What to house with single brown anole?

[KrakenQueen]

Argus, my brown anole which hatched back in august(?), is steadily growing larger. I'm unsure on gender yet, but I'm leaning more towards a he.

Anyway, Argus is in a 30-ish gallon tall planted glass tank with two spot lamps, uva/uvb strip, UTH, with temps kept around 87F daytime, 68-70F night time, and humidity levels between 55-65%.

I'd like to put something in the tank with him, preferably something smallish and a little more active and visible. Argus tends to show himself only two to four times a day and mostly hides behind his tree stump when he isn't basking. I only want CB animals as Argus was hatched at home and I assume isn't carrying any parasites or diseases (and all of his plants and tank items were sterilized before placing into the tank).

I'd considered a small toad, like a bumblebee, but that would be dangerous for Argus in case he decided to bite it. So, I then considered a house gecko, which stay similar in size to brown anoles but I've heard they can be aggressive (?) towards tank mates, or may stress out my anole.

Any ideas?

 

[Dog Shrink]

You really shouldn't mix species in a tank because of the reasons you already mentioned. More aggressive, toxic, incompatible housing needs. Better to stick with the same species imo and opposite genders.

 

[KrakenQueen]

That's pretty much what I was thinking, I'm just unsure of Argus' gender and wouldn't want to make the mistake of having two males housed in the same cage. I also don't want crowding. Would two browns be fine in a 30?

My other concern is that, as I said, I only want CB or captive hatched to prevent disease/parasites. Since Brown Anoles are free game in FL due to being invasive, I can easily gather a few eggs and hatch them as I did with Argus. My concern here is their size (yummy treats to a 7 month old), or should I be worried at all?

Edit: And thank you for confirming my first thoughts!

 

[Dog Shrink]

I def think a larger anole would likely eat a smaller younger one, or at least assault and bully it. You could keep several in a 30 gallon. I would wait until you're certain on argus' sex tho before adding another. Has he developed his dew lap yet (the lap under his chin) or has he ever flaired it? There are plenty of places to get nice CB anoles I would think. Fauna classifieds or kingsnake would be good places to look. You could also google image search in order to find other markers tohelp you determine Argus' sex.

 

[KrakenQueen]

I've seen him bobbing (which males and females do), and I've seen what looks to be an attempt to flare though no full dewlap has been produced, but other than that, nothing. Because it's so difficult to handle him and I prefer not to chase Argus around unless I absolutely HAVE to, I tend not to put my hands in the tank. I suppose when I get the chance I will try to catch him and look at the vent to see if he has a hemi-bulge and the scale differences.

All I see on kingsnake most of the time are WC anoles, so I could check out fauna and see what they have there. Do you know whether or not kingsnake allows "wanted" ads?

 

[Dog Shrink]

I'm pretty sure they do but not 100% sure. I usually only look at the for sale parts. I had a green anole when I was little and the lil sucker BIT me really hard... I don't blame you for not wanting to chase him around. Pretty sure you could mix green and brown anoles together.

 

[KrakenQueen]

I'd love to keep a green, but in GA it's illegal to own them. Normally I'll house a green anole in a temp cage for a few days if my cat brings it in or I manage to save it from the cat outside, but I always release them.

Browns are fair game since they are invasive and can be caught (though I do pity them when seen in pet stores packed into a ten gallon enclosure). Another reason for not wanting a WC is just by the fact they were already living in the big, great outdoors, and bringing them inside would depress me too much (and them too!). At least with CB's they've never had that chance to be free.

I'm not worried (for myself) about the bite, I just don't want to stress him out :3 And yes, they have a nasty bite for such a small critter, haha.

Thanks again. I'll look around and see if I can find anything.


--
Edit: Had some luck, Argus was upside down on the screen lid. Gender: Female! The dewlap has a white stripe down the center. I couldn't see the pair of scales near the vent, so, female she is!

 

[Dog Shrink]

Congrats on figuring gender. Good job. Didn't know it was illegal to keep greens in Ga. that's odd.

 

[UnicornSpirit]

If you have the space you should just get another brown anole (a female). They are community lizards and I'm sure your male will love to have his own little harem- even if it's only 1 or 2 other females. That might even perk him out of his hiding.

 

[KrakenQueen]

My concern is whether there is enough space for three, that and I don't want to catch any wild females who may have parasites. Argus was hatched here in a sterile environment (not sure if parasites could be an issue, however I am open to suggestion).

Another concern is if they breed, which is something I have decided I don't particularly want any offspring and wouldn't know what to do with them.

 

[T-ReXx]

My advice would be try to find a cb female. If you can't, collecting eggs might be an idea, but you will have to raise up the babies seperately until you can sex them. Another option is to buy a wc female and take a fecal sample to a qualified reptile vet and have it tested for parasites and treat accordingly. Regardless of what route you go, any new animal should be quarantined for 60 days to ensure health. A 30 gal is large enough for a trio of brown anoles. If you do choose a 1.2 group and you don't want to produce hatchlings, simply freeze the eggs.

 

[KrakenQueen]

The problem is finding the eggs once they're laid. My terrarium setup has all sorts of happy plants, branches, nooks and crannies for females to go nuts over with egg laying. And having collected brown anole eggs before, I'm always amazed at how crammed in to small crevices they can be!

I guess, I also don't want any WC mainly because they've been outside in the great outdoors. I know they aren't native and are horribly invasive- but it's one of those things that bugs me I suppose :E

I don't even know where to look for any CB females, I'm scared I'll come across someone saying theirs is CB when in fact it's been WC. Nearly every post on Kingsnake states the anoles have been wild caught, and I don't know any other site that might offer cb brown anoles... Any suggestions there?

Also, thank you for all the replies!

 

[T-ReXx]

As long as a wc animal is properly quarantined and inspected by a vet for parasites it is no worse an animal than a cb anole. And reptiles don't think, they are instinctual animals, 100%. If the captive environment meets their needs they don't "miss being free" and a captive bred animal released into the wild in proper habitat wouldn't look back. They want the basics, and that's good enough for them.

 

[KrakenQueen]

I suppose I could catch a pair of females on our next trip to Jacksonville then, Q them for two months, get the fecal check and such.

I do have a question though, if you don't mind me asking. The only cage I could potentially use as a Q is fairly small and is something I built. It's 2' tall, 8" wide and 6" deep. Granted I could hang fake plants in it and keep the bottom as papertowels for cleaning. The only problem I can think with this is that it's made of wood with screen sides, the wood I think would be completely counterproductive..Thoughts?

 

[T-ReXx]

That will be fine for QT. Just mist them heavily twice a day and they'll be fine. Anoles do quite well in screened cages if humidity is high enough. It's only short term.

 

[KrakenQueen]

Thanks T-Rexx,
I suppose on my next trip down to Jax I'll catch a pair of striking ladies for Argus.
I appreciate your input!