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 Green
Anoles
(Anolis
carolinensis)
The
green anole is the only anole native to the
U.S. It grows up to 7", snout to vent
length.
Anoles are sometimes called "chameleons."
This is due to the green anole's
color-changing ability which, when severely
stressed or ill, will turn dark brown.
(They may also turn a lighter shade of brown
if sitting on a brown branch.)
However, they are not true chameleons
(pictured below), which look very different
than anoles and come from different parts of
the world. If your green anole is not trying
to blend into a brown background, and it is
always brown, it is a sign of stress.
 Origin,
Habitat And Habits
Anoles are commonly found in southeastern
USA, Cuba, Jamaica, and other Caribbean
islands. The vast majority of green
anoles sold in the pet trade are wild-caught
in the southeastern U.S. There are over 36
species of non-native anoles breeding in the
wilds in Florida (out of an estimated total
of 250 anole species in the world), and
there has been considerable interbreeding,
so markings may be considerably altered from
the true wild types. Unfortunately, in
many places, the larger and more aggressive
brown Cuban anoles are killing or displacing
the gentler green anoles.
Anoles are most commonly found in bushes,
trees (not above 15'), in and on rock walls,
in the woods, and clinging to any portion of
houses and other structures. They are
primarily terrestrial, and love to bask on
exposed walls and branches.
Diet
The wild anole's diet includes grubs,
crickets, cockroaches, spiders, moths, and
any arthropod which will fit in their
mouths. In captivity, avoid 'sowbugs' (aka
potato bugs, pill bugs) and beetles. Even
though anoles will go for bigger prey, the
size fed to them should be no bigger than
half the size of the anole's head.
The
captive anole's diet should be as close to
their wild diet as possible. Most people
feed small crickets and mealworms (the
latter of which most anoles will not take).
As with many reptiles, anoles may be scared
of prey that is too large for them to
handle.
Wild-caught bugs may be accepted eagerly.
Make sure the insects are collected from
pesticide-free areas, and areas that are not
heavily impregnated with auto exhaust
particulates. Stay away from bugs you are
not certain of, and ones known to be toxic,
such as fireflies.
Feed your anoles daily, letting them have as
much as they will eat. If crickets are left
uneaten in the enclosure, be sure to provide
them with proper cricket food and moisture.
Otherwise, they will eat whatever is
handy--like your anoles!
Captive Housing
Anoles can be kept singly or in groups.
The minimum tank size for a group of two
adult anoles should be a tall (arboreal) 10
gallon tank, or a small hanging web cage at
least 2' high. Three or four anoles (one
male and up to three females) may be kept in
a tall 20 gallon aquarium, or a medium- to
large-sized hanging web cage at least 3'
high.. The more lizards there are, the more
hiding places and basking areas are needed,
so tanks must get correspondingly larger.
Minimum Requirements:
Despite their relatively inexpensive price
tag, anoles are not "cheap" lizards. The
basic captive environment requires:
- 1
Vitalite (or other UVB-producing
fluorescent) - 12-14 hours a day
- 1
basking light
- 1
nocturnal heat light, as needed to
maintain night time temperatures
- 1
undertank heating pad (human heating
pads are appropriate)
- 2
thermometers (cool end and warm end;
ideally, a third should be placed in the
basking area)
- Sterile
peat moss potting soil over 1 inch of
pea gravel, OR 1-2 inches of potting
soil covered with bark mulch
- Several
2" potted plants--helps maintain
humidity, and provide cover and shade
from the UV and basking lights (Sansevierias
are good, as are bromiliads,
philodendrons, ivys, orchids, and vines
and groundcovers)
- Logs or
branches for basking (essential for
arboreal lizards)
Items that
are not appropriate for anoles:
- hot
rocks
- heat
tapes
- heated
caves
- sand or
gravel substrates
Temperatures
Anoles like it hot. Their basking area
should range between 85 - 90º F during the
daytime. The overall tank range should
be between 75 - 80º F during daylight, and
65 - 75º F at night.
