#99542

 Found anole -- In NYC!

Strange story, but I found a baby anole (99% sure it’s an anole, possibly a brown anole) in my apartment building lobby, here in NYC. The anole was as surprised by this as I was. I believe it must have hatched from one of these two large tropical plants in planters that my bldg. just put in the lobby. Anyway, it’s only about an inch long, a bit longer including the tail. I almost killed it, thinking it was a roach, but I saw almost immediately it was a little lizard. Needless to say, anoles cannot live wild in NYC parks, come fall, should I release him, so I picked him up and made him comfortable in a small terrarium. I would actually like to give him to someone better equipped to care for anoles, but if I can’t find him (her) a good home, my question, if I end up keeping him, is this; he is awfully small, and I don’t think he can manage "grown up" food (crickets, meal worms, etc.). What, and how, do I feed him? I bought a non-live anole food (a bit like an all-bug fish food) but I’m not sure if he’ll eat immobile food. Any help or suggestions will be appreciated, and any knowledgeable local (NYC) anole owner who wants him can contact me privately, as well. Thanks in advance, Gordon

 #99566

 Found anole -- In NYC!

Oh Wow! What a find! I got alot of answers from www.mybabydragon.com so if noone here has answers ask them. Or my local reptile store www.lllreptile.com is a great place. Good Luck! I do know in the summer no heat is probably required, just a good water source, lots of branches and leaves to crawl on and hide in. A UV light also would be a good thing. You can buy pinhead crickets ( teeny tiny little things) but I am not sure how big your lizard is. Could you possibly take a picture sowe know how big he/she is? Good Luck!! xoxo Jill and Aja

 #99719

 Found anole -- In NYC!

Try feeding it necter or the smallest cricits in the pet store (pin heads)it could be a Brown anole cos their known to travel on planes

 #99755

 Found anole -- In NYC!

Thanks, Jill, Aja and Emilio, for your replies; I’m trying to do research as quickly as I can, and will check out the pinhead crickets, too, as both replies suggested. The little guy is only about an inch long, as I’ve said (too small for my camera to photograph well). Since yesterday, he’s turned more green in color. He’s pretty lively, but he’s shown no interest (far as I can see) in the immobile food I bought, crushed bugs and such. What is nectar? From fruit? And how would I give it to him? Thanks again, all. Gordon

 #100144

 Found anole -- In NYC!

it may sound mean, but my little small anole hasn’t eaten in a while, and tonight i thought, thats it, its gonna eat wether it likes it or not... not i got a mealworm, made it small enough for the lizard to ewat, completely covered in in reptivite, picked up the lizard, had it attack my finger, and put the work in its mouth.... it worked..

 #100148

 Found anole -- In NYC!

You can also feed him fruit filies too. I don’t know if there is a petco by you, but you can usually get a culture from there. Or get some small crickets. PE

 #100346

 Found anole -- In NYC!

Got some small crickets at Petco, although they are almost as big as my lil’ buddy here, along with some waxworms. So far as far as I can tell, he’s not eaten anything, or even tried to. I’ve got no problem, theoretically, man-handling him to eat, but he’s so small that I’d crush him if I tried what was suggested two posts up. Remember, the baby crickets are his size (not counting his tail). He’s still lively, sitting on the few plants I put in the tank, but he spends most of his time on the glass, rather than hunting or attempting to eat. I’m going with patience, right now, hoping hunger will win out. Thanks again, Gordon

 #100350

 Found anole -- In NYC!

awesome story... but he’s right.alot of times u have to do that with anoles for a week or two to start them back up and eating normally.u gota do what u gotta do.if u grab them with ur thumb and index finger right befind the jaw then they cannot bite u but their mouths still gape open.u may also want to leave a litle bottle cap full of peach baby food in the tank for him.and about the crickets i just realized....whoever said small crickets is wrong.my adults eat small crickets and for babies u either need true pin heads or fruit flies.(i have nvr fed fruit flies tho.) -hope this helps

 #100440

 Found anole -- In NYC!

