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Last Updated: 3/9/08
Newsgroups, Catalogs, and Web Sites
Other Pages on This Site of Interest to Those with Anoles:
This page is under construction as I just got an anole on 7/6/06. In the past, when I got new animals, I could put up complete pages on them but I have been overburdened with so much work that all I have time to put up is a skeleton right now.
IMPORTANT NOTE: I moved this page to the animal directory in the Fall of 2007 but never completed the transition (NO TIME!) so there is information on that version of the page that is NOT on this page. However, the links may not all be valid on the other page. The other anole page is here. I can only hope that one day I can complete moving at least the few pages I was in the middle of doing before such things became impossible due to lack of time.
Green anoles are also called American chameleons. They are native to the Carolinas, hence their Latin name, Anolis carolinensis. Green anoles can change colors from a bright green down to a dull brown. The color change is usually due to a change in background color but they can also change at will based on their mood.
Anoles are small and delicate and should not be handled much.
Size and Behavior
Anoles are small. They may grow 6 to 8 inches long but that is mostly tail, and they remain skinny/slender. As of 7/21/06, Fourmi is about 4" long with tail.
Green anoles are well-behaved towards animals of similar size. Many people keep them with other anoles, geckos, or tree frogs. I have mine with 3" roaches, not typical!
Anoles are diurnal which means they are active during the day. They sleep at night.
Lifespan
Green anoles live 3 to 8+ years.
Anoles do not need a large cage but it should not be tiny either. A 10 gallon tank works for 1 to 4 of them. A 20 gallon tank would work for me. A breeding colony would do well in a 40 or 120 gallon tank.
The cage needs to have a tight-fitting lid to prevent escape, ventilation, a water dish, things to climb on (fake or real branches, egg crate, plastic ornaments, etc.), an incandescent heat lamp or ceramic heat emitter, a full spectrum fluorescent light, and substrate (litter like bark on the bottom).
Adult males have throat patches (dewlaps) which they display. Males are larger than females. When young, one cannot really sex them. When looking up how to sex my two anoles, I read that females may also sometimes display. For that reason, I am not sure what sexes mine are.
Anoles will lay eggs pretty readily in captivity. The small white eggs are often stuck on ornaments or the glass.
Anoles need two types of light/heat. First, they need heat. This can be provided by an incandescent reptile bulb or by a ceramic heat emitter which is what I have on this tank (my turtle and sailfin lizard have incandescent heat lamps). These get very hot and keep the tropical lizards warm. They are cold-blooded and need heat to digest their food and function properly. At night, these heat lamps can be turned off. If it then gets too cold, an undertank heater and/or purple incandescent heat lamp can be used. The night lights are not as warm as the day lights.
Anoles need a warm spot, 85 to 95 degrees F for basking and a cooler area 75 to 80 degrees F somewhere in the tank if possible. At night, they can go down as low as 60 degrees F and be okay but 70 degrees F is a better aim.
All reptiles, including anoles, also need UV radiation from full spectrum fluorescent lighting or from natural sunlight. They require UV (UVB) rays in order to produce Vitamin D properly. Even with vitamins fed to them, lighting is needed for the proper health of reptiles.
Anoles like it to be humid but they can take some arid conditions as long as they have a water dish in which to soak and from which to drink.
My setup is pretty low in humidity (any water quickly evaporates) so I add water to the water dish twice a day. The anole and cage can also be misted with water to increase humidity and/or wet down the animal a bit.
I never finished this page.
Green anoles only really want small live foods. I bought some "anole food" which is dead flies but Fourmi will not touch them.
Anoles like to eat the following: small crickets, mealworms, waxworms, baby roaches, etc.
I have seen Fourmi eat mealworms and waxworms seemingly too big for him but he does it! I have put in crickets, and there are baby roaches in there naturally from the adults but I have yet to see Fourmi eat those. I do not see the crickets either so he probably ate some.