Humidity and Water
The ambient enclosure humidity should be
maintained around 60 - 70%...humid, but not
wet, rainforest conditions. Spray plants
with purified water (tap water causes hard
water spots on plants and glass) a few times
each day, or set up a dripper or misting
system.
In the wild, anoles lap water off leaves. In
captivity, you will need to spray the leaves
for them. Some anoles do learn to drink from
bowls: you can aid this learning process by
setting up a dripper bottle to drip water
into a shallow bowl. It is the sight and
sound of dripping, splashing water which
attracts their attention.
Caring For Your Prey Insects
Prey insects need to be cared for properly,
to provide the most nutrition for your
lizards. If you cannot find the right size
prey for your lizard at a local pet store,
you can order them through the mail from one
of the many companies that breed and supply
these food items. Buying food and prey
in bulk will significantly reduce your
feeding costs in the long term, and will
also allow you to start eventually breeding
your own prey. When we need crickets,
mealworms, or supplies, we order from
Ghann's
Cricket Farm.
Feed your anoles gut-loaded, freshly molted
crickets and mealworms every other day.
Usually 2-3 appropriately-sized food items
per feeding is fine. If any food is left in
the tank, food for the prey MUST be
provided. Gut-load crickets and mealworms 24
- 48 hours prior to feeding your anoles on
tropical fish flakes, high protein dry baby
cereal, reptile vitamins, high-calcium prey
food, and fruit. Provide adequate moisture
by placing pieces of carrots, apple, orange,
etc., in the cricket enclosure.
Special "cricket water bottles" can also be
used. Dehydration is the biggest cause
of cannibalism in insects.
Temperament
Some
anoles may eventually become comfortable
with being gently handled. On the whole,
however, handling is very stressful to them,
and stress will cause them to become ill.
Initially, all anoles will try to run from
you, and may bite...and they have quite
strong bites for being such small, delicate
creatures! Biting is more dangerous
for them if you jerk your hand away--this
can break their tiny jaws, or cause teeth to
be ripped out.
Handle them as little as possible. If
you do get bitten, put them back in their
enclosure so that they can feel something
solid under their feet. That will
encourage them to release their grip.
Also, be careful never to snatch them from
branches, bark, or your clothing, as this
can break their fragile toes. And
never grab them by the tail, as they may
"drop" their tail (i.e. allow it to break
off entirely, so that they can escape).
When heated, lighted, fed, and housed
properly, anoles are fairly hardy lizards.
Depending upon their age when caught/bought,
the older ones may not settle in as well as
the younger ones. Remember: to them, you
look like a giant predator. They are not as
intelligent as many of the much larger
lizards, so you must be patient, and
understand that you may end up with some
beautiful lizards in a lush, beautiful
environment (lots of plants, bark slabs for
hiding places, etc.) rather than a lizard
who will tolerate a lot of handling and
social interaction.
Sexing
Males are
larger than females, and have a dewlap
(throat fan) which they use to display to
females and rivals. Some males have a dorsal
crest (beginning just behind the head) which
is raised as part of the threat display
(typically with the dewlap extended). Males
also have enlarged post-anal pores (found on
the tail below the vent).
Females, and juveniles of both sexes, may
have a white stripe down the back. Females
of some species have dewlaps, but if they
do, they are smaller than those of males,
and displayed less frequently.
Reproduction
Captive anoles
will breed, or attempt to, readily if
conditions are right. Breeding occurs most
often in the spring and summer months after
a period of brumation. For several weeks,
they must be kept at lower temperatures (65
- 70º F during day; down to 60º F at night)
and with a shorter photoperiod (8 hours
instead of the usual 14). During this time
they may be fed only if they take food--they
should not be force fed, and weak or thin
anoles should not be brumated. The anoles
must be healthy, and be receiving the
necessary UVB and vitamins, especially
calcium, accomplished by gut-loading their
prey.
Signs of breeding include males displaying
their dewlaps and posturing to females.
