Anolis Cuvieri Help!

[Reptiloso]

Hey guys! Here are some pics of my wild caught Anolis Cuvieri (Puertorican Giant anole). Hes acclimated well to captivity and is pigging out on dubias. He's obviously a male, and it seems he has some war wounds. I'm worried about the tip of his mouth, it seems as though he has mouth rot, maybe he got this in a territorial fight or something. It looks a lot better than before because he recently shed his skin, but i am still concerned. So, how about it? Is it mouth rot? Should i worry? If it is...what do i do?
Here are the pics.

 

[Sgvreptiles]

It looks like nose rub. What size tank is he in? Do you notice him"scratching" at the glass alot during the day?

 

[Reptiloso]

he doesn't scratch it at all! he barely touches the walls...he loves to bask and then put his face in the water bowl...maybe its the water bowl? needs to be deeper? But it kinda was like that when i caught him....so maybe he got it in a fight in the wild.

 

[Matusallem]

Anolis species are known to have low anti-bodies, so if it has mouth rot then it would probably be lethargic and definitely with an opaque or dark coloration. If it is active and running around with that gorgeous coloration then it is just fine. Try mealworms instead of dubias as these are softer and might be easier for him to eat (considering he might have some pain). I don't think he has mouth rot and the "Scar" will probably be lost in about 4 molts.

 

[Reptiloso]

Thanx a lot for the recommendation Matusallem! I plan on deparasitizing him soon, so i want him to be as healthy as possible.

Edit: oh, and he is in a 55 gallon tank

 

[Matusallem]

Please use febendazole for three days straight. This medicine is often use to remove parasites from horses and other big mammals but it has proven to work on small doses for reptiles with no ill effects. Best of luck with your wild caught non-endangered anolis.:biggrin:

 

[Reptiloso]

i planned on using panacur, and i found a site with dosage procedures and recommendations for reptile dosages. Check it out: Common Reptile Drugs and Dosages

 

[danscantle]

I'd hold off on pancur, he looks like he has good body weight. His mouth indicates he's rubbing it against the glass - maybe when you're not around, maybe when he pounces on food. Considering covering 3 of the sides so he feels more secure.

 

[Matusallem]

I wouldn't hold off on pancur. As it may be stressful, I think it is necessary. Not because of the weight, but because it is wild caught. Wild Caught = 100% parasites. More on, if you have other reptile pets you should def. do it. Yes, it may be his nose being robbed off, but you stated that you found the anolis like that. If that is the case then there is nothing to worry about the glass and nose being rubbed.

 

[danscantle]

I wouldn't hold off on pancur. As it may be stressful, I think it is necessary. Not because of the weight, but because it is wild caught. Wild Caught = 100% parasites. More on, if you have other reptile pets you should def. do it. Yes, it may be his nose being robbed off, but you stated that you found the anolis like that. If that is the case then there is nothing to worry about the glass and nose being rubbed.

I don't want to go down this route, but if all animals in the wild have parasites, how do any species survive without pancur?

I haven't pancured any animal for over 6 years, and that includes roughly 700 Anolis sp. I've collected, exported, and have been maintained in a laboratory since. If animals are eating, drinking, maintaining weight, and behaving normally, what's the problem?

 

[Matusallem]

Well that is because saying All wild animals have parasites is not equal to saying all animals with parasites will die! Furthermore, a parasite a native lizard you caught might not kill it, but it might kill your pakistani leopard gecko, or your african monitor. See what I mean? This is herpetoculture volume 0.00001. For starters, every wild caught animal should be kept away for a determined amount of time, and should be treated for parasites before introducing it into your reptile room/cage. This will also apply to other animals.

Regarding the export/ import of non native species without proper quarentine, it is a very dangerous practice as you may be (and most likely are) introducing new parasites and diseases to other places that are not the natural environment of these, and you are potentially affecting the other country's population. A popular example of this is the "recently" found fungus that kills frogs in a world-wide scale: The Chytrid Fungus, which is still of unknown origins thanks to these type of low control animal exporting.

 

[danscantle]

Pancur doesn't kill chytrid, so far as I know.

 

[Matusallem]

Dude. . . chytrid is an example I used. Pancur is for some endoparasites, chytrid is a fungus. I thought I was writing to someone that could keep up with an educated conversation.

 

[PassPort]

I just can't believe you are trying to argue with Dan on points of herpetoculture.

I'll second the negatory on the Panacure - I've had it wipe out the kidneys on healthy animals that I was trying to "de-parasite." If the animal is healthy and maintaining weight, don't risk it - not worth it at all. Also, it does look like snout rub on the glass or top screen. Covering 3 sides will help with that, like Dan stated earlier.

Again, what is the tank size?

 

[danscantle]

Dude. . . chytrid is an example I used. Pancur is for some endoparasites, chytrid is a fungus. I thought I was writing to someone that could keep up with an educated conversation.

Hahaha. My points were subtle.

1) We don't know what healthy levels of "parasites" are for most species, and it's imprudent and unjustified to assume killing them all is appropriate.

2) If you want to kill off all parasites (i.e., why you advise pancur) you'll won't be able to kill them all - namely, fungal pathogens.

3) Good quarantine and sterilization measures are what really matters, but this wasn't a discussion about quarantine, was it? It devolved into a hissy fit about prophylactic treatment.

4) If you want to keep up an educated conversation, it's silly to suggest that animals as evolutionary divergent as anoles, eublepharid geckos, and varanids will readily exchange the majority of their pathogens/parasites. That doesn't consider the numerous life history and physiological adaptations pathogens/parasites have to their hosts.

I understand there are often many successful approaches to husbandry. My approach seems to be working for me; my life list for squamate species I've bred is over 150 (still humble by many standards). What's your tally?

 

[Matusallem]

For the record, I did not advice Pancur, and again, fungus was only an example. You seem to be a hobbyist, therefore this argument is futile. My tally? Two projects of amphibian conservation, I study biology, and have been breeding feeder insects since I was 14 years old. Please do further research on how diseases are transmitted between species of different regions. I'm sure you'll find plenty of info in google (i.e. B. constrictors and other snakes, cocci between different geckos and viruses like the ranavirus)

 

[Reptiloso]

I dunno i guess i just want to play it safe. I dont want him to develop some nasty stuff from parasites, and i plan to get a female to see if i can get them to reproduce; anolis cuvieri babies must look painfully cute! Im not quite finished with terrarium decoration, and i plan to get more plants in it, as he loves to climb, and ill fabricate a natural looking terrarium background complete with fake plants, vines, and what not...(although preparing one for a 55 gal tank must not be an easy task).

 

[danscantle]

For the record, I did not advice Pancur, and again, fungus was only an example. You seem to be a hobbyist, therefore this argument is futile. My tally? Two projects of amphibian conservation, I study biology, and have been breeding feeder insects since I was 14 years old. Please do further research on how diseases are transmitted between species of different regions. I'm sure you'll find plenty of info in google (i.e. B. constrictors and other snakes, cocci between different geckos and viruses like the ranavirus)

I genuinely resent this post. The whole hobbyist label is just stupid. What are you trying to imply? Are you really an elitist snob? I recently had an exotics vet hand me a print out from Melissa Kaplan's reptile care website that was completely flawed, and you just remind me of the experience. You sound like someone with very little experience in the hobby passing on advice that you have not appropriately field tested.

The fact of the matter is, I am a hobbyist. But I'm also in my 4th year as a PhD student studying ecology and evolution (a field of study in which I also hold a B.S. and a M.S.).

 

[danscantle]

I dunno i guess i just want to play it safe. I dont want him to develop some nasty stuff from parasites, and i plan to get a female to see if i can get them to reproduce; anolis cuvieri babies must look painfully cute! Im not quite finished with terrarium decoration, and i plan to get more plants in it, as he loves to climb, and ill fabricate a natural looking terrarium background complete with fake plants, vines, and what not...(although preparing one for a 55 gal tank must not be an easy task).

The babies look quite different from the adults...

 

[Reptiloso]

Heh! Buzzkill dan! Anyway, now i'm a bit confused, different deparasitizer? or hold off of anything?