Injured wild anole

[Beck]

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FULL SIZE IMAGE IS FAIRLY GRAPHIC!

Hi, I'm looking for some advice.

I live in SE Georgia. This morning on my patio, I thought I saw a dead green anole in a very open basking spot. It was about 70 degrees out. I disturbed it and found out it was still alive, but didn't run from me. I wasn't sure if it was cold or giving up. Its left and front rear legs are very damaged.

I placed it in a tank to examine it closer and found it was very thirsty and appeared to have a desire to live. Right now he is a 5 gallon tank (the only I had available) with a UVB light and CHE from a previous tortoise enclosure. He drank a good bit of water. This evening, I gave him 4 or 5 tiny crickets which he ate heartily.



So my questions are...
1. What do you think caused his injury? My highly uneducated guess is frost bite. Sunday night we hit our first cold spell, it was 34 degrees. I don't know if that is enough to do something like this...
2. What do you think his chances are of surviving in the wild (backyard with birds). He doesn't seem too well adapted yet. He has great trouble climbing the glass, but can make it up a corner.
3. When warm, he does seem relatively healthy. Should I just let him go?

I'm willing to take care of him until his dead limbs fall off and heal over or even permanently (in a better enclosure, of course). However, I also don't want to be capturing and keeping a wild thing that would much rather be free. What are yalls thoughts?

 

[AmRoKo]

I would keep him as a pet. He's definitely going to be eaten if let go. I don't know what his chances are of living with those injuries even though he's in a safe place now. We have tons of anoles here and I have never found one with those horrible injuries. Poor little fella.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

its crazy what reptiles can survive!

 

[Blakem]

Ouch...tough little one.

 

[bouaboua]

I know not a thing about anole. Best wishes to this little one.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I'm thinking a cat got it. I'm left gifts by a neighbors cat at least once a week on my porch. Either a bird, snake or an iguana. He'll probably lose part of that arm, but once it's healed, I'll bet he's good to go! It's a really good sign that he's eating.

 

[Beck]

Thanks for the advice and well wishes everyone!

I've seen 3 legged anoles doing well in the wild, but I think you're right AmRoKo -- missing two limbs on one side is just not going to cut it in the wild.

I'm going to keep him warm, safe, and fed for a few days. I have to determine whether his prognosis is positive or negative before I go buying him a bunch of stuff.

 

[AmRoKo]

Thanks for the advice and well wishes everyone!

I've seen 3 legged anoles doing well in the wild, but I think you're right AmRoKo -- missing two limbs on one side is just not going to cut it in the wild.

I'm going to keep him warm, safe, and fed for a few days. I have to determine whether his prognosis is positive or negative before I go buying him a bunch of stuff.

Buy him a little wheel chair. You can call him Stumps. Then in his old age he can have a cane and wave it angrily at girl/boy scouts trying to sell him stuff.

 

[Jacqui]

He did get mangled pretty good didn't he. How is he doing today?

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

Buy him a little wheel chair. You can call him Stumps. Then in his old age he can have a cane and wave it angrily at girl/boy scouts trying to sell him stuff.

thats terrible!!!

 

[Earth Mama]

I wonder if he got closed in a window or a sliding glass door?

 

[Prairie Mom]

Hi Beck,
I think it looks like a crushing injury and after some time, those limbs will come off on their own. Just be patient while it happens. I agree with you... There' s no way this guy will make it in the wild. He'd be a sitting duck for predators and I think hunting for food will be quite a struggle as well. Those injuries are not fresh, so the fact that he was struggling enough to allow you to pick him up shows you very clearly that he was not doing well on his own. I'm thrilled you found him and are doing what you can to help him. The fact that he's eating, drinking, and getting around like that is a great sign and shows that he needed your help! I hope he keeps doing well and that you decide to keep him. With some creativity and lots of space, I'm sure you could come up with a way to give him a good life that he would not have otherwise. Keep us posted on how this goes. I'm very interested in how this will turn out

 

[Yvonne G]

I wonder if he got closed in a window or a sliding glass door?

This is what I thought too. Looks like the legs were closed in a door.

 

[Beck]

I agree with everyone's thoughts that this a crushing injury -- door, window, car. The wounds aren't fresh. Thanks Prairiemom on your thoughts that the limbs will eventually come off on their own. I think so too. I posted on an anole forum and they wanted me to take him to the vet for amputation. I'll be honest, that really isn't going to happen.

Today he was active going from basking spot to climbing spot and back again, clumsily trying to climb the glass to escape, turning brown then green then brown again, and ate two crickets. I didn't see him drink any water that I misted in there. If he keeps this up, I'll get him a bigger setup on Sunday.

