The proper care of green anoles

Green Anoles (Anolis carolinensis)

Green Anoles are small lizards. They are usually around seven or eight inches from the tip of the tail to the snout. True green anoles are solid green. The ones that are normally kept are subspecies of green anole. While Green Anoles can alternate their colors, brown anoles, Anolis segri can only stay brown. Anoles are commonly given the misnomer of Chameleons. Anoles and Chameleons are very far from similar. The only thing that they both share is the ability to change the skin pigments.
Green anoles are the only anole species that is native to the United States. Most other anole species come from the Caribbean. Because of the competition for food, green anole populations are gradually decreasing.
Housing: Green anoles should be kept in at least a ten gallon tank. It does not matter how old they are or how “happy” they seem in a small tank, they need at least a 10 gallon tank per one Anole. IF you have enough space, go for a larger terrarium. Since Anoles are semi-arboreal, height is more important than floor space. Do not keep them in an enclosed glass tank with a lack of ventilation. A screen as the lid is the best option.
Substrate: There are some horrible substrates that are used in enclosures. Many of the substrates that are sold in pet stores are worthless and can be downright harmful. Instead of wasting money on expensive substrates, go for cheaper, less dangerous substrates.
Pros: The best substrates that I have found are Organic potting soil and Organic compost. Some people wouldn’t think of worm poop or decomposing, organic material as the best substrate but are actually preferred. They hold moisture, and won’t impact the anoles digestive system. Watch out though, some organic soil can contain perlite of bark chips. Don’t buy those soils.
Cons: Sand, Gravel, Bark substrates. These can cause impaction and death of your anole. Don’t buy cedar, pine or fir shavings of any kind. As well as causing impaction, they also release toxic fumes that are harmful to most animals.
Lighting: A fluorescent UVB light in an Anole’s enclosure is a necessity. It is needed to synthesize calcium for the anole’s bones. Watch out! UVB is different from UVA. They also need an incandescent light bulb that produces enough heat to warm them. Those fancy basking bulbs in the pet stores aren’t needed. A regular incandescent light bulb will work fine by itself.
Temperature and Humidity: Anoles need a cool side, a warm side and a basking spot in its enclosure. This allows the anole to change its body temperature (thermoregulate) by moving around in its enclosure. The cool side needs to be around 75 degrees Fahrenheit. The warm side needs to be around 80 degrees and the basking spot needs to be 90 degrees. At night the temperature should be more than 60 degrees .The lights need to be turned on and off at the same time each day or else, it can cause stress. This can be fixed with an inexpensive timer. The humidity in the cage should be at least 50%. This can be achieved by spraying a couple of times in the day.
Furniture: Anoles are very active and need to climb in t he tank. Some branches and plants in the enclosure should provide for that. Grapevine or driftwood can be used as great climbing branches. Branches that come from the outdoors need to be baked in an oven at 300 degrees to kill off any parasites. An alternative is to boil them in hot water. Lots of plants should be given as shelter for your anole. Both real and fake plants can be used in the enclosure. I personally keep fake plants as it usually stays green and you can focus primarily on the well being of your anoles. What some people forget to buy are digital thermometers and hygrometers. Although they can be expensive, they can most accurately tell the temperature and humidity in the cage. The sticky ones are the least accurate by far.

Most of this information was given to me by Bob Carmany. :lol:

 

Nice caresheet! I keep mine in a 7-gallon which is alright, I got it at Petsmart and they said it was alright. My anole is named Scales, and she is great!

 

7 gallon is NOT enough room for a green anole. Petsmart and petco force you to buy worthless products. Do NOT listen to what they say.

 

I was recommended to use EcoEarth, compressed coconut fiber. I have lives plants in his enclosure.
Also, if he has part of his tank exposed to regular sunlight, is that enough UVB daily? I'm not trying to go cheap here, again, this was an option presented to me.

We did read about the care of an anole, but now that he's here I'm feeling very nervous about my understanding.

 

Coconut fiber substrates do have a risk of impaction. Those little threads that stick out of the substrate can clump inside of their intestines and eventually kill it.
UVB cannot travel through glass so it cannot go through the window and through into the enclosure.

 

Thanks so much for your help. I'll get right on that.

 

Re: RE: The proper care of green anoles

7 gallons is not alright. Considering you have just read that caresheet you shouldn't be saying that its "alright". Please take in what has been said in the care sheet as your perfectly capable of reading.
You clearly notice that this is a great caresheet. So follow it.

 

RE: Re: RE: The proper care of green anoles

yea ive learned that pet store people don't know much about reptiles. even if they do, its their job to sell you things, so if the organic soil is $1 (i know it wouldn't be, but stay with me here people) and the coconut fiber is $10, what do you think they will try to sell you? and if there are any pet store people on here, i didnt mean to offend you im just giving a general assumption on the subject. and on the 7 gallon thing, i have 1 male green anole in a 29 tall tank. i sometimes wish i had a bigger tank. lol.

 

RE: Re: RE: The proper care of green anoles

Your logic on the tank sales seems a bit flawed, if petco or whoever wanted to make a big sale they would have gone with the largest they had.

As should be understood by anyone who keeps green anoles, they need room to establish individual areas, in the wild that area is much larger than 10gal. 10gal is the very minimum for one green anole.

The care sheet above makes no mention of how long the day or night cycle should be. The lights should not go on and off at the same time every day. Anole days are 12 -14hrs long, if you want to get complicated with it Nov thru Feb 12hrs of light, Mar and Apr 13hrs, May thru Aug 14hrs, Sep and Oct back to 13hrs of light, that should help you understand the range of times for the lights to be on. For even more detail on the subject of lighting check out sun rise and sun set times for Florida.

The subject of proper feeding is avoided completely.

I do not mean to insult plmarsg8, but proper care and minimal care are very different things, I am working on a care sheet for the green anole that should correct the faults with many that are out there.

Bob Carmany is a very smart man, the care instructions above should have been more in line with all of the good information he has posted on his site.

 

RE: Re: RE: The proper care of green anoles

OKAY, i think the purpose of this thread has been forgotten. I'm gonna lock this now as it is information given, and there is no need for it to be discussed really. If you would like to discuss the care furthermore, or if anyone has any questions, please go ahead and make a new thread