A few times a week, the insects should be dusted with reptile vitamins and/or calcium/Vitamin D powders for added nutrients.
Being small, anoles do not make much of a mess and do not require much maintenance. Fourmi is in a 10 gallon tank with 38 roaches. I have been changing the substrate and cleaning the tank every 2 months as the roaches are very clean. Fourmi has made a bit more mess but I can probably continue that maintenance schedule. If I did not have to deal with the roaches, I would probably clean the tank monthly.
Here are some anole books. I do not have any of them.
Newsgroups, Catalogs, and Web Sites
Catalogs:
Get a free reptile catalog from That Pet Place by calling 1-888-THATPET.
Drs. Foster and Smith will send you a free reptile catalog if you call 1-800-443-1160. You can
enter their web site from this link:
Drs. Foster & Smith - The Trusted Name
in Reptile Supplies
Additional Links:
I got almost 200,000 links for anole on the search engine so here are just a few.
Kingsnake care page for anoles
Some pretty anole photos at wildherps.com
General reptile links:
HerpDigest - "A free weekly electronic newsletter on the latest news on reptile and amphibian science and conservation."
The Lizard Lounge - a site on lizards.
Worm Man - sells live crickets, mealworms, king mealworms, butterworms, etc.
I got a green anole on 7/6/06. His name is Fourmi which is French for ant. A few months earlier, I got a colony of roaches for my sailfin lizard. A few weeks before I got an anole, a colony of ants found the roaches' tank. I could not find a way to stop the ants, nothing worked. I decide to put an anole in with them. The roaches are 3" long and will not eat the anole. The anole is about 4" long (mostly tail) but very skinny. Fourmi is about 5 cm in the body and 7 cm in the tail. He cannot eat the adult roaches but has the option of helping himself to any newborn roaches he can find. I want him to eat the ants. It has only been a day but so far, he just sits at the top the cage doing nothing. I added a few small crickets because while I want Fourmi to eat ants, if he does not, he can still eat.
Update 7/21/06: Fourmi eats mealworms and waxworms with gusto. He gets along with the roaches. He will not do anything about the ants but watch them. So much for that!
On 12/9/06, since I had not seen Fourmi for a few days, I removed everything in the tank and found, he was gone! When I open the tank, I always take note of where he is so he cannot get out (or I at least would see him do it). Sometimes, I do not see him as he is under the egg crates. Apparently, one such time, Fourmi was probably hanging on the top lid and slipped out the side when I tipped the front up to put in the water and food I put in twice a day. Luckily, I found Fourmi just a few hours later! Next to his tank, all the tropical plants are in for the winter. I knew he could be anywhere so I had not spent much time searching but while scooping the cat litter pans, I decided to think where he would be at this time of day when it was getting dark. He would be basking under the tropical plants' fluorescent light on the greenest and biggest plant there, the hibiscus. And, there he was! I just scooped him up fast with my hand and plopped him back into the tank. That was the first time I actually held him. I later would hold him when I moved him while cleaning the tank. Sometimes he would jump onto my arm and tickle me as he walked on it when I put my arm in to add food and water.
After I moved Fourmi to the 20 gallon (see below), I wanted to get him a buddy. They were out every week I went there but, finally, on 5/11/07, I bought another anole. I named him Papillon which is French for butterfly. After I put him in there, Fourmi looked from behind where he was hiding and looked at Papillon. They both turned brown which I understand is a sign of stress. When they got near to eat other, Fourmi displayed! I had never seen that before. He threw down his throat pouch (where did THAT come from!) which turned bright red. He fanned it up and down to show off to Papillon. Papillon was not impressed. Papillon is maybe 50% larger than Fourmi. Later, I saw Papillon head bob which is something that my female sailfin lizard does. But, male green anoles are the larger sex. So, I am confused. Based on size (assuming they are both mature), Papillon is male, and Fourmi is female. Based on displaying, Fourmi is male. So, I really do not know. The next day, I caught Fourmi with his rear buried in the substrate. Could that be female desire to dig a hole to lay an egg? So soon? I wish I knew. If I ever find an egg, then I will know that someone is female! Otherwise, I am going to assume I have two males for now. They seem to tolerate each other but I have not seen them touch. Time will tell.
