Wild anole found inside - what to do?

Discussion in 'Anoles' started by Paw-Talk, Dec 3, 2004.

  1. Paw-Talk

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    Tonight I found a wild anole in my laundry room (quite a shock when I lifted up that towel to put in the washer!). It's about 40 degrees outside right now (4am) and I'm afraid to put him outside. He's welcome to stay in my laundry room but I worry about a food source for him. For the night I have him in a spare 5 gallon aquarium. I grabbed some leaves from outside (still on the tree) and some grass and put it in one corner - he's hiding in those. I also have a shallow bowl of filtered water in there (didn't have any spring). I'm fresh out of bugs, though. :)

    I have no desire to keep a wild animal as a pet, I just don't want to kill him by putting him outside if it's too chilly right now. He was apparently inside for a reason ... :? Any suggestions are welcome!

    Here are a couple pics:
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  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. Axe

    Axe Well-Known Member

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    That seems pretty good temporarily, just pop down to the pet store and pick up a few small crickets, and he should be good until it starts to warm up again outside..

    ideally he'll want UVB exposure, but as he's had good exposure up until now, and you plan to release him back into the wild once it's warmed up a bit, he'll be able to make up for it if you don't provide him with a UVB bulb for a couple of weeks.

    Just make sure you've got a tight fitting screen on the top, because they can escape really easily :)
     
  4. JEFFREH

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  5. Paw-Talk

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    :shock: Eeek, I was thinking this would be an overnight thing! :) It's just starting to get cold here (NC) so keeping him would mean keeping him through the winter and I can't see my fiance wanting to do that. (He told me I was nuts for not throwing him out last night!)

    What do they normally do through the winter? :?:
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. Axe

    Axe Well-Known Member

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    Normally they'll burrow themselves down before it gets TOO cold... and just kinda sleep off the winter, then wake up after it starts to get warmer again..

    What kind of temperatures are you getting during the day? If it's warm out, then you should be able to let him go, and he'll be able to find shelter :)
     
  8. JEFFREH

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  9. Paw-Talk

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    It's 52 and nearly 2pm here. Warm enough?
     
  10. JEFFREH

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  11. Axe

    Axe Well-Known Member

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    It's a little cool, but he should be able to find somewhere to bed down :)
     
  12. Paw-Talk

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    :) Thanks for your help!
     

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