Green Anoles care sheet

Reproduced by kind permission of:-
PORTSMOUTH REPTILE AND AMPHIBIAN SOCIETY
39 WYKEHAM FIELD WICKHAM, HANTS ENGLAND PO17 5AD

CAPTIVE CARE SHEET SPECIES: Green Anoles, Carolina Anoles, American Chameleon
Anolis carolinensis

The most well known Anole grows to 7 inches ( 18cm )..

DISTRIBUTION: This is the only species of anole native to the mainland United States. All the other anole species found is south Florida were introduced. The green Anole is found in North Carolina, south to Key West and west to Southeast Oklahoma and central Texas. It has also been introduced into several other areas including Hawaii.

HOUSING: Anything from relatively small plastic tubs with plastic lids to any sized terrarium as long as it is more than 12 inches long (30cm). I have found the best enclosures are relatively large with a screen top and an attractive black lid on top. ALWAYS MAKE SURE THE LID FITS! THEY ARE ESCAPE ARTISTS.

The minimum size for an enclosure is 20 x 12 x 10 inches but I have got on well with a 30 x 12 x 16 which is enough space for 8 adults as they are small lizards. If an attractive vivarium is wanted then a variety of plants should be included.

The substrate should be either bark chippings or vermiculite. I do not recommend bird sand as the Anoles don't need to ingest the oyster shell as their calcium requirements are less than for Leopard Geckos.

These are arboreal lizards and need to climb, so tall strong plants will be ideal as well as climbing creepers. Anoles need about 50% humidity or more so daily spraying is a good idea.

They need a heat mat which covers half the floor area and a fluorescent strip light. I have found that lifeglow bulbs are the best, they might be a bit more expensive but from my experience, my Anoles have lived longer and have bred - although none of the eggs have hatched, for they are very difficult to look after and hatch because of their small size.

For hiding places - Anoles like hiding under leaves as well as pieces of bark.

DIET: Anoles are not choosy - they will tackle anything about a third their size. The might not eat it but they will kill it and have a go! They will eat crickets up to medium size, mealworms at all stages, waxworms and flies, spiders are their favourites. An easy way to breed flies is to buy about 500 maggots from a bait shop very cheaply, put them in a small fish tank with dog food and the maggots will pupate to produce hundreds of flies. These will lay eggs on the meat, which will hatch around 1 month later if kept in a warm place. Give calcium supplements every 5th feeding because Anoles do not need much calcium. Water - I keep a clean water bowl in the vivarium at all times. But Anoles will also drink from leaves and the glass if the vivarium is sprayed daily. This will also produce the humidity.

Don't clip the back legs or wings off crickets as the Anoles need the exercise.

BREEDING: Although I have not been able to ever get my eggs to hatch, it has been accomplished. The eggs are very small 3/4 of a cm long. To induce breeding in green Anoles, the photo period should be reduced to 10 hours daylight for two months. At night the temperature should be allowed to drop to 60F although Anoles will stand temperatures down to 40F for short periods. The daytime temperatures during this cooling period should be a few degrees below normal. Anoles will not feed as readily or as much during this period.

The eggs should be removed from the vivarium and put in an incubator, they hatch after 40 days at a temperature of 84F. These eggs would be laid under pieces of wood or leaves in the wild and need humidity to hatch. The eggs should be placed on vermiculite, which is mixed with water 50-50 by weight.

SUITABILITY: These lizards are cheap, easy to feed, easy to look after and are good for beginners as long as they are not handled as they can shed their tails easily. Males cannot be kept in a small cage together because they are quite territorial and they will fight. There are few captive-bred Anoles around and most that are offered for sale would be wild caught.

This is not really a problem since they suffer from few diseases and parasites. Anoles usually die from old age, neglect or from being eaten by larger lizards. Their life span is about 2 years during which time a female may produce about 20-30 eggs.

When buying a green anole look for one which is active and alert with bright eyes, green in colour, and with a good covering of flesh especially over the hips and flanks. Green anole change colour regularly and just because a green anole is brown does not mean it is ill, it usually occurs when they are cold or bored.

All in all these lizards are great fun to watch, feed, breed and let out as long as it is under control. They also live with similar sized lizards such as brown or spotted Anolis in a large tank. Also in a large tank they will live with some of the smaller tree frogs, not Whites or Cubans which would make a meal of most Anoles. I have kept them with long tailed skinks, house geckos, white spot geckos and other small lizards.

AUTHOR S. Wright

(07/03/95)

REFERENCES: General care and maintenance of Green Anoles by Philippe de Vosjoli

My own experience.

PRAS care sheet number 19

PRAS offers you this care sheet for your own information, should you wish to republish then please do not edit or reformat this sheet in any way and quote PRAS as the source.

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