 

[Prairie Mom]

I agree with everyone's thoughts that this a crushing injury -- door, window, car. The wounds aren't fresh. Thanks Prairiemom on your thoughts that the limbs will eventually come off on their own. I think so too. I posted on an anole forum and they wanted me to take him to the vet for amputation. I'll be honest, that really isn't going to happen.

Today he was active going from basking spot to climbing spot and back again, clumsily trying to climb the glass to escape, turning brown then green then brown again, and ate two crickets. I didn't see him drink any water that I misted in there. If he keeps this up, I'll get him a bigger setup on Sunday.

It sounds like he's doing REALLY GOOD. I'm so glad you found the comments helpful, but please allow me to fill you in on why I'm thinking the way I do about the limbs. -That way you can decide if I'm nuts or not I just want you to be aware that I don't have experience with lizards and have no medical training AT ALL. I would not be able to see if a lizard was infected. I have experience rehabbing injured squirrels (totally different beastie). I should probably be more responsible and tell you to go to a vet also, BUT I've seen a number of broken tails (some with protruding bone), fingers, and a foot which have detached on their own and have even been advised by my veterinarian to let them come off on their own in the past.

The reason why I'm very hopeful for your lizard (again--not a doctor here!) is because it appears that there is a clear line between living and dead flesh. To my untrained eyes, it looks really GOOD and the fact that he is behaving so well really signals to me that he's healing and the dead parts are "closing" off from the rest of the body. From what I can see in the picture, the dead limbs have already begun the process of drying out. From what I've experienced, it seems like the bigger the part the LONGER it takes. Basically, if there is still bone attached, the bone will need to dry out and become so brittle that it just breaks off on its own. I have seen this take a LONG time when it is still covered in skin (I think it took six months for a piece of tail to come off). Sometimes this can happen in small pieces or in one big go. ***The MOST IMPORTANT thing I would say is no matter how weird and annoying it looks having these limbs flopping around, DON'T try to help the process along. You don't want to disturb the healthy living skin and the live tissue needs to be able to completely enclose itself. When dead parts finally do come off, it doesn't appear to hurt the animal at all, in fact I think I've observed relief. As long as there is no infection, the damage seems to have been already done in the original injury and there is no blood flow or anything keeping the dead damaged part feeling and functioning.

I really hope I'm not sending you down the wrong path, but if he were mine, I'd keep him healthy, well fed, and "entertained" as you both patiently wait for the dead stuff to detach. It will help him to have space to move and roam. Good luck!

 

[AmRoKo]

Have you seen him turn blue yet? When I had to catch an anole that had ran into the house to put it back outside it turned the most beautiful blue color I had ever seen while it was climbing the wall lol.

 

[Beck]

Prairie mom, I understand your disclaimers and I also agree with you. It's interesting that you've seen similar predicaments in mammals (a foot, wow!). I see a clear line of dead/living as well. AmRoKo, I haven't seen her turn blue, but there is a patch near her neck that is either slow to turn colors or ahead-of-the-game -- sometimes I catch her with a patch of a different color.

She seems to be doing well, eating drinking, and basking. Yesterday I joked with the fiance that I spent near $200 on "half of a lizard".

 

[AmRoKo]

Prairie mom, I understand your disclaimers and I also agree with you. It's interesting that you've seen similar predicaments in mammals (a foot, wow!). I see a clear line of dead/living as well. AmRoKo, I haven't seen her turn blue, but there is a patch near her neck that is either slow to turn colors or ahead-of-the-game -- sometimes I catch her with a patch of a different color.

She seems to be doing well, eating drinking, and basking. Yesterday I joked with the fiance that I spent near $200 on "half of a lizard".

Awww, what a cute lil fella. No longer must he fend for himself in the wild - today is the day he starts living like a king!

 

[Prairie Mom]

She seems to be doing well, eating drinking, and basking. Yesterday I joked with the fiance that I spent near $200 on "half of a lizard".

Ha Ha Ha!!! You totally DID spend all that money on HALF a Lizard!! Hilarious I'm so glad he's doing so well! Please continue this thread. He's such an amazing little guy and I hope we'll continue to see him prosper.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

You're awesome to take care of her!! She's pretty, do you know what kind? I wouldn't house any other anoles wither her, but there some awesome stuff they can have, like half-aqutic tank with fish an vines... I'd love to do that some day
Anoles can regrow tails, but I'm pretty sure it's not the same with legs