out there)
Table Of Contents General Information Housing Feeding Specific Care Sexing Breeding General Information The Cuban Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) is the largest member of family Polychrotidae (all anoles). The largest estimated size of the knight anole is roughly 19 3/8 inches. There are however, unconfirmed reports of 20- 22 inches, although most of them mature at a much shorter length. Knight Anoles mature quite fast at some surpassing 15 inches within two years. There are 11 recognized subspecies of knight anoles. They are as follows: .Anolis equestris brujensis .Anolis equestris buidei . Anolis equestris cincoleguas .Anolis equestris cyaneus .Anolis equestris equestris .Anolis equestris juraguensis .Anolis equestris persparsus .Anolis equestris potior .Anolis equestris sabinalensis .Anolis equestris thomasi .Anolis equestris verreonensis While there are many subspecies, most if not all that you will see at pet stores are Anolis equestris equestris with subspecies such as Anolis equestris thomasi being much more difficult to locate. The appearance of knight anoles can have quite some variability within their range of color. They can range from light blue, green, yellow, and dark brown to almost black. Like their more common cousins the green anoles (Anolis carolinensis), they can change their color at will based on three layers of chromatophores. Their body is slightly different from more common anoles in that they have a very triangular head with sometimes random spots and lines of color in and around the head. Many knight anoles have a pronounced dorsal crest with spikes. Knight anoles are somewhat more difficult to keep in captivity than Anolis carolinensis or Anolis sagrei. I would not recommend attempting to keep one unless you have some experience with green or brown anoles. They have more needs than other anoles such as large housing and can become stressed more easily. With all of this said, if everything is taken into account for their care requirements, they can make great pets. Be prepared for a longer commitment than with green anoles as they can supposedly live up to 16 years of age. Housing Knight anoles require much more space for housing than green or brown anoles. The suggested MINIMUM cage size is 30 gallons per knight anole. If you plan on keeping a single knight anole, I suggest that it is kept in at least a 40 gallon cage. For these animals, try to get a TALL cage rather than LONG as they are arboreal and stay mainly in the lower branches of trees in the wild. There are two possible types of cages that you can use. The first is a typical glass aquarium such as the ones used to house fish. These have many advantages and disadvantages. An advantage is that they are clear so that you can perfectly view your reptile. They also hold heat and humidity fairly well. Some disadvantages are that they aren’t very well ventilated and a screen top is a must. Also, glass blocks nearly all UVB lighting which must be placed on top of the screen cover. Glass aquariums are also rather expensive. The second type of cage that can be used is a mesh cage or reptarium. These can be aluminum screen cages or fine soft mesh screen cages. These are good in that they are very inexpensive and are very well ventilated allowing your knight anole to breath easily. They also don’t block ANY UVB light as long as the lamp has a reflector inside of it. Some disadvantages of mesh cages are the fact that they don’t hold humidity or heat too well. Because of this, the reptile must be misted very frequently (2 to 3 times daily at least). Some say that knight anoles will drink from water bowls (Not all will). Too much misting and the reptile can develop slight respiratory problems. Too little misting, and the reptile will not only be dehydrated, but will have difficulty shedding. This can lead too many problems. If the reptile is unable to shed the skin around its eyes, it may be unable to see prey which may ultimately lead to starvation. The enclosure should also be very visually appealing with many plants, vines, and branches for them to climb on. Below is a complete list of reptile-safe plants that can be placed in the cage. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Abelia African Daisy Sweet Alysum Chamomile Arbutus Asperagus Fern Aster Baby’s Tears Bird’s Nest Fern Boston Fern Bottle Bush Bougainvillea Bridal Veil Bromeliads Camellia Corn Plant Corn flower-also known as bachelors buttons Croton Dracaena Emerald Ripple Eugenia Fuchsia Geranium Hen and Chicks Succulent Hibiscus Hoya Ice plant Japanese aralias Impatiens Jade Plant Jasmine Lavender Marigold Monkey Plant Mother of Pearl Natal Plum Painted nettle Palms Pampas Grass Parlor Palm Peperomia Phoenix Piggyback Plant Pilea Pink Polka Dot Plant Ponytail Plant Purple Velvet Spider Plant Staghorn Fern Swedish Ivy Tree Mallow Umbrella Plant Velvet Plant Wandering Jew Warneckii Wax Plant Zebra plant Zinnias ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personally, my preference is pothos for live plants, although practically any of the above are suitable for your knight anole. The interior of the cage should have a substrate at the base, potted live or fake plants along the substrate that are tall, possible vines in the cage, and branches. Caves are not necessary but can be visually appealing and may or may not be used by your lizard. There are several acceptable things that can be used as a substrate. The best ones are organic potting soil, organic compost, and peat moss. In rare cases, peat moss has caused respiratory problems in small reptiles, but it should be perfectly fine for your cage. The substrate should be 3 to 5 inches high from the base of the cage. They are not diggers and do not need a deep burrowing substrate. It is acceptable to place 2 to 3 inches of gravel underneath the soil as a drainage system if plants are directly rooted within the substrate, or simply for looks. The plants within the cage should add to the climbing area for the knight anole. Knight anoles can be rather lazy at times and may lay on a branch for hours at a time. There are several necessary lights for knight anoles to thrive in captivity. First, knight anoles need some form of incandescent lighting. This can be in the form of a day bulb, spot lamp, or any relatively low watt bulb that produces heat. This should be on one side of the cage in a basking spot that is somewhat elevated (This can be something like a branch). This area should be at least 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The ambient temperature in the cage during the day should be in the mid 80s. There should also be a cooler side on the tank. This is a perfect spot to place a UVB light. Knight anoles should have this preferably in the form of a long strip light. It is best to have one that is roughly 5% UVB. This is necessary for diurnal reptiles such as knight anoles to prevent metabolic bone disease (similar to osteoporosis in reptiles). It is sometimes best to have this running the entire length of the cage is possible. It is best to avoid compact UVB bulbs which have been proven to cause eye problems in reptiles. The lights should be on for about 12 to 14 hours daily to emulate subtropical conditions. In the winter, shorten this time to fit that of where you live. Also, the humidity should be somewhere between 65 to 70% at all times. If you live in a place that gets cold during the winter, it is best to use a night light in the form of a red, black, or purple light. These produce little light but some heat for your lizards. Many knight anoles die of the cold conditions in Florida winters. Feeding Knight anoles will consume a wide variety of foods if given the chance. Because of their large size, they can eat more things than their green anole cousins. Knight anoles should be fed either everyday or every other day. A good staple of their diet are gut-loaded crickets. These are crickets that have been given food in advance. My knight anole eats anywhere from 6 to 10 crickets every other day with one to three crickets in the days between major feedings plus moths occasionally, and fruits are offered weekly. Although, there isn’t a requirement for a set feeding schedule, there should be some order. Several other good foods include: silkworms, moths, grasshoppers, small feeder fish, mealworms, fruit flies/house flies, earthworms, and adults may be fed pinky mice. If you choose to feed your knight anole a small feeder fish such as a rosy red minnow, make sure that the fish is free of disease and safe to feed. Knight anoles can be fed many wild caught food items that are safe and removed from a pesticide free area. Examples of safe wild caught food items are crickets, grasshoppers, roaches (not household roaches such as the American cockroach), earwigs, may flies, lake flies, dragon flies, damsel flies, termites, cicadas, leafhoppers, aphids, lacewings, ant lions, bee flies, crane flies, and hover flies. Several items are high in fat and should only be offered as treats once or twice a week maximum including wax worms, hornet/bee larvae, and safe caterpillars. Never feed caterpillars with spikes, hairs, etc. as they are irritants and some may even be poisonous. Knight anoles also may consume small amounts of fruit in their diet. Some will eat apple sauce, grapes, peaches, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, and other soft fruits. Adult knight anoles can consume small pinky mice in their diet that may be frozen and then thawed or live. Some people may give them feeder anoles as food. However, I would not recommend this for several reasons. One, I love green anoles as I own several and could not stand to do something such as that. Two, there is a HUGE variety of other foods that they can be fed and it is simply not necessary. And three, while unlikely, a green anole could possibly injure your knight anole in the process of being attacked. Below is a sample table of a possible feeding schedule for your knight anole. It may not suit every knight anole’s needs however. Possible Feeding Schedule For My Knight Anole Day of The Week Food Items Monday 6 Large Dusted Crickets Tuesday 2 Large Undusted Crickets Wednesday 6 Large Dusted Crickets Thursday 2 Large Undusted Crickets Friday 6 Large Undusted Crickets Saturday 2 Large Undusted Crickets Sunday Blueberries, Applesauce, Strawberries, Grapes, etc. Specific Care Knight Anoles have somewhat different care needs than that of green anoles. Knight anoles like green anoles do not enjoy being handled, but can be very aggressive. Knight anoles are much more aggressive than green anoles. Their bites can and will draw blood and can be quite painful (More painful supposedly than that of the tokay gecko). UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES!!!!, should you house two males together. For a breeding pair of a male and a female I would suggest at least a 65 gallon cage (Bigger is better). If you intend on housing a harem of one male and 2 or more females, I suggest a large custom made cage that is at least three feet wide by three feet long by five feet high. Males can sometimes be violent towards the females within the cage. Females may even be violent towards each other at times. Handling them is best to be avoided entirely, some may be able to be held but they will most likely become quite stressed by it. Knight Anoles SHOULD NOT be kept with any other types of reptiles or amphibians. If it is small it may be eaten by your lizard. In fact, smaller species of anoles such as the green anole and bark anole comprise a small portion of their diet at times in the wild. Because almost all of the knight anoles that you will see in a pet store are wild caught, they may be stressed at first. When I first purchased my knight anole. It didn’t seem to want to eat at all. In fact, it hardly ate anything for about the first two weeks that I had it. Eventually, it became a ravenous eater and devoured many crickets from then on. Sexing Sexing the knight anoles is generally the same way as sexing a green anole. To be completely sure, you must check for the two post-anal scales that are only present on males. Males also typically possess two hemi-penal bulges at the base of the tail. Males and females both possess dewlaps. Males tend to have larger/more triangular heads along with larger dewlaps, but it is not an accurate way to sex them. Breeding Breeding knight anoles is a little more difficult than breeding green anoles. In the wild, a male knight anole may be with a group of 1 to 3 females. Males are highly territorial and have similar displays of any anole. In captivity, if a female is willing to mate, she will stay on a branch or plant and the male will bite her neck (probably more painful than green anoles‘ mating!!!). If conditions are successful in captivity, they may mate. Typically, about a month after breeding, the female will lay an egg under soil that she digs. She will lay a new egg about every week or so. Unlike green anoles, the incubation period can be over two months. The babies hatch out at about 5 inches each. Within two years, they can surpass a size of 15 inches. Disclaimer Not having a huge amount of experience with knight anoles, not all of the information is from my own personal knowledge. I have compiled some information from various online sources and with the permission of the people that I know that keep/breed knight anoles. If you are considering to purchase a Cuban Knight Anole I would advise you to consult this and many other care sheets in order to find as much information as possible. ~~~~Chase Leinart aka coolguy132435~~~~ |
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| 06/15/08 07:50pm |
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Yexalen View Profile |
Message To: Coolguy132435 In reference to Message Id: 1762042 Knight Anole Care (For the few of us out there)
I am looking into other plants for one of my lizards and never heard of many of those being on a "safe list" of tropical plants.... just curious... |
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| 06/16/08 11:48pm |
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Coolguy132435 View Profile |
Message To: Yexalen In reference to Message Id: 1763497 Knight Anole Care (For the few of us out there)
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| 06/17/08 01:02pm |
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TwilightRealm View Profile |
Message To: Coolguy132435 In reference to Message Id: 1763851 Knight Anole Care (For the few of us out there)
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| 06/17/08 01:06pm |
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Coolguy132435 View Profile |
Message To: TwilightRealm In reference to Message Id: 1763856 Knight Anole Care (For the few of us out there)
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| 06/17/08 05:31pm |
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Yexalen View Profile |
Message To: Coolguy132435 In reference to Message Id: 1764135 Knight Anole Care (For the few of us out there)
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| 06/20/08 09:15pm |
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Atrax27407 View Profile |
Message To: Yexalen In reference to Message Id: 1767996 Knight Anole Care (For the few of us out there)
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| 06/21/08 11:32am |
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Coolguy132435 View Profile |
Message To: Atrax27407 In reference to Message Id: 1768451 Knight Anole Care (For the few of us out there)
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| 06/21/08 12:26pm |
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Yexalen View Profile |
Message To: Coolguy132435 In reference to Message Id: 1768492 Knight Anole Care (For the few of us out there)
With my water dragon I have to be careful because i only known of a few that can hold up to his weight, his claws, and that are non toxic. The anoles aren’t much of a problem to buy plants for. Any non toxic one works ha ha |
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| 06/27/08 04:24am |
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Missy squirrel View Profile |
Message To: Yexalen In reference to Message Id: 1775247
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| 06/29/08 03:13pm |
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Coolguy132435 View Profile |
Message To: Missy squirrel In reference to Message Id: 1777634 Knight Anole Care (For the few of us out there)
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| 08/17/08 07:09pm |
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Peas_on_earth View Profile |
Message To: Coolguy132435 In reference to Message Id: 1834195 Knight Anole Care (For the few of us out there)
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| 08/17/08 10:43pm |
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