The pleasant little green anolid lizards ("Anolis Carolinesis") are a common choice and easy to manage. They are very funny and funny and their green color is lovely.
You have probably already seen a similar lizard in your garden. There are many and they love to be on bushy plants with broad leaves.
A green anolide has a life of 4-8 years and, although you have to take care of them, they are easy to manage if you organize yourself properly (spending a few bucks). This article explains how to care for green anolides and how to keep them happy in their artificial environment, including shelter and food.
Steps
Step 1. Prepare the artificial environment before buying an anole
The size of the container depends on how many anolides you want to keep together. A typical container could be a tall nursery or an aquarium. Make sure you put lots of seedlings in the nursery (real or artificial, or mixed) and objects like branches or smooth stones.
- A community of anolides consists of 1 male and 4 females ("harem"), the size of the container should therefore be approximately 90x60x30cm. The height of the container is very important to allow it to climb.
- Fill the nursery or aquarium evenly with 2.5-5cm of sterilized reptile bark, large enough not to be swallowed by anolides. Never use non-sterile bark or material that you are unsure of; ask for advice at pet stores or talk to a vet.
- Always use a container cover. Other animals (such as cats) like to 'play' with anolides, which could be killed if they escape.
Step 2. Provide proper temperature for anolids
They have to stay at 24-30ºC. Make sure they have enough light to grow well and also for the plants in the container. The night temperature must be a minimum of 20ºC but not lower.
- A 40 watt fluorescent light will create the right temperature, but at night replace it with a black light (Wood's light).
- Like people, anolides can fall asleep in the sun for longer than they should. Even if they love daylight, use a timer to set the light to 12h, so they can also have 12h of darkness, obviously using a black light or they will die of cold.
- It is also important to maintain a high level of humidity by using water devices or sprays. Make sure the air in the container is fresh.
Step 3. Decide how many anolides you want
It is easy to have just one, but if you decide to keep more than one, buy only one male, because the males tend to fight. Also, if you don't want them to reproduce, avoid a combination of male and female; two females is the best choice; females get along well and often curl up together. If you want them to breed, a harem is ideal with 1 male and 4 females.
- When they are young, it is difficult to determine the sex of lizards. Males often have an air pocket or double chin under their throats, which they swell to form a red frill for mating occasions or to mark territory. When they grow up, the male is typically larger than the females and has a longer snout. Males also have two broad scales on the stomach near the tail. Also, males have two bumps near their tails and females only one. They are also more colorful than females.
- Some say that anolodes are not very sociable when in a confined environment, from which they cannot escape, so be careful. They also say that you have to keep the anolides separate from each other in different containers. This arrangement is very comfortable for anolides, not too artificial, therefore less stressful and healthier. However, if you keep more than one anole in the same nursery, be sure to provide them with various items they can settle on to avoid competition situations. Be aware that, apart from the breeding season, opposite sex anolides may bother staying in the same container; speak to a vet if you are unsure.
Step 4. Buy an anole
Choose a reputable store and check out the lizard before buying it. When buying an anole, be sure to check for parasites, laziness and body weight. Make sure by looking at the ribs. A diseased anolide has sunken cheeks and resembles a skeleton with skin. Make sure, when you buy an anole, that it is separate from the others and that it does not show signs of stress, parasites, loose stools, strange complexions and that they have a tail. A green colored anole is less stressed and healthier. (Lazy anolides may feel cold, or too hot. It all depends on the environment around them.)
Use common sense when choosing a pet. Don't choose the smallest, skinniest lizard because you feel sorry for it. You will feel more sorry when he dies,
Step 5. Feed and drink your anolides
Anolides are insectivores and we eat small and large insects. Anolides need a minimum of 2 meals per week, preferably every 2 or 3 days. Ask a veterinarian for advice. If you have more than one anole, make sure they all have the necessary amounts of food. The food must be alive - canned foods are no good because the insects are dead and therefore there is no competition for your anolides - so here are some tips on what to use:
- Use crickets. Anolides love crickets; but make sure you buy the small size ones. Soak the crickets in supplements containing calcium and vitamins to make sure the anolides get the nutrition they need. (Anolides that do not have the necessary nutrients can get bone sick (MDB) and die. (If you keep the crickets all together, feed them food containing lots of vitamins before feeding them the anolides. Thus, all the vitamins assimilated by the crickets., will in turn be assimilated by the lizards. Similarly, if the crickets die of hunger, your lizard will not be satisfied enough. Newborn anolides (if you decide to breed them) need very small crickets and gnats.
- Occasionally, use beetles or flies to keep your lizards in training.
- Anolides also eat vermicelli, midges, earthworms, canned crickets, and small spiders.
- Do not use the larvae. They are not digested by anolides and therefore do not produce energy.
- Anolides prefer to drink water droplets on plants. Hence, spraying water in the nursery is essential. Do this for 10 seconds, 2-3 times a day. If you can't or don't want to, install an automatic water mist.
- It is good to place food in areas other than their home. So that the remains (if you use crickets or other animals) will not bite the lizards while they sleep. If you put crickets in a low bowl, make sure they don't hide under it, plus the lizards will thank you for not having them around while they sleep at night! If they are small, they won't bother you but some suggest never putting them loose in the container but instead in a separate container. Move the anole to the cricket container to eat for 5-10 minutes and then return it to its container.