Males may start bobbing their heads rapidly
while turning toward the female of their
choice. If the female runs away, she's not
ready; if she stays or, while running,
allows herself to be caught, and bows her
head, the male will grab her neck with his
mouth and they will mate. Actual mating
generally occurs in afternoon or evening
hours. The breeding season lasts 4-5 months.
Within two weeks of a successful mating, the
female will begin to show a swollen abdomen.
She will search out a warm, moist place in
the substrate, push it aside with her head,
and deposit an egg (rarely, two may be
laid), covering the egg with the substrate.
This will be repeated every two weeks, for a
total of about 10 eggs per breeding season.
Eggs can be removed from the vivarium, but
many successful hatchings have been achieved
leaving by the eggs in the vivarium.
To prevent injury to the egg, either by the
female digging to bury another one, or by
you as you service the terrarium, the eggs
should be removed and set carefully in a
mixture of damp sterile vermiculite (1:1
mix, or one part water to 12-14 parts
vermiculite) or sand, in a covered
container, and incubated at 82 - 85º F.
Check weekly to assure that the substrate
remains damp, and that none of the eggs have
molded. Provide gentle, indirect heat to
keep the container at 84 -86º F; eggs should
hatch in 35 - 40 days.
Hatchlings are 1.25" from snout to vent.
They will eat voraciously, and must be
supplied with lots of pinheads that have
been properly gut-loaded and shaken in a
calcium and multivitamin supplement before
being fed out. Fruitfly larva and wingless
fruit flies are also good foods for
hatchlings.
Behavior/Communication
Anoles produce no
sounds. They can drop their tails if
grabbed, or otherwise feel threatened. A new
tail will generally grow in, but regenerated
tails are rarely the same as the original in
color, texture, or size.
Anoles are generally not aggressive, but
males may quarrel if housed together. This
applies to inter-species confrontations, as
well. Some anole species will produce
aggressive displays to their reflections in
mirrors. Knight anoles should not be housed
with other anoles smaller than
themselves--they will as cheerfully feed on
green anoles as they will spiders and
crickets.
Behavior during breeding season may be
significantly different than outside of
breeding season. Males will display more
(posturing, dewlap-flaring) and become more
aggressive towards other males. Dominant
males may develop black postorbital spots on
their head. This is a sign of their status,
and most subordinate males will leave these
dominant males alone. In a too-small
enclosure, however, having two males both
attempting to attain and maintain dominant
status may end up tragically for one of
them.
Breeding-minded males will also annoy
females more.
Not all females will be receptive to all
males. Despite extensive research in mate
selection, there are still a lot of
unknowns. We do know that if a male pursues
a female who is not interested, it could
cause significant stress in the female, to
the point of illness. If you are housing
more than one anole in an enclosure, you
must increase the size of the enclosure and
provide discreet areas so that the female
can get away from, and out of sight of, the
male.
Aggression may be overt and forceful, such
as butting, biting, and chasing, but it can
be more subtle, too. If you have two or more
green anoles and one is always brown,
observe them carefully. Notice where the
brown one goes, and where it does not go.
You will probably see that it is not eating,
basking, or otherwise behaving in the same
way as the others. More careful observation
should enable you to identify which of the
other anoles is causing this behavior. A
dominant anole (male or female) uses posture
and physical position within the environment
to maintain their dominant status. While
some subordinate lizards are fine with this,
some are not, or may become the focus of the
dominant lizard. If you have such a stressed
anole, you will need to separate it from the
others, providing a completely separate
enclosure for it and possibly one other
anole with whom you know it is compatible.
Good
Resource Books
-
The General
Care and Maintenance of Green Anoles.
Philippe de Vosjoli, Advanced Vivarium
Systems, Escondido CA
-
Green Anoles:
Selection, Care and Breeding. Ray
Hunziker, TFH Publications, Inc.,
Neptune City, NJ. (Please ignore the
photos of products in this book - most
do not apply to anoles, or are
completely inappropriate for, or
dangerous to, anoles and other
reptiles.)
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