Handling green anoles

Discussion in 'Anoles' started by 00luke00, Jan 30, 2007.

  1. 00luke00

    00luke00 Well-Known Member

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    I just wanted to make a post to try and point out to people WHY green anoles should not be handled once and for all. Too many times do people come away from pet stored with a "cheap" new pet, that the guy at the pet store has told them to handle. They then find this site, and are amazed by the fact that the guy at the pet store was lying through his teeth, and totally disregarding the welfare of the animal. Let's face it, most of them just want your money.

    "But my anole enjoys handling, he even turns green when i hold him, and doesn't try to escape." This means nothing. The anole MAY be green, but this does not neccessarily mean it is happy. Your body heat is just the right temperature for them, and some anoles have been known to 'act dead' so if the seem they are just laying there or have 'fallen asleep,' don't be fooled, they are most probably scared out of there minds, all you have to do is compare our size, to theirs, and you will see why.

    In a few words, ultimately anoles do NOT enjoy handling. It causes stress, and sickness, and in the long run, maybe even death. It's a strong statement, but sometimes we have to face the truth. Just because you have a anole or whatever pet for that matter, just because it cost YOU money, does not mean that you have the right to decide if you should care for it properly or not.

    Anoles could live upto 7 years in captivity if cared for properly but many do not make it past three. What's more important, you having 'fun' handling your anole, or it's general well-being? I know what i'd say.

    Let just hope the people who like handling their anoles, or who think their anoles enjoy it, or even those who don't know that anoles don't like handling, will come across this post, and listen.

    Luke
     
    mariahb and ELF2240 like this.
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. plmarsg8

    plmarsg8 Well-Known Member

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    You hit the mark perfectly Luke. If people want something to handle, try a mouse or something. Anoles CANNOT be tamed or love to be handled. If you really want to appreciate your anole, keep Follow the guidelines and dont handle them
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. 00luke00

    00luke00 Well-Known Member

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    Thanks plmarsq8, hopefully this post will get my message accross, if not, at least we have tried :D
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. plmarsg8

    plmarsg8 Well-Known Member

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    All we can do is hope that people wont risk stressing their Anole. They think its a cute little lizard that they can take on walks or something. Get a dog if you want to handle something.
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. my_baby_anoles

    my_baby_anoles Member

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    I totally agree. One of my anoles had an abscess on her neck half the size of her head when she was given to me because her previous owner just played with them and bothered them. I do handle mine, just for when i have to clean the tank, therefore they are moved to another one, or when I was sexing them...other than that i really do not touch much...one thing though...today i put a calm cricket on the top of my hand, and moved it towards my anole slowly...when the cricket moved, the anole jumped on my hand, ate it, sat for a moment, and back to his tree...
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. 00luke00

    00luke00 Well-Known Member

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    Yeh, that's a good point. Handling should only occur when it is necessary. Thanks for bringing this up my_baby_anoles, i wasn't trying to say to everybody not to touch their anoles at ALL, but only when cleaning tanks etc :)
     
  12. ANOLE_BABY

    ANOLE_BABY Embryo

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    I just got my green anole yesterday, i dont mean to start anything, but my green anole does like being handled. I found this out becouse when i was changing his water, he jumped on my hand. I let him walk around my arm a bit and decided to put him back since I read that they don't like to be handled, but when i tried putting him back he wouldn't jump off or anything. So i tried setting him down an he just climbed back up my arm. I tried putting him back for at least ten minutes he wouldn't. So i gave in and he's currently sleeping ontop of my hand. Just sayin. :]
     
  13. plmarsg8

    plmarsg8 Well-Known Member

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    Handling them only stresses them. Reptiles seem to momentarily relish our body heat. This often makes it appear as though they enjoy being held. Some people think that taking them out to hold them only seems to affect their behavior because their instincts alert them to the fact that they're out of the enclosure. That is why it did not jump off when you tried to put it in the enclosure. This would make handling an almost cruel practice. Imagine teasing a prisoner and then reintroducing him/her to a cell.
    Changing the water?
    You should not need a water dish. They drink water from droplets that are sprayed in the enclosure.
    I found this out becouse when i was changing his water, he jumped on my hand.
     