- If you don't use ultraviolet (UVB) light, anolides need the necessary calcium and vitamins. If on the other hand, if you use a UVB they will have these resources of course. Make sure this light is adequate for the size of the container. (Change the bulbs every couple of months even if they still produce light. After a while they will stop producing UVA and UVB.)
Step 6. Clean the nursery / aquarium / container regularly
Indoor reptiles are prone to germs and dirt that gradually builds up in the container. It is important to keep their home clean, so clean at least once a week. And always remove the remnants of food after meals.
To make things easier for you, put a plastic sheet on the bottom before placing the substrate
Step 7. Keep things under control to avoid diseases and problems
Some anolides get infections on the face and near the mouth. You can solve this problem by applying cotton soaked in hydrogen peroxide or Neosporin® (antibiotic), or ask your vet which product to use. Do this once a day, for a couple of days. Do not force the treatment; if the anolides escape, let them escape to avoid stressing them too much. Instead, try to keep the container dry and clean if there is moisture.
- If there are any red spider mites (spider mites), eliminate them. You can create an insecticide by mixing shaving cream, warm water and vegetable oil in a bottle. These spiders represent to anolides what ticks represent to us.
- Make sure you remove the mold the instant you see it! Don't wait to see what happens, as this will likely kill your lizard.
Step 8. Keep them carefully
It is possible to hold an anole in your hand and have it eaten by your hand as well. Anole may learn to put itself on your hand in exchange for a "prize", but don't take it yourself. Instead, allow him to walk on your hand by himself, so as to avoid unnecessary stress. Also, keep in mind that these lizards are very fast and agile, so don't keep them somewhere they might escape. Either way, anolides are made more for looking at them than for holding them, so avoid doing that.
- If you need to move an anole (for eating or cleaning), do it gently. Take it with a firm movement and move it without delay.
- Always wash your hands after touching a green anole, or any other animal. Also, wash your hands after cleaning the container to avoid contagion of salmonellosis.
Step 9. If you want to pick up an anole and it bites you, don't panic or move abruptly or you'll break his jaw
Advice
- If you always put their food in the same place, they will learn it and expect you to always put it there.
- Small crickets are easily digested. Make sure there aren't too many crickets to prevent lizards from biting. Long-legged spiders (Pholcidae) keep anolides in training but offer few nutrients.
- While these types of lizards are inexpensive, you will have to spend a little to maintain them. You will need suitable lights to illuminate and heat, to buy the necessary food (such as crickets - if you do not reproduce your own), supplements, water sprayers and the nursery / aquarium / container that you will need to clean every week. Make sure you can cover the expenses!
- Males chase females during the breeding season, but it is often the female who decides when to mate. While males stress females, they don't harm them. However, stress is best avoided, so remove the male from the container when not in the breeding season.
- Anolides deposit fat reserves in the tail. So an anole lizard with a big tail is a good eating lizard.
- Newborn anolides love to lick citrus fruits for vitamins. In addition, old citrus fruits will attract midges which are one of their favorite dishes and source of nutrients, the other being termites. Be sure to remove food after meals to prevent mold from forming.
- These tips are valid for almost all anolides (as there are 300 species and subspecies), although brown anatols prefer a more terrestrial environment than green ones (so, in that case, use a container that is wider than long).
- If you catch your own lizards, don't do it without a plan. They are not easy to manage but you can do it if you like. Brown anolid lizards are easier to catch.
- Why not go out and find one?
- Research how certain species behave in contact with others, such as geckos, frogs, and newts, before putting them together. However, it is not recommended to do this, because each breed needs a different environment. For example, newts are aquatic and semi-aquatic and die at a temperature above 21ºC, while anolides die at below 20ºC. The climatic requirements, light, heating are completely different and therefore it is not recommended to mix the species, also because they could eat each other. Newts are very delicate and could become a victim in these cases. Take into account the temperament and needs of different species. It also considers the risk of introducing a foreign pathogen by bringing two different species into contact, which do not live together in nature. The species could be wild, but they could come from different parts of the world with different pathogens and immune systems, or they could be species grown in a container and therefore not prone to certain diseases or the stresses of wildlife. It could be a disaster to put different species together.
Warnings
- The flies alone do not supply the lizards with fat. They will die slowly as humans did when they ate only rabbits in the Old West.
- Don't just use cups or bowls for water; anolides do not like to drink from containers. Plus, newborn lizards drown in water. Spray water into their container or use automatic nebulizers.
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Be careful when heating the nursery / aquarium / container:
- Do not use thermal stones. They often overheat causing burns and death.
- Do not use lava stones; anolides love them but could be killed by their excessive heat.
- If you are using a solar lamp or infrared bulb, make sure it is not in direct contact with the container. Many of these lizards died of heat in this way inside the containers.
- Do not use a warmer. They can cause fires if they are not used properly in the container.
- If you are unsure about a certain insect species and want to feed it to your lizards, first make sure it is not poisonous. Wasps, hornets, bees, wolf spiders and scorpions are not suitable for anolides. Even if the lizards do not eat them, it could be dangerous to keep them in contact in the same cage.
- Use live food: Adult anolides will never eat dead food, and will starve.
- Remember that most of the heat and light comes from the sun, so make sure the anolides have a light source that radiates downward rays and not the other way around.
- Do not put more than one male in one container. They would fight continuously for the territory. Males are loners, so having more than one in a container would complicate "land affairs."
- Anolides do not have a good immune system. Make sure the food you give them does not contain pesticides, as these lizards have very few white blood cells (hence a poor immune system).
