it realy just depends on the animal, i have anoles that come to my hand, others that run from mne and some that realy just dont care what i do as long as i dont try to touch their faces. anyone who spends alot of time caring for anoles or any type of reptile in large numbers will begin to realise that they have personalities, i have a leoperd gecko that wont eat unless he's housed with his favorite female, i have anoles as i formentiond that come straight to me, i can hand feed almost all my animals, a frog that saposidly will attack anything taht moves but will only eat food from tongs (a pacman frog, weirdest dude i ever met leme tell you!) kenyan sand boas that dont like sand (that dude is the weirdest animal on the planet, he refuses to burrow in sand but LOVES carefresh bedding) Tarantulas that only want to bite my finger instead of the crickets....they are activly aggressive towards ME, the prey item is an after thought only taken after my hands away from the cage... and many many other experiances i could keep talking all day.... yes i'd recomend green anoles (back to the orrigonal topic lol) if your lucky you can get a realy sweet one that will be a real friend to you and be very active, the majority of female anoles seem to like venturing out of their cages, males seem to dislike comming out (probly due to being more territorial and not liking to be seperated from their lil piece of realestate) p.s. to anyone who thinks that anoles only turn green when their happy or in proper conditions....have u ever watched an anole hunt? or botherd to look at the color of the cage? if an anole is in a dark brown cage set up hunting crickets 9 times out of 10 the anole will turn brown to blend in, nature in all its beauty if you could change color...would u do it only when u were upset? or just because you could? every animal has a personality, think about that next time you watch your little friends
i agree that all reptiles have their own personalities, and that is the joy of keeping them!! however, its just my opinion that anoles SHOULD NOT be handled. they are very fragile, and it really does stress them out. they are not laid back lizards, they are fast and small. and yeh just cos a green anole is brown does not always mean it is unhappy and vice-versa. it can sometimes just chance colour because it feels like it. or sometimes to blend in. for example, in my anole cage i have a whole coconut with about a 2X2 inch opening and they love to go inside and hang on top of it. they are ALWAYS brown when on the coconut, and when they are in their plants they are most of the time green but sometimes brown! hey wouldnt you change colours, just because you could (IF you could of course LOL)!
Show me the proof... Sure people say this. But ive seen Iguanas that will come right up to you and lay on your shoulder. Leos will walk up onto your hand. Beardies will come to you as well. So if they dont like it then why do they do it? I beleive that people under estimate the emotions of a reptile. Ive never had an Anole but I do have a Leo. My friend has a beardie and ive seen ppl with igs. I know that that reps can be tamed to the point that they like to come out of their cage and be held... now I dont know if that is the case with Anoles but dont say they dont like to be held.
I've never seen a green anole that liked being handled. I suppose there could be exceptions to the rule, but I've cared for a LOT of anoles at my old job and never saw one that wanted or would even tolerate handling. As far as the larger anoles, the only ones I've had experience with are Knight Anoles and they DEFINITELY do not want to be held. And they will let you know. And they have large teeth. I had one that would get so mad when I got him out for cage cleaning, that when I put him back in and let go of him he'd turn around and come after my hand trying to bite me. Sucker got me a few times, too. They also tend to be one of those, "I'm gonna hold on and really let you know what I think of you" biters, too. If you can get past that, though, they are pretty cool to watch, and they have nice colors. I love the little yellow bands they get on their shoulders.
Spix is right. Green anoles really shouldn't be handled. They don't enjoy, and probably will never enjoy it. Many people seem to think that just because their anole is green that it is enjoying being handled. WRONG. If theyare turning green, firstly it doesn't NECCESSARILY mean that your anole is happy, and secondly, if it is happy it is just simply enjoying your body heat. Some people though, will just never understand that these small lizards just aren't suitable for us to hold. The only thing we can try and do is put accross some information to them and try and make them understand. Think of it this way, they are VERY small and VERY delicate. Most are wild caught, and so have been out in the wild at one point and FLEEING from humans. Ever tried to catch an anole in the wild? Does it just sit there and let you catch it? Chances are that it will NOT. They scurry. Period. In captivity, most of them scurry too. The ones that don't may be a little more laid back, OR they could even be ill... truth is most anoles are fast lil buggers and hate human contact. If you wan't a lizard you can handle, then get one that you can handle, ie a leo or crestie, etc. Not an anole. If you want a lizard that is fascinating & entertaining to watch then get an anole. Don't get them because they are cheap or the petstore tells you that it is a begginer lizard, it is NOT! We have no way off 100% saying that reptiles like handling / reptiles don't like handling, but we can only go on our own and others knowledge and experience. But anyway, this thread has gone totally off topic, which is disrespecting the member who started it. If you have any queries, ie brandon, you are disputing whther reptiles like to be handled? Start a new thread next time You will get a much better response. Luke
