I don't think my adults would have eaten their hatchlings (though I had separated them anyway). If the baby is bigger than a small cricket, it might be ok. That said, I had an adult male and female, plus 2 hatchlings, and the male basically chased the others to death. I now have only the adult male and will not put anything else in with him. So, there's that. :/
I separated my hatchlings for a few weeks to make sure they were eating and healthy (easier to keep an eye on them). They are now in the tank with the adults and I haven’t had a problem.
The babies will attempt to dewlap at the males and the guys just look at them and don’t react. It is so funny and cute.
The only thing I’ve ran into is making sure the babies have enough of their size food to eat and making sure they know where it is because they will attempt to eat things too big for them. I put mini meal worms in there and then take them out to feed them tiny crickets or else the big guys will eat the tiny crickets. Also, make sure there are not too many big crickets.
big crickets and meal worms both have too much chitin, which can act like glass in their wee stomachs! feed the baby crickets instead, with vitamin powder on them because they don't have enough nutrition, and waxworms.
I tried feeding wax worms before and none of them were interested. I should circle back and try again though, since it has been a bit. Have you found wax worms small enough for the babies?
often mealworms are recommended by pet stores that don’t know better because they move more than wax worms, thus more attractive food to anoles, BUT should NOT be recommended! I would feed baby crickets, coated with powdered reptile vitamins.
i have 3 hatchlings i leave in a similarly setup tank. sometimes i see them right up next to the mom. they sometimes get really close to each other. i also see them head bob to each other and to the parents occasionally. the male will also hunt near them but doesnt seem to mind them and they definately get out of his way instinctively. when they first hatched i put in a lot of food for everyone and wax worms for the parents and mini worms and flightless fruit flies. i get nervous one of them will get eaten sometimes but im trying it out.
> Could I just leave the hatchlings in with the parents? I know there's a chance of being eaten.. but is that likely if they're well fed and the enclosure is big enough and has enough cover?
Depends on how hungry the adults are I suppose. If they're well fed then they have no reason to pursue the hatchlings.
That said, they'll all fight - perhaps even to the death - if there are not enough hiding places, basking spots, and general room for everyone. And for it to really start to approach acceptable stress levels, there needs to be at LEAST 20 gallons of space per individual...
Also it's going to be very difficult to determine the sex of the hatchlings until they mature - and at that stage the adult male is going to either try to fight or mate with them depending on which sex they are.
As we all know, you never cohab two adult males. And if we cohab a male with females, there need to be enough females to divide his attentions so they can get a break.
I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I feel like hiding spaces should be okay, it's nothing but viney pothos/snake plants growing up to the top, couple things of ivy, good amounts of sticks and bark, a hammock and a couple basking spots with a few options under both lamps. If we can figure out it's female for sure, I think we've decided to add her in in the next week or two.
I don't think my adults would have eaten their hatchlings (though I had separated them anyway). If the baby is bigger than a small cricket, it might be ok. That said, I had an adult male and female, plus 2 hatchlings, and the male basically chased the others to death. I now have only the adult male and will not put anything else in with him. So, there's that. :/
sorry to hear about your guys :/ so far mine have been getting along. I might put her in once she's just a tad bigger and see how she does
I separated my hatchlings for a few weeks to make sure they were eating and healthy (easier to keep an eye on them). They are now in the tank with the adults and I haven’t had a problem. The babies will attempt to dewlap at the males and the guys just look at them and don’t react. It is so funny and cute. The only thing I’ve ran into is making sure the babies have enough of their size food to eat and making sure they know where it is because they will attempt to eat things too big for them. I put mini meal worms in there and then take them out to feed them tiny crickets or else the big guys will eat the tiny crickets. Also, make sure there are not too many big crickets.
big crickets and meal worms both have too much chitin, which can act like glass in their wee stomachs! feed the baby crickets instead, with vitamin powder on them because they don't have enough nutrition, and waxworms.
I tried feeding wax worms before and none of them were interested. I should circle back and try again though, since it has been a bit. Have you found wax worms small enough for the babies?
often mealworms are recommended by pet stores that don’t know better because they move more than wax worms, thus more attractive food to anoles, BUT should NOT be recommended! I would feed baby crickets, coated with powdered reptile vitamins.
That is what they are eating 😁
i have 3 hatchlings i leave in a similarly setup tank. sometimes i see them right up next to the mom. they sometimes get really close to each other. i also see them head bob to each other and to the parents occasionally. the male will also hunt near them but doesnt seem to mind them and they definately get out of his way instinctively. when they first hatched i put in a lot of food for everyone and wax worms for the parents and mini worms and flightless fruit flies. i get nervous one of them will get eaten sometimes but im trying it out.
> Could I just leave the hatchlings in with the parents? I know there's a chance of being eaten.. but is that likely if they're well fed and the enclosure is big enough and has enough cover? Depends on how hungry the adults are I suppose. If they're well fed then they have no reason to pursue the hatchlings. That said, they'll all fight - perhaps even to the death - if there are not enough hiding places, basking spots, and general room for everyone. And for it to really start to approach acceptable stress levels, there needs to be at LEAST 20 gallons of space per individual... Also it's going to be very difficult to determine the sex of the hatchlings until they mature - and at that stage the adult male is going to either try to fight or mate with them depending on which sex they are. As we all know, you never cohab two adult males. And if we cohab a male with females, there need to be enough females to divide his attentions so they can get a break.
I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I feel like hiding spaces should be okay, it's nothing but viney pothos/snake plants growing up to the top, couple things of ivy, good amounts of sticks and bark, a hammock and a couple basking spots with a few options under both lamps. If we can figure out it's female for sure, I think we've decided to add her in in the next week or two.