On 6/30/07, I saw both of the anoles with their red fans open bobbing at each other. I assume they are both male. I have not found a web site or source that says that females never display so, until I know that, I cannot be 100% sure. I know males display but do females? If you know, please contact me.
On 3/2/08, I cleaned out the 20 gallon tank. I found Papillon dead. He was pretty dessicated so he may have been dead for weeks. I rarely saw both of the anoles at the same time since they hide so well so I did not realize he was gone. I do not know why he died. There were no obvious injuries or problems aside from being dead and dessicated. Fourmi seems lonely but at least there are no more fights.
Fourmi and Papillon's Setup
Fourmi was in a 10 gallon tank with about 38 3" roaches who stayed on the bottom of the cage. The tank had an undertank heater, a ceramic heat emitter, and I set up a fluorescent light so Fourmi could get his UV rays. Egg crate was in the tank for them all to climb on. I added a reptile plastic ladder and a water dish that sticks to the side of the tank for Fourmi. It was hot in the tank so I had to add water twice a day since it evaporated that fast. Fourmi stayed at the top of the tank on the egg crate so far.
I bought a new tank for my fish and turtle so Fourmi got the turtle's 20 gallon tank! I planned to get him a buddy, already named Papillon once it was set up! Only a few roaches are left. They all get along. I moved Fourmi to the 20 gallon on 4/11/07. This tank is custom made for anoles (not roaches this time). He loves all the branches and green stuff (instead of egg crates). You can read more about the new tank on the tank redo page.
On 7/8/07, my mother got a hermit crab who joined the other animals in the 20 gallon tank. Herman and the anoles ignore each other.
Fourmi and Papillon's Photos
Photos are listed from oldest to newest.
These are photos from the day I got him, 7/6/06.
Fourmi in the cage I brought him home in,
looking mighty green.
Fourmi on the egg crate, looking part green
and part brown.
Fourmi on the egg crate.
I moved Fourmi to a 20 gallon tank on 4/11/07. You can read more about that on the tank redo page. Here are photos from that day.
Fourmi waiting in a holding tank - the
end of his face was shedding
Fourmi waiting in a holding tank
20 Gallon Tank
Waterfall
I got Papillon on 5/11/07. This is his first photo. He was in his green phase:
Papillon
The next day, 5/12/07, I got a photo of Fourmi (bottom) and Papillon (top) together. They were
in their brown phase which may indicate stress.
Fourmi and Papillon
20 gallon tank on 7/11/07. The photos is out of focus but shows the tank.
On 7/22/07, I took these photos of the 20 gallon tank before and after I cleaned it and set up a
hermit crab section.
----------
Before Photos:
The left side of the 20 gallon tank - includes
the waterfall.
The right side of the 20 gallon tank -
includes Herman's box of sand and Fourmi (the anole) clinging to the glass at the top
Fourmi - a close-up of Fourmi from the
previous photo.
Fourmi - Fourmi's underside at the instant he
started to leap off the glass.
Entire 20 gallon tank
----------
After Photos:
20 gallon tank - with new hermit crab section
on the right.
The right side of the 20 gallon tank - the
hermit crab section. Herman can be seen in the back of the photo.
Fourmi (bottom) and Papillon (top) - the
digital camera's flash created a huge white light due to glass reflection.
The left side of the 20 gallon tank - on the
right at the top, one of the anoles can be seen; on the right at the bottom is Herman.
Here are three photos of Papillon and the 20 gallon tank from1/13/08. I did not see Fourmi when
I was doing the photos.:
Papillon's head
Papillon's head
20 gallon tank
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