# anoles under attack



## auroborus (Jul 22, 2011)

I just bought a mating pair of brown anoles for a terrarium I already had set up for a while. It had a plant or 2, a few sticks poking out of the ground, a giant land snail and about 100 or so isopods that were originally used to keep the tank clean until there numbers got too high. I introduced the anoles to keep the isopod population down but it seems they wont give up there supremacy without a fight.

Despite the lizards gobbling up countless isopods, they made a counter attack upon the alpha male and devoured over an inch from his tail (nothing but bone left) he still has lots of tail left but I really don't like the idea of my lizard being eaten alive. Its a ten gallon fish tank I keep them in, so theres not a lot of space for a fancy set up. Any suggestions on keeping my lizards on top of the food chain instead of a spiraling cycle of Predator vs Pseudo-predator?


----------



## MB623 (Jul 22, 2011)

*Remove some isopods?*



auroborus said:


> I just bought a mating pair of brown anoles for a terrarium I already had set up for a while. It had a plant or 2, a few sticks poking out of the ground, a giant land snail and about 100 or so isopods that were originally used to keep the tank clean until there numbers got too high. I introduced the anoles to keep the isopod population down but it seems they wont give up there supremacy without a fight.
> 
> Despite the lizards gobbling up countless isopods, they made a counter attack upon the alpha male and devoured over an inch from his tail (nothing but bone left) he still has lots of tail left but I really don't like the idea of my lizard being eaten alive. Its a ten gallon fish tank I keep them in, so theres not a lot of space for a fancy set up. Any suggestions on keeping my lizards on top of the food chain instead of a spiraling cycle of Predator vs Pseudo-predator?


I didn't know isopods would try and eat something living. Maybe remove some of the isopods until the population isn't so high, or maybe put the anoles in a different tank and introduce a small population of isopods in the new tank along with your land snail, basically make a new set up that doesn't have so many isopods. Could the other anole have bitten his tail off in a fight maybe?


----------



## auroborus (Jul 22, 2011)

MB623 said:


> I didn't know isopods would try and eat something living. Maybe remove some of the isopods until the population isn't so high, or maybe put the anoles in a different tank and introduce a small population of isopods in the new tank along with your land snail, basically make a new set up that doesn't have so many isopods. Could the other anole have bitten his tail off in a fight maybe?


my only other tank is in use, I think the isopod population is either halved already or in hiding. And it wasnt in a fight, the tail was cleaned to the bone, as well I saw this morning 3 of the bugger eating/examining it. I didnt think they would attack anything alive and healthy. At most I figured they might eat dead sheded skin.


----------



## myrmecophile (Jul 22, 2011)

Under the circumstances I would completely tear it down and start from scratch minus the isopods. It is your only real choice.


----------



## Ziltoid (Jul 22, 2011)

myrmecophile said:


> Under the circumstances I would completely tear it down and start from scratch minus the isopods. It is your only real choice.


This is the best solution.....Many moons ago I had green anoles. I would feed them crickets once a week......or until required. some of the crickets got rather large and it seems like they ended up killing one of my anoles by eating its eye while it was sleeping. we then started to feed the crickets, bam no more Anole fatality. (oh yea let the big guys free just for safe keeping) This most likely wont work for the Isopods sadly. to be safe I'd remove them all. (if possible) or start from scratch like myrmecophile suggests.


----------



## Malhavoc's (Jul 22, 2011)

Ziltoid said:


> This is the best solution.....Many moons ago I had green anoles. I would feed them crickets once a week......or until required. some of the crickets got rather large and it seems like they ended up killing one of my anoles by eating its eye while it was sleeping. we then started to feed the crickets, bam no more Anole fatality. (oh yea let the big guys free just for safe keeping) This most likely wont work for the Isopods sadly. to be safe I'd remove them all. (if possible) or start from scratch like myrmecophile suggests.


do anoles not feel pain? the tail in the OP and the eye in this post has me dumbstruck why do the anoles not feel anything nor remove the attacker?


----------



## Ziltoid (Jul 23, 2011)

I don't think they do, I had one Anole bite another ones leg half off. it never seemed to bother it. The lizard went on to outlive its assassin.


----------



## pharaoh2653 (Jul 23, 2011)

dont anoles drop their tales. shouldnt be nothing to worry about


----------



## khil (Jul 23, 2011)

LOL lets switch places. I'm trying to amass isopods. I guess you can move the anoles, collect as many isopods as you can, givem' to me, clean their tank and start from scratch.

The isopods must be eating something to be thriving. I guess they will resort to flesh, hmmm..


----------



## Malhavoc's (Jul 24, 2011)

there is a spider native to almost everywhere, bright red large chelicera that loves isopods, let one female go in the tank should help drammasticly reduce population. (also giving them a portien soource such as dog food, will help keep them unintrested in your anoles while your anoles eat them)


----------



## burmish101 (Jul 24, 2011)

Its not like keeping 2 pet anoles is exactly allot of hard work or difficult at all to keep up with. Just separate all your animals it will make it allot easier. Isopods are hardy they can live in a bucket or something very simple.


----------



## auroborus (Jul 24, 2011)

well, the problem sort of fixed its self. The Isopods only were attacking the male, its been less than a week since I bought them and the male just died today  . Im gonna go bring it back to the store and get a new one. 

I think the Isopods could sense he was weak and took advantage. The female is still well and active though.


----------



## super-pede (Jul 24, 2011)

where'd you get the land snail???

I thought that isopods only ate decomposing stuff.


----------



## auroborus (Jul 26, 2011)

super-pede said:


> where'd you get the land snail???


I found the snail on a collecting trip to a park in VA, found it in the grass near where I put my black light. Its shell is probably a little more than an inch across.


----------



## ZephAmp (Jul 26, 2011)

auroborus said:


> its been less than a week since I bought them and the male just died today


I have a feeling that the male wasn't in the best of condition when you bought him if he died so abruptly.


----------

