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#2268996
Weejimmy
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Substrate??!!? 
I have a ten gallon tank currently housing 1 female anole. (my male died of unknown causes) i was thinking maybe i should just keep 1 because my females partners always seem to die out of nowhere while she remains healthy. I was thinking about why it couldve died. I use an eco earth substrate. Every time my male would go down to catch a cricket he would also end up picking up some of the substrate and eating it. Could eating the substrate have killed my anole?? He went from super healthy and happy and then started to stop eating and he was brown at the bottom of the tank and didnt move for 2-3 days. So could him eating some of the substrate killed him some how?? Please help because if this is the reason i really would like to get another friend for my female but dont want anything else to go wrong.
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06/06/12 10:53am
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#2268998
Deidrea
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Message To: Weejimmy In reference to Message Id: 2268996
Substrate??!!?
Is it possible he was an older anole....maybe he passed of natural causes? Sounds like you took very good care of him :) One thing I did notice from your previous post, I don’t think they need to have a vitamin powder with calcium if they are exposed to UVB. There are different types, some with D3, some without D3. Sorry for your loss.
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06/06/12 11:01am
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#2269000
Deidrea
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Message To: Deidrea In reference to Message Id: 2268998
Substrate??!!?
I forgot to add that I doubt using vitamin powder with D3 in combination with your UVB had anything to do with what happened. Just wanted to let you know that they probably don’t need the extra calcium if they have UVB provided. I have read, however, that too much D3 can be toxic for them.
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06/06/12 11:22am
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#2269005
Weejimmy
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Message To: Deidrea In reference to Message Id: 2269000
Substrate??!!?
Thanks for your reply. And everywhere i looked it said that even though they have a UVB light they still need the calcium powder. I dont think he was very old either. He was definatly a full grown adult when i got him and was a very spunky little guy. Oh well. I cant really help what happened. Just being curious for future references.
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06/06/12 12:17pm
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#2269008
Deidrea
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Message To: Weejimmy In reference to Message Id: 2269005
Substrate??!!?
Below is an older post written by Atrax in regards to D3. Who would have thought a little lizard’s needs could be so complex! You are right, you can’t help what happened! The research you are doing shows what a thoughtful caregiver you are to your anoles :)
D3 is the intermediate step between the calcium compounds in an Anole’s diet and the finished, usable calcium used for bones and eggs. It is converted into usable calcium by the UVB radiation in natural sunlight or a UVB tube. Too much D3 is toxic whereas too much calcium is simply excreted from the system. That is why calcium supplements without D3 are recommended for Anoles. They need UVB to synthesize it into usable calcium and since they should already have a UVB source, supplemental D3 becomes redundant.
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06/06/12 12:43pm
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#2269087
Weejimmy
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Message To: Deidrea In reference to Message Id: 2269008
Substrate??!!?
Haha thanks so much!! When i purchased my first anole (my female) i came right home and did thorough research to make sure i made my animals life the best it could be!!! Hearing that you think i am a good caretaker just boosts my confidence in caring for them!!!! Thanks again for your responses and compliments!! Cheers!
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06/06/12 09:50pm
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#2269687
DrDewlap
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Message To: Weejimmy In reference to Message Id: 2269087
Substrate??!!?
There is a thing called "impaction" where foreign objects get lodged in the gastrointestinal tract of an animal and waste is unable to get through, backs up, and causes death. Substrate like woodchips and sand is a big offender in this, so it’s always wise to use things like Eco carpet or puppy pads. They’re easy to clean too!
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06/11/12 07:40pm
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#2269740
Weejimmy
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Message To: DrDewlap In reference to Message Id: 2269687
Substrate??!!?
That is exactly what i thought happened. I used to have the carpet in there but was having to hard of a time keeping up my humidity so i switched to eco earth subsrate and it works great. And i found that he did "go" regularly. I didnt really pay much attention in the end because i was gone most of the time his health went downhill and thought he was molting when he started acting weird. Thanks for the reply.
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06/12/12 12:05pm
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#2269865
Baja
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Message To: Weejimmy In reference to Message Id: 2269740
Substrate??!!?
Maybe you could use tongs to feed him next time.
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06/13/12 11:23am
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#2269870
Thorn_Reaper
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Message To: Weejimmy In reference to Message Id: 2268996
 It is the substrate....
