In the course of our research on small-island populations of A. smaragdinus (A. carolinensis series) in the Bahamas, we’ve encountered a number of animals with mysterious lumps. These are sometimes quite conspicuous, as in the photo below. The question is, what are they? Tumors? Parasites? Has anyone encountered something similar?
Photo by Rowan Barrett.
The growths do not appear to be restricted to any particular part of the body — we’ve also observed them on the base of tails and on limbs. The lizards in question are currently distributed across several islands, but all are descendants of small founding populations (10 individuals) originating on Staniel Cay. Eager for any insights from the anole community! (Rank speculation is also welcome.)
- Naturalized Lizards Collide on Kauai: Nocturnal Brown Anole-on-Gecko Predation - December 30, 2022
- Mystery Growth on Anolis smaragdinus - January 18, 2014
Katie Boronow
I’ve seen a similar growth on an A. cristatellus in Miami. If it is the same condition, then it doesn’t seem to be species- or site-specific.
Pedro F. Victoriano
Interesting . And after your comments, the same in other species of the same genus, it could be a parasite associated to some closely related species. I hope some histological annalysis are going on. It´s the first step.
Rob Pringle
Interesting, thanks! We have yet to observe anything similar on the sympatric sagrei at our sites, which led us to wonder whether it was (a) species-specific or (b) a consequence of the bottleneck that we put smaragdinus through when we transplanted them onto the small islands.
Levi Gray
From time to time we see bulges like that on Mexican anoles. The ones I paid close attention to turned out to have parasites–some kind of worm. The bulges usually aren’t quite as big as the one presented in the above photo, however.
Catherine peila
how do you help the anole?
Alexander
The best thing you can do for the poor creature is kill it. Allowing the anole to suffer in the wild and the larvae to grow up and infect more lizards will only cause more pain. The only foolproof way to stop a plague is to quarantine or kill the infected.
Joaquin
Is there anything else besides killing
Nathan
You can take it in as a pet and treat it for parasites using panacur but ideally you would get it tested first
Pierre Legreneur
I saw similar growth in Anolis marmoratus ssp at the base of the tail, the members or the jaw throughout the Guadeloupe. Thus, no site-dependent. One possibility would be an infection by the bacteria Devriesea agamarum which was found on similar growths in iguanas.
James Stroud
I see this on a large % of Anolis cristatellus, and occassionally on A. carolinensis, in Miami – I have no idea what they are.
K.ra
Just a guess from a non-expert, but perhaps the group of organisms responsible for causing these growths is naturally symbiotic or associated with all anoles but the effects of a genetic bottleneck in some populations make some individuals more susceptible and therefore show signs of infection. Perhaps this is why the growths show up more on the introduced cristatellus than carolinensis?
Jim Jackson
This may be a botfly larva. Look for a small hole in the anole’s skin through which the larva carries out gas exchange. In Hubbard Creek, Leon County, Florida I found a large male A. carolinensis dead with an enormous (proportionately) botfly larvae exiting it. Rather horrific.
Ian Latella
Here is a carolinensis from Crandon Park that I found in 2011.
Ian Latella
Another photo.
Winter Beckles
I came across an Anolis cristatellus today with similar growths here in Miami. He was oozing a little from the mouth and seemed to be in poor overall health. I wanted to get a picture, but put on some gloves just in case.
Catherine peila
I just found a small growth on my anole – It happened just three days ago – what do I do?
Joaquin
I have a pet anole with similar bumps on the chin. How should we help it.
Nathan
Try deworming using panacur or get it tested a sample can be sent in to a lab by mail for about 20$
Searlait
My green anole currently has one of these bumps on the back of his neck, he has had it for a year and a half now and I can’t identify what it is. It looks identical to the bump that was on the lizard in the picture. Help? What should I do?
Gianna Coppola
If he’s had it for that long, it sounds like a benign tumor to me and probably won’t kill him, but I’d check with a few exotic vets/herpetologists/etc to be perfectly sure. Has the bump been getting bigger, or changing in any way? Like Nathan said, you could send a sample to a lab, but I’m not sure how you could safely remove a culture.
Hayes
I have been seeing common lizard’s in Florida with large, unhealthy looking masses on various parts of their bodies. Sometimes directly on the face, bellies, back, above hind legs. I even saw one with a vastly swollen lower jaw/tongue today. I have no idea what is causing this. Any updates?
Gene
My pet anole developed a huge lump on his neck about 30 years ago. I asked a local reptile and amphibian expert who said he had no idea what it was, but there was no treatment and the best thing to do would be to euthanize him in our freezer. I couldn’t bring myself to do it, and he died naturally but I always wondered how common the lumps were.
Gianna Coppola
First thing I think when I see that mass is cancer, it would be interesting to collect a number of individuals and see how fast those masses grow. If they grow quickly, that would seem like cancer to me, but I wonder how and why there would be so many of these guys with cancer?
If they grow very slowly, though, and aren’t hurting the lizards, that makes me think it would be some sort of benign tumor or growth.
Again though, what Jim Jackson said about botflies would also make sense, and botflies or another parasite would be the most reasonable explanation to me.
Lacey Knutson
I currently have 1 bahaman anole purchased from petsmart. The other 2 died from the bumps opening up in the oral area. I have photos tracking the growth of them, it’s quite fast and started while juveniles. I have a Leo and 17 snakes so I’m trying to figure out if it’s congenital or contagious. I suspect a very aggressive cancer. Please let me know if anyone has had them tested.
Rob Pringle
Sorry to hear that. I have also discovered that lizards from Petsmart are not especially long-lived and now only purchase from breeders. No, we never tested the animals we observed in the wild, nor do we know their individual fates. Sorry not to be more helpful and I hope that what your anoles have is not contagious.
Layla McKinney
I have a brown anole as well as a green anole, both of which I bought from a reputable local pet store. I’ve had my brown anole for about 2 months and suddenly (over the last 3 days) he has developed a growth on his jaw that seems similar to your description. The only difference is that he is fully mature rather than in a juvenile state. I called the shop he was purchased from and they said it could be a tumor, a parasite, or a bacterial infection. It is unlikely that it would be a parasite since he has been in captivity for longer than 3 months. There is a possibility that it could be a cyst caused by excess synovial fluid due to the proximity to the hinge joint of his jaw. I will be taking him to a vet sometime in the next few days to get a diagnosis and will post a follow up with more information.