Bringing the Outside, In (An Anole Care Guide)

 Ahhhhh, the rainforest! When this word is brought up, vivid images of brightly colored scenery usually comes to mind. The constant vocalizations of the local fauna creating and eerie background cadence for the lush, well watered landscape. Maybe the first animal that comes to mind is a panther. Perched silently upon a well vined tree. Or maybe it’s more akin to their native prey, the loud and boisterous monkey. Ever vigilant, calling to each other, always alert for the bigger more aggressive neighbors. Perhaps your mind looks down at the forest floor and the insects are the first to thought. Millions of species, billions of individuals. All busily occupied in the daily struggle that would be life as a bug. 

Me? I enjoy particularly the creatures that eat those bugs. I grew up with a rainforest wallpaper accenting my west wall. Staring into the printed jungle landscape and counting how many different lizards I could find in the trees and frogs in the river and pond. I still remember the count. It was three green lizards, two brown toads and one big, Red Eyed Tree Frog.

(Sanjiro, my American Green Eyed Tree Frog)

My first real herp (short for ‘Herptile’ which is a reptile or amphibian)  was a Gulf Coast Toad. It was given to me as your typical ‘garden gift’ from my mother who was digging her garden bed on the side of our then new house. I was thrilled to have a new friend, and I being an 8 year old Animal Planet enthusiasts at the time, immediately began to set up a habitat for it in an empty tank my dad had kept for his salt water fish. I put in some dirt and a single stick in case it wanted to climb around (I was not aware toads don’t climb) a dish for water and used Roly Polies as some food. I put the toad in my thrown together terrarium and found a spare lamp to use as a light. I named him (later discovered her) Mr. Bean. My parents swore to me Mr. Bean would die in a tank due to being wild caught, but my little stubborn self managed to keep that toad for seven years. 

In the end I let her go to make room for the lizards that I had been slowly becoming a pro at catching. In my local town of Austin, Texas. Carolina Green Anoles are found everywhere. The tiny green lizards like hanging on fence posts, hiding in bushes, and even hanging out on our front door to bask in the direct sunlight that liked to fade the paint every sunny day. The males are always larger and more cocky. They tend to have large, ‘V’ shaped heads, bold personalities and vibrant red dewlaps and head crests. Females are always smaller. Have a rounder head with softer features and many sport a white stripe on their backs instead of that pronounced dewlap. Comparing them side by side the sexual dimorphism is rather pronounced for lizards. The males indeed look more masculine and the females more feminine. At least to me. 

Both sexes are full of personality and rather tolerant of humans. More than once have I missed the pounce on an impressive male only to have him scuttle just out of reach and taunt me with his territorial display. The same display he would use for rivals or mates. His little push-ups and dewlap flashing strikingly and always causing me to laugh out loud at it’s audacity. Who would have thought such tiny lizards would have such gall? They are indeed, a joy to observe and catch. And with the proper setup, keep.

(Fen, displaying his dewlap)

But how hard can that be? These little guys are literally found in almost all areas of the south, basking on cars and soaking up those triple digit weather days as if they were born for them. Which in fact they were. Anolis caolinensis, the Latin name for the Green Anole, loves it warm and even more so humid. They are a tropical breed of lizard that thrives in heat and moist often seen scooping up a variety of insects and defending their territories from rivals in the more tropical regions of the world. Places like Mexico, Texas, Florida and Louisiana should come to mind when thinking about a possible tank setup for these guys.

(My 30gal rainforest setup with fogger. Ft, Jörmung)

I’ve managed to observe through my years of catching and watching them, that a dominant anole will usually be seen in a bright green color while brown tends to be the more submissive color. Usually when American Green Anoles are a doing push ups to attract mates or threaten rivals, they will be a vibrant green. This occurs up until contact with each other in either mating or battle. In which the submissive one, being either the female or the losing male, will turn brown and present submissive behaviors. Either acceptance of the male or fleeing the area completely. Anoles will also change color to hide from potential predators like Chameleons, but they are more likely to run and take cover than freeze and utilize the camouflage to its full affect.

The general color changes coupled with the displays of black patches behind the eyes (signifying stress) and the red, sometimes white of the dewlap, makes these little lizards appealing in terrarium setup. Their care is quite simple in practice, but can be surprisingly costly upfront given their specific species requirements. Anoles require at least four hours of UVA and UVB light a day so they can digest their food properly. Anything less for an extended amount of time will cause deterioration of their bones and cartilage from a lack of nutrient absorption. UVA and UVB lights can be rather expensive to buy at a pet supply store. That coupled with the fact they will need a source of humidity, heat and at least a 10 gallon aquarium tank with a lid for their habitat means you can expect to easily drop over one hundred dollars on a store setup alone.  

(Don’t let their cheap prices in stores fool you! Their setup can cost quite a pretty penny)

Now before you go tossing away these guys credit based off the setup cost, know that things like the need for UVA and UVB can be bypassed with a tank situated next to a sunny window. This is actually my preferred setup, especially since most of mine are wild caught anoles. It simulates natural weather conditions and sunlight of their environment and keeps their circadian rhythms aligned naturally. If your window’s sunny enough and you have a glass lid, you can even save on the humidity system by placing your water bowl in the sunlight and utