Joined: Nov 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 1,640 Location: Wells, Maine
CUBAN KNIGHT ANOLE - CARE « Thread Started on Sept 1, 2007, 11:11am »
Cuban Knight Anole Care Sheet by John E Dove
Most people do not realize that purchasing the lizard should be the last step in the process. Following is a list of items you should purchase and get set up prior to acquiring your Anole. Each will be discussed more in depth further into the care sheet.
1 Enclosure/Tank/Cage 1 UVB Light Source and Fixture 1 Basking Light and Fixture 1 Under Tank Heater or other night heat source 1 Misting Bottle 2 Thermometers 1 Hygrometer Live or silk plants Climbing Branches Terrestrial Hides Substrate
The important part of keeping anoles is to make sure that their habitat is appropriate and properly set up.
Housing:
Knight Anoles are highly arboreal in nature and generally require a custom enclosure to accommodate their needs.
A well ventilated enclosure 30 - 45 inches side to side X 15 24 inches front to back X 24 30 inches tall is ideal for 1 Knight Anole If more than one Anole is to be house in a single enclosure the size should be increased proportionately to allow enough living space without over crowding.
Though it is acceptable to keep multiple females or one male and several females in a single enclosure you should never keep more than one male in a single enclosure. As with most lizards males will fight to drive other males out of their territory and in the confine of an enclosure this will result in stress for all concerned and can lead to injuries or death.
Landscaping:
Since Anoles are not burrowers an overly deep substrate is not required. As a substrate I suggest 2 3 inches of loosely packed peat/sphagnum moss to help supply the required humidity to the environment as well as give the enclosure a natural look.
To make your anole feel at home it is necessary to provide lots climbing branches as well as real or artificial plants and vines to provide hiding places.
Lighting:
As Knight Anoles are diurnal (day active) lizards proper lighting is very important. There are two types of lighting required to ensure good health and both should be set on a timer to ensure they are being supplied in the appropriate amounts.
UVB lighting simulates the natural UVB radiation supplied by the sun. This radiation supplies vital vitamin D3 to the lizard which enables them to assimilate the calcium needed for proper bone growth and to prevent Metabolic Bone Disease. The most commonly used type of light which produces UVB radiation is the florescent bulb type like the Zoo Med Repti-Sun 5.0. This bulb should be placed within 12 inches of the climbing limbs in order to be effective.
The second type of required light is an incandescent spot bulb. This light is used to produce a localized warm basking site on a climbing limb. The basking site heat aids in the digestion of food. It is suggested that the basking site be at one end of the enclosure to allow for a warm and cool end temperature gradient in the enclosure.
Both of these lights should be on a timer to ensure a full 12 14 hour daylight cycle.
Heat:
Knight Anoles do best when kept at temperatures around 85F range with a localized basking spot on a branch that reaches 88 90F during the day. At night temperatures can be allowed to drop into the 75 80F range.
Since a temperature gradient is recommended in the enclosure you should concentrate your heat sources at one end of the enclosure. Of course your basking light bulb will be a primary heat source and may be sufficient to keep the entire enclosure warm. If another heat source should be required or desired as a night heat source an under tank heater placed at the same end of the enclosure as the basking light will help to warm the enclosure.
To make sure that you are maintaining the correct temperatures you will need to install a thermometer at each end of the enclosure. It is also a good idea to install a thermometer to measure the basking spot temperature.
NEVER USE HOT ROCKS AS HEAT FOR ANY REPTILE OR SEVERE BURNS COULD RESULT
Humidity and Water:
The Knight Anole thrives in an environment with relatively humid conditions. In your enclosure need to attempt to keep the humidity at 50 - 70%. To ensure that you are maintaining the correct humidity you will need to install a hygrometer in the enclosure.
While there are a number of methods that could be used to keep the humidity at the proper levels your best choice it to mist the enclosure two or three times each day.
Beyond the fact that misting the enclosure helps keep the humidity at the proper levels when you mist you will also be providing your lizard with drinking water. In the wild Knight Anoles drink dew and other moisture from leaves. They almost never drink from a body of water which makes misting that much more important. It does not hurt to include a shallow water dish in the enclosure just in case but in most cases the water dish will be helping to maintain the humidity more than providing drinking water.
It is important to note that your humidity should not exceed 80% for any extended period of time. Anoles are susceptible to fungal diseases that are the result of high humidity and poor ventilation.
Feeding:
One of the first things to remember when dealing with any species of lizard that are primarily insectivores is that they benefit greatly from a varied diet just as they would have in the wild. Of course in captivity it would be hard to offer grubs, crickets, cockroaches, spiders, moths, and almost any thing else they can catch and swallow for a complete diet so we do the best we can. Whatever you feed you should try to be sure that the prey is not bigger than the space between the lizards eyes.
Juvenile Knight Anoles should be fed daily and adults can be fed every other day. They should be allowed to eat all they will eat which usually amounts to 1 - 3 prey insects of the correct size depending on the age of your Anole. Any prey that is not eaten should be removed from the enclosure to prevent dead prey from polluting the Anoles environment as well as to protect the Anole from becoming food for hungry prey insects.
The following is a list of possible prey items with some of their nutritional information. Note it is important to mention that all prey should be well fed, gut loaded, for at least 24 hours before offering it to your Anoles. Whenever possible add reptile multi vitamins to your gut load.
Silkworms - Protein 54% / Fat 43% / Calcium 0.5% / Phosphorus 0.6% / Chitin (exoskeleton) low amount Earthworms - Protein 10.39% / Fat 7.2% / Calcium 1.18% / Phosphorus .9% / Chitin (exoskeleton) low amount House Fly Larvae Protein 56.5% / Fat 17.2% / Calcium .37% / Phosphorous 1.13% / Chitin (exoskeleton) low amount Crickets - Protein 50% / Fat 44% / Calcium 0.2% / Phosphorus 2.6% / Chitin (exoskeleton) medium amount Waxworms - Protein 27% / Fat 73% / Calcium 0.1% / Phosphorus 0.9% / Chitin (exoskeleton) low amount (These are very high in fat so they should only be used as an occasional treat Mealworms - Protein 37% / Fat 60% / Calcium 0.1% / Phosphorus 1.2% / Chitin (exoskeleton) high amount (Due to the high amount of exoskeleton I recommend only feeding these to your Anole freshly molted when they are softest to avoid any chance of impaction)
In a similar style to geckos, some Anoles will occasionally lap at pureed fruit baby foods mixed with honey, bee pollen and nutritional supplement though there is little or no evidence that supports this being a natural occurrence nor will all Anoles do so.
You can try feeding Knight Anoles small amount of fruits and vegetables. I recommend the use of baby foods to satisfy this requirement though you can try offering finely chopped or grated Butternut Squash, Carrots, Green Beans, Cantaloupe, Apple, Strawberries and Blue Berries.
Supplements:
Prey insects should be dusted with a good quality reptile calcium powder at each feeding.
Caution should be exercised when using vitamin supplements. If you are gut loading your prey insects with vitamins included it is a good idea to only dust the prey every third feeding to avoid over supplementation. If you do not add multi vitamins to your insect gut load then you should dust your prey insects with it every other feeding.
Handling:
If you are looking for an animal that likes to be handled then the Anole is not what you are looking for.
In fact no reptile likes to be handled regardless of what interpretation people may put on the behavior of any given species they handle.
On occasion one will come across an Anole that will tolerate minimal handling without becoming overly stressed but as a rule being held by a giant predator is very stressful to them.
It is quite easy for an Anole to be injured when being handled so it is advisable not to do so any more than is absolutely necessary.
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