  14. 00luke00

    00luke00 Well-Known Member

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    That's the exact reason i actually made this sticky. So many people believe that thier anoles actually ENJOY handling, when it's pretty much the opposite. It stresses them out, Period, for all the above reasons :wink:
     
  15. goldanole

    goldanole New Member

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    Anoles are rather too small, and risky to be handled and on top of that too fast if they happen to escape from your grasp. I learned this the hard way when I was about 6-7 when I had my second anole,Simba. I constantly picked up my anole and was too fooled thinking he liked it because he turned green and didn't fret or moved but one sad night it happened. Being a kid I wasn't thinking while handling him he managed to slip through my hand and I never found him until about 2 months later when me and my dad were cleaning my room and to my horror I found his skeleton near my toy box. Since then I never took my anoles out of their tank or handled them unless absolutely nessecary such as cleaning their tanks or moving them to a new one or if something doesn't seem quite right with them I'll handle them to check over them to see if they're sick but I never handle them for "fun" anymore.
    Just another reason why you should never handle your anole. If they get the chance to escape they're too small and too fast to for the average human to catch them without hurting them or worst and there's so many places where they can crawl into and die of starvation and dehydration.
    So next time you feel like picking up your anole for "fun" think of my poor Simba who ended up paying for such a simple mistake.
     
  16. plmarsg8

    plmarsg8 Well-Known Member

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    Thank you for sharing that. That is first hand experience about what can happen if you handle anoles. I am sorry for your loss.
     
  17. twinkletoze

    twinkletoze Embryo

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    I'm sorry for your loss too.

    I acually never touch mine because they're too darn fast for me. Even when cleaning the tank. I've learned how to do it with them in there. My Anoles very obviously do NOT like being handled.
     
  18. plmarsg8

    plmarsg8 Well-Known Member

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    Most reptiles, including anoles, never liked to be handled ever.
     
  19. gecko94

    gecko94 New Member

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    I resent that. It is true anoles and other small lizards do not enjoy beig handled. But some lizards like my Beardie, Pancake, loves to be handled. She acually demands it. My friends Ball Python loves to be handled. Same with my teacher's Red Tail. You are right in some cases yes, most small lizards do not tolerate being handled. I am afraid to hold my Leo for fear he will escape andi won't be able to find him. So what you wrote is definitely no 100% true.
     
  20. 00luke00

    00luke00 Well-Known Member

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    This has always been a big debate, whether or not any reptile likes to be handled or whether they simply tolerate it. I'm unsure as to how you've figured that your beardie demands handling though.
     
  21. unrealjill

    unrealjill Well-Known Member

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    ::edited to include my highlight::
    Which is why he wrote that 'most' reptiles don't like to be handled, not all. Plmarsg8 never represented it as an all encompassing statement. The majority of reptiles don't 'like' it but will tolerate it. It's by no means restricted to small lizards, reptiles are just developed to be handled by humans, that is not what evolution has given them.
     
  22. Barnacle06

    Barnacle06 New Member

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    I agree 100% that anoles should not be handled, they are too fragile to simply hold
     
  23. anolemamaluv

    anolemamaluv Embryo

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    I never realized that, I mean, one of my anoles, speedy, refuses to be held and my other anole slo-mo refuses to be put back in her cage, but usually I have her crawl on me, and when she begins to get get brown, I put her back. So they really don't? :?: :idea: :?:
     
  24. 00luke00

    00luke00 Well-Known Member

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    Nope, some will take it better than others although most will just not take to it at all. It does them no good whatsoever.
     
  25. anolemamaluv

    anolemamaluv Embryo

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    My uncle says that if you just place them on your finger they don't mind because it's like a branch.
     

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