Green Anoles E-Book

Philippe de Vosjoli

• Herausgeber: CompanionHouse Books
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 56

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Beschreibung

A popular beginner's lizard, the green anole is the perfect introduction to the world of reptiles and continues to be popular among new herp lovers. These tiny, neat little lizards with the intense black eyes have suffered the fate of goldfish, as they've been marketed by pet shops as cheap, easy care, insect-eating reptiles. In order to keep green anoles thriving in their vivaria, pet owners must approach their husbandry with care and respect: Philippe de Vosjoli's Green Anoles provides the precise information necessary to reach that goal. The book begins with a chapter about the characteristics and behavior, natural history, and anatomy of green anoles, all of which is critical information for a keep to better understand the needs of his or her pet. As pets, green anoles are best kept in their vivaria and not handled, so the setup of a beautifully landscaped vivarium with proper lighting, heat, humidity, ventilation, and substrate is key. This Advanced Vivarium Systems title offers complete information about housing, feeding and nutrition, diseases and disorders, and breeding as well as how to set up naturalistic vivaria for one or more anoles or a community of anoles and compatible species. The chapter on other anoles recommends some very attractive species for the beginning lizard keeper to expand his anole family, such as the brown anole, big-headed anole, Cuban (or knight) anole, and Jamaican anole. The finale chapter on compatible species includes descriptions and photographs of a half dozen interesting options, such as the flying gecko, pigmy skink, and green tree frog. Resources and index included.

Leseprobe

Vice President, Chief Content Officer: June KikuchiVice President, Kennel Club Books: Andrew DePriscoProduction Supervisor: Jessica JaenschAssistant Production Manager: Tracy VogtmanI-5 Press: Jennifer Calvert, Amy Deputato,Lindsay Hanks, Karen Julian, Jarelle S. SteinDesigned by Michael Vincent CapozziRachel Rice, indexer

Cover photo courtesy of ©R. D. Bartlett

The photographs and illustrations in this book are courtesy of: Philippe de Vosjoli, pp. 5, 17, 33, 38 top, 56;Zig Leszczynski, pp. 7, 27, 29 top, 53; John Tashjian, pp. 8, 49 center and bottom, 40 center and bottom; Jim Bridges, pp. 9, 41, 42, 47, 49 top, 52; Chris Estep, pp. 10, 11, 28, 31, 36, 37, 44; John C. Tyson, pp. 14, 29 bottom; Bill Love, p. 15; Glen Warren, p. 16; R.D. Bartlett, pp. 19, 43, 46; Vern French, pp. 21 top and bottom, 24, 57, 58; Eric Suchman, pp. 23, 39, 40; Paul Freed, pp. 32, 38 bottom; and Tom Jones, p. 50 top.

Copyright ©2001 by Advanced Vivarium Systems®

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Advanced Vivarium Systems, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

LCCN: 96-183295ISBN-10: 1-882770-65-XISBN-13: 9781882770656 eISBN-13:978-1-937049-72-0

An Imprint of I-5 Press™A Division of I-5 Publishing, LLC™3 BurroughsIrvine, CA 92618

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CONTENTS

Introduction

1: The Green Anole as a Pet

2: General Information

3: Selecting Healthy Green Anoles

4: Housing

5: Diet

6: Diseases and Disorders

7: Breeding

8: Creating a Community Vivarium

9: Notes on Other Anoles

10: Compatible Species for Anole Vivaria

11: Naturalistic Vivaria

Recommended Reading

INTRODUCTION

For many of us in herpetoculture, green anoles have become such common pet trade fare that we barely notice them in stores or individual collections. Indeed, these neat little lizards have in their own way become the reptilian counterpart of the goldfish in the aquarium trade: the inexpensive first reptile that we buy our children when they insist on owning a pet.

Many of us forget that green anoles also provided our very first introduction to the class Reptilia and to reptilian consciousness. When we were children, something about that small lizard with those intense little black eyes was totally endearing and captivating, particularly when associated with stories about these lizards—popularly called “chameleons” in the pet trade—changing color. Of course, for children, one of the great features of anoles is that they are so tiny and harmless in appearance parents who would categorically refuse to allow their children to keep a snake or larger lizard usually give in to buying a green anole. After that first step, it is quite a bit easier to convince parents to let children keep another kind of reptile. This is the stepping-stone strategy to becoming a herpetoculturist.

Until recently, green anoles suffered from a cheap-pet stigma. Just like goldfish, green anoles have frequently been marketed as creatures that could survive in the inexpensive setups they were often sold with—the reptile trade’s version of the goldfish bowl: the mini-plastic terrarium. As for food, many retailers used to simply state that a few mealworms offered twice a week would keep the little buggers alive. All of this misinformation on anole care was in line with an antiquated pet marketing philosophy that preyed on the fact that many consumers wouldn’t give much thought to spending $10 or $15 for a cheap pet and its setup. If the animal died, it could be replaced for another couple of bucks. Fortunately, the current trend among pet stores and reptile dealers is to advocate a more responsible philosophy of reptile care than the disposable animal and cheap setup quick-sales strategy that was once so widespread.

This book presents herpetoculture guidelines in line with the current philosophical trend toward responsible herpetoculture. The result, as I hope will be demonstrated by the information and photographs gathered for this book, is an enlightening glimpse into a dimension of the natural world where reptiles still rule: enacting ritual battles for territory, overpowering prey, and casting dragon spells that entrap careless humans into a lifelong fascination.

A male green anole eats the shed skin off its toes. Notice that green anoles don’t mimic the coloration of their surroundings.

CHAPTER 1:

THE GREEN ANOLE AS A PET

Green anoles make great pets, but they are not like dogs and cats. Anoles are best left in their cages to be observed, as they are easily stressed by handling. Like tropical fish, the fun of keeping an anole is in watching it in a beautiful, naturalistic vivarium.

Although there is a small anole harness sometimes offered in the pet trade, anoles for the most part are small and, at times, flighty lizards that are best observed rather than taken out and handled. If you want a pet lizard that can occasionally be handled, consider an Australian bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps) or a blue-tongue skink (Tiliqua scincoides). Both of these species are now bred in some numbers in the United States. Leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius), which are relatively inexpensive compared to the aforementioned species, are also much more suitable for handling than green anoles. Tame green iguanas (Iguana iguana) can also be handled, as can a number of other medium to large lizards, such as Sudan plated lizards (Gerrhosaurus major).

Anoles fare best if you avoid handling them.

CHAPTER 2:

GENERAL INFORMATION

What are anoles? Anole is the common name given to a large group of small-sized to medium-sized New World lizards in the family Polychridae, most of them in the genus Anolis. They are characterized by an elongated form, a relatively long and laterally compressed tail, subdigital lamellae (toe pads), and an extensible throat structure called a dewlap. Most are semi-arboreal or arboreal (tree dwelling or shrub dwelling). All are primarily insectivorous, although some will eat soft fruit and the larger forms occasionally feed on small vertebrates. They are among the most colorful of New World lizards and, with nearly four hundred species, show a diversity of color and pattern even greater than is found in Malagasy day geckos.

Besides the members of the genus Anolis and its subgenera, anoles include the Andesian anoles (Phenacosaurus) and the cryptic ground-dwelling Chamaelinorops barbouri. Almost all of the anoles in the pet trade are wild caught.

The Hispaniolan giant anole (Anolis ricordi