Yes -- these crickets are too large, I think, the wax worms gigantic in comparison. As for the force-feeding, I appreciate the idea here, but him biting me is the least of my (or his) troubles. You have to realize this guy’s head is the size of, hmm.. say, a small kernel of corn. No, smaller. Point is, if I put said little head between my thumb and forefinger, I wouldn’t need to worry about what to feed him any longer. I will try the peach baby food, though -- that’s a good suggestion, easily done, if he eats it. So far, he stays only in the trees, and won’t come down (willingly) to the tank floor, so I’ll have to figure a good place to put a bottle cap. I’ll make yet another trip to Petco tomorrow (no big deal -- only about 4 blocks away) and see if they have anything smaller to feed him with, or any more suggestions. As usual, my desire to help out a small creature in need is turning costlier by the hour... Thanks all, Gordon

 #100459

 Found anole -- In NYC!

if he wont come down to eat u could try putting some on the tip of his nose and he should lick it up.many will eat it that way instead.but i think it would be best to be VERY gentle and try force feeding.i have and have had many many babies and i’ve had to do this w/ many.if i were u i’d try...but if u dont feel comfortable doin that then just try the baby food.

 #100703

 Found anole -- In NYC!

i would also like to point out that if you’re too rough, they wil get stressed out when eing force fed... i had to force feed one of mine earlier tonight, and he got black spots behind his eyes...

 #100897

 Found anole -- In NYC!

I had actually responded to Anolekeeper yesterday, but my post didn’t show for some reason. I agree with Ienjoyhavingahouse (don’t rub it in!) -- I tried a little "tough love" on the little guy, just to get some peaches on his snout.. Again, this anole is tiny, just a baby, and I never did get hold of him. He did, however, leap out of my hand and into the gro-light fixture. I turned the light off, fearing the worst, and he leaped back onto my hand, sprung off me and straight back into the tank. Needless to say, he isn’t listless. I’m going to return to the pet store today to find smaller bugs, possibly fruit flies (I love the prospect of willingly bringing those into my house), as right now I not only have one baby anole, I have six baby crickets and two waxworms as pets. Again, I tried to gently handle him, but he’s just too small. What I had said to Anolekeeper is that I realize more experienced anole keepers may be able to get hold of a baby anole (or a grown one, for that matter), but this little lizard is just too small for me to actually grasp, let alone force feed. Any additional suggestions from anyone, however, will be most appreciated. Thanks all, and I hope this post appears, Gordon

 #101025

 Found anole -- In NYC!

ok, so did u get him to eat some peach babyfood?..and btw, u mine as well throw out those crickets and waxworms because he wont be eating those for a while...LOL!and if u get fruit flies he should deffinately eat those,i’m just not sure how u feed them because i’ve never used them.so i guess its worth a try.

 #101395

 Found anole -- In NYC!

I got the peach babyfood, but he won’t touch the stuff. I asked a seemingly well-informed petstore person, and he felt that anoles are purely carnivorous. Long story short, I did get the fruit flies. They are flightless (they have wings, but, having just hatched, they crawl), and so they don’t get out of the top, even though they’re small enough to (well, some did..). The cup of larvae keeps producing new flies, so a cup (supposedly) can last a month or so, producing tons of flies during those weeks. Anyway -- great news! The baby anole seems to be hunting, and the flies seem to be disappearing, although I’ve never actually seen him catch one. Assuming they are not simply dying and falling into the bark, or worse, getting out, I think we’ve got something here. Re the crickets and waxworms, they received a stay of execution and were all released into the wilds of NYC, aka Riverside Park. Frankly, I think the little lizard (whom my son named Jimmy)was afraid of them. He’s been spending much less time on the walls and ceiling since they’ve been removed. Best, Gordon

 #101542

 Found anole -- In NYC!

absolutely great to hear!and the petstore employee is partially right.the adults r strictly carnivores but hatchlings hav been known to eat nectar and baby foods, etc...but i am so happy to hear bout the fruit flies.if i were u tho i would put the baby on paper towels and not repti-bark which i’m assuming u hav.but thas great news!just wondering, since i have never used the flies like i said b4, how do u go about feeding them?

 #101848

 Found anole -- In NYC!

I simply dump the flies into the tank, and they crawl up onto the trees and walls (the latter a slight problem, as some do get out). The anole zips around the tank, presumably eating them (since they eventually disappear). My biggest problem/worry is that the flies are not hatching fast enough to dump more in every day. How many days can an anole (particularly a hatchling) go safely without food? I’m assuming and hoping that he did, in fact, eat well the first day or two. The bark seems to work well in that the anole will now go lower than the leaves/branches and walls -- when I had a light-colored bottom (paper towels), he seemed afraid to come down lower (where the food is, mostly). Why do you feel the towels are preferable, though? More moisture/easier to clean? Best, Gordon

 #102053

 Found anole -- In NYC!

well again, i’m very happy to hear everything is well.now, hatchling anoles, or anoles in general, hav very very high matabolisms so that means they burn food very quickly.because of this, ur hatchling SHOULD be eating everyday, but i guess u could probably go maybe a day or two.now the reason i say paper towels is because 1)easier for the baby to catch the flies if they’re on the ground(b/c cant hide in bark)2)it would be easier to keep it clean for your little hatchling.by the way, i reccomend keeping a very very small water dish in the tank b/c it will be much easier for u in the long run.the reason for this is b/c anoles CAN LEARN to drink from a standing water dish instead of drinking droplets from misting.i hav a large dog food bowl that i use for a water dish now and my anoles will jump down to the rim, lay down and lap up the water and sometimes even swim around!

 #102184

 Found anole -- In NYC!

Great advice -- I keep a small dish in there now, but I have been misting as well; good for the small plants I put in. Maybe if I cut back on the misting, he’ll check out the dish. At this writing, I’ve seen him eat several of the flies -- fast lil’ guy! -- and so I assume he ate the others. In any case, I agree with your assessment that he should eat daily; now that I know he’s eating, I can relax and just add a few less flies at a time. I bought a second cup, to give the first cup time to replenish (after you dump out the available flies, it’s then filled with the larvae, but if the flies are fed off too quickly, you’re left with a cup o’ larvae, not flies). Now, I’m putting in so many that more than a few crawl out. The flies tend to crawl upwards, toward the light and in search of food themselves, and, if not eaten quickly, can manage some flight. All this means that, unlike crickets or mealworms, they are not trying to hide under the bark, but I take your point about the paper towels. I bought the bark to make him more comfortable, which seems to have worked for that purpose. Perhaps as the little guy gets used to me and my enormous, intrusive hand, I can try other, easier to keep clean setups. Thanks again for all your help, Gordon

 #102500

 Found anole -- In NYC!

I AM SOOOOOOOO HAPPY FOR YOU!...now w/ all the anoles i have had not one would withstand being handled.all of mine have hate it even just picking them up.personally,i dont hold my babies at all until they’re usually around adult size.but i guess you can, but the only thing is,if he runs away u’ll NEVER find him!...LOL!about the bark still,as long as the flies dont hide in it then there is no reason u should not keep it....for now atleast.i guess just leave it in.but when he’s bigger and u have to feed crickets,ur not gonna want bark because its just too hard for them to catch the crickets becauyse they hide and u end up w/ more than half the crickets u buy diing.and also wen he’s bigger, the bark can get lodged in his throat if ingested.but as of now i’m guessing the bark is too big to be ingested by him now. p.s.-HAVE FUN W/ UR THRIVING ANOLE!

 #103044

 Found anole -- In NYC!

I’ll keep your bark advice (or no-bark advice, really), in mind. It certainly makes sense. I can use the extra bark for my bonsais... I didn’t mean to imply that I pick up the anole much now, or that I intend to often in the future. Just meant to say that at some point I’m hoping the appearance of my hand(s) in the tank will not freak him out quite so much. And, yes -- if this guy got out in my kitchen, I’d never see him again! Thanks again for all your help; I’ll stay on this forum as he grows to take in other sage advice! Best, Gordon

 #103078

 Found anole -- In NYC!

ANY QUESTIONS,JUST ASK!...AND MOST OF ALL,GOOD LUCK! -anole_keeper

 #113777

 Found anole -- In NYC!

hi thats sweet u found it but yha the reason it might have been in ny cuz sum1 might have let it lose or it got away and endid up in ur apt

 #114319

 Found anole -- In NYC!

no a lot of times when u buy tropical plants from tropical-climate places small lizards lay their eggs in the soil that the plant is in and while shipping the eggs hatch and the baby lizard will stay on that plant.it just happens very very often.it even happened to one of my bestfriends when they bought some kind of plant from the rain forests of coasta rica.

 #114351

 Found anole -- In NYC!

wow that would be cool. ur sitting on a plane and an anole walks out of the restroom