there are several problems here. 1- you should NEVER leave the food loose in the tank. while the lizard sleeps the crickets climb on him and knaw on him. ive made the mistake,and now my basilisk has bald patches on his tail, literally NO SCALES. just skin. Not only that but ive been to pet stores where the crickets have drilled holes into batcheds of bearded dragons. 2- The substrate- no matter how eco it says on the label- will kill your lizard. the grains if ingested cut up hiss systems and cause internal bleeding. a couple years ago i had an aligator lizard in as sandy "eco" substrate.( it saisd it on the label) he too ingested it when he ate. after a month and a half he died, and his mouth was full of blood. Later on my substrate became wood chips. the red kind you put in gardens. i washed them thourouhgly, let them dry in the sun, and put it in the tank. only setback is that i clean out the tank now once a month, to prevent bacteria and mold growth. better yet you should get a bowl,( a fancy rock bowl, a mcdonalks cup, whatever) and kingd of push it into the soil so that its kind of like a hole and put the crickets in there so that they will do no harm and ensure that your freind will not eat the substrate. 3- you could do what i did. hand feed him. you must have patience because of how curious they are. trust me i know- it would take me 20 minutes to feed him because of how excited and jumpy he was. just sit with hjim on the floor (preferably hard floor) and let it crawl around until he is interested. later on when he becomed more comfortable you can just show him the cricket in your hand and he’ll go for it. this also allows him to learn to become at ease with you. ( i fed my anole large crickets and mealworms. he was full grown and only ate one, but he always took it from me when offered! :)
4- mabye you arnt meeting his accomodations. is he happy in his tank? My anole was wild caught and very picky. (i found him around my house and i wouldve let him go but he had scarring tusue and was missing 5 toes (out of all of them). he was old, but sweet, once he grew comfortable around me and his tank. i misted his tank regularly and every night changed his water with warm water, and draped a towl over the tank , for humidity. expeiriment a loittle and see what tickles his fancy.
I hope this helped. (sources- experience)
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06/13/12 12:05pm
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#2269941
Atrax27407
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Message To: Thorn_Reaper In reference to Message Id: 2269870
It is the substrate....
Please read my care sheet. It has details on the best substrates.
1 - Only partially correct. If you leave live prey items in the enclosure, be sure to provide them with food. Ground up Rabbit Pellets work fine for crickets if they are place in the cut-off bottom of a plastic cup, for example.
2 - Not strictly correct. There are substrates that are completely digestible.
3 - Feeding every other day seems to work just fine. The Anoles are a bit hungry and don’t hesitate going after the prey items. A varied diet also helps. Moths are excellent.
4 - If you keep your Anole in the conditions tht I outlined in my care sheet, he will do just fine.
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06/13/12 08:19pm
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#2269957
Weejimmy
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Message To: Thorn_Reaper In reference to Message Id: 2269870
It is the substrate....
1-I have never left the crickets loose in the cage. My anoles would always eat them all up. 2- the substrate isnt sand. It is made up of crushed coconut fibers or coconut husk. 4- my anole was very happy. He ate regulararly and was always green and always basking in his UVB or basking light. Trust me. I am pretty sure that it was not my care that was the problem. I did TONS of research when i got my first one about a year ago from many different sources including here. I read Atrax’s entire care sheet and everything. I made sure i made my anoles habitat as perfect as i could possibly make it.
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06/13/12 11:19pm
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#2283879
Krisiz
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Message To: Weejimmy In reference to Message Id: 2268996
Substrate??!!?
That is exactly what happen to me also. I have two anoles and got tired of the crickets hiding in the wood chips of the cage so a pet store associate suggested me using the coconut fiber substrate so the crickets could no longer hide from the anoles. It was working great, but then noticed the anoles would get some of the fibers in their mouth along with the crickets that they were swallowing. Now one of my anoles have died, they were both healthy green anoles running around the cage. I started using this new substrate about two weeks ago and can’t help wondering if it was this subsrtate that made my other anole die. It died exactly how you posted also, he was super healthy and happy then stopped eating and stopped moving and was a dark brown. I did everything I could to help him, was trying to hand feed him and even tried giving him a dot of water through a dropper to see if I could hydrate him. He was suffering and I couldn’t do anything to help him get better. He died two or three days ago and now I’m noticing the other anole is not turning green anymore and not really moving as much, but did hand feed him a couple of crickets. So, he is eating today, but there happen to be another cricket loose in his cage and he went for it and got it, but got a big piece of coconut fiber substrate in his mouth with the cricket and gulped it down. Now, very worried this is the very thing that killed my first anole. Is this subsrtate safe to be swallowed by the cricket?? It may be too late now for this cricket too. Very worried can you help???
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10/26/12 02:50pm
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#2283939
Weejimmy
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Message To: Krisiz In reference to Message Id: 2283879
Substrate??!!?
Well its been months now since i lost both of my anoles from this random cause and have moved on to the crested gecko(a hardier reptile) but i still have all of the information stuffed in my head. I dont know if its too late for your little guy now but maybe you could try what someone else posted and put the crickets in a little container that they cant get out of so you can prevent him from getting any more substrate in his system. I would also keep trying to force him some water. My really old anole i had like two years ago was dying of i think old age or some sort of parasite he may have picked up in the store and i just made a little puddle by his and he drank it right up. This sometimes seemed to make him a bit spunkier. Plus yours is going to need water if hes going to digest his cricket let alone the substrate. I think that would be a good first step to kind of clean his system out and almost start fresh. Maybe he will start to gain his appetite again after that. I do know a lot but im not an expert this is just what i would do.
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10/27/12 02:59pm
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