Wild injured anole....any advice?

[Sonya610]

Yesterday I found a small green anole on the dog bed in the house. Needless to say he didn't come into the house on his own and has suffered some trauma.

Only obvious sign was a tail hanging by a thread, but the little guy was barely moving, eyes are completely shut, and while primarily green there are various brown discolorations along with black spots behind each closed eye (supposedly black spots are a sign of stress).

Soooo....only cage I had was an 8 gallon critter keeper with a plastic top. Put a heating pad around that, a plastic plant, and misted it down. With the plastic top on the critter keeper I can't use a lamp for heat.

This morning the little guy is still alive and currently more active, trying to walk around a bit however his eyes are still closed, I haven't seen him open them. Is that a sign of eye injury?

Any advice? I feel encouraged that he survived the night. Should I just keep things as they are, providing warmth, misting and keeping the little guy quiet for 2-3 days? I don't want to invest in a setup unless/until I believe he will survive.

Photos below:

anole4.jpganole5.jpganole_cage.jpg

[d_virginiana]

It could just be the pictures, but it also seems like he might have a lot of retained skin or something. Instead of just misting, put a humid hide with either wet sphagnum moss or paper towels inside and let him hang out in there for awhile.

Can you get a closeup of the eyes? If both are closed and there is no obvious swelling my guess would be that it's stress and not an injury. I just find it unlikely that he'd get two pretty much invisible eye injuries.

[Sonya610]

It could just be the pictures, but it also seems like he might have a lot of retained skin or something. Instead of just misting, put a humid hide with either wet sphagnum moss or paper towels inside and let him hang out in there for awhile.

Can you get a closeup of the eyes? If both are closed and there is no obvious swelling my guess would be that it's stress and not an injury. I just find it unlikely that he'd get two pretty much invisible eye injuries.

Thanks. He does have what looks like some retained shed on his tail.

And I think you are right about the closed eye thing. After googling I found a few other references to anoles with closed eyes due to illness. Weird thing is he wanders around like that! Not a very good survival strategy.

[d_virginiana]

One more thing; if the tail is injured, you should let it soak in a betadine solution probably daily until it either heals or falls off. Don't want infection to set in.

[joeysgreen]

I'm going to sound like the broken record, but for best results, seek veterinary help.
If that's not desireable on your part, then surrendering it to a licenced wildlife rehabilitator is almost as good (most will have a vet that they work with as necessary).

As of right now what you are doing is certainly not wrong, it's just essentially gambling on it being able to do all the work itself. You are providing proper husbandry, which is a replication of what it experiences outside, minus the predators.

Ideally what would happen is a thorough physical examination, offering of pain and wound management as needed, and fluid and nutritional support while the body is recovering. All of this is more difficult simply because this animal is so small, but it can be done.

I hope this helps,

Ian

[Sonya610]

One more thing; if the tail is injured, you should let it soak in a betadine solution probably daily until it either heals or falls off. Don't want infection to set in.

The tail was shrivelled and dead, I sterilized some nail clippers last night and snipped off the dead part (it had a sharp angle and was getting caught on the plastic plant and the little guy was getting stuck). He didn't even feel it when I snipped it, he was sitting at the bottom of the cage and didn't even flinch (and since his eyes are closed he didn't try to run because he couldn't see me). I will look into putting putting something on the tail.

No point in offering prey items since he wouldn't see them much less try to eat them. I did read that they can be fed when ill by placing a small dollop of pure meat baby food on their snout, they usually lick it off and that provides some sustenance. Apparently some lizard keepers use that method to keep non-eating hatchlings alive until they start to eat on their own.

[Sonya610]

I'm going to sound like the broken record, but for best results, seek veterinary help.
If that's not desireable on your part, then surrendering it to a licenced wildlife rehabilitator is almost as good (most will have a vet that they work with as necessary).

Thank you for the advice but there is no way I can afford to spend a few hundred on vet care for this little guy;
I doubt if the vet would do much other than charge hundreds for xrays and the like (possible exception would be antibiotics). This is a tiny little lizard so examining would be difficult, little guy is about 1.5" from snout to vent. I may consider a wildlife rehab person if there isn't a change in a day or two.

[d_virginiana]

I would also suggest searching for reptile rescues in your area. A lot of times they will have access to vet care, and they may be more willing to help if you volunteer to foster him until he is ready for adoption or release. They're also a lot more informal than a wildlife rehab (in my experience wildlife rehabbers tend to be more focused on mammals and birds too).

[Sonya610]

I would also suggest searching for reptile rescues in your area. A lot of times they will have access to vet care, and they may be more willing to help if you volunteer to foster him until he is ready for adoption or release. They're also a lot more informal than a wildlife rehab (in my experience wildlife rehabbers tend to be more focused on mammals and birds too).

I know there is a snake rescue organization an hour or so away. Don't know if they do tiny reptiles though. They do go out and rescue large pet snakes that are found outdoors and also facilitate adoptions.

[Albert Clark]

Wow, kudos to you for your efforts! The poor little guy probably escaped a preditor and is extremely stressed. IMO, I would ditch the aspen and put him on paper towels. The humid hide addition that Lora proposed along with the betadine is spot on. The baby food is also a great idea. Maybe use a reptile multivitamin powder fortified with calcium if he takes to it. Remember reptiles heal slowly so everthing you can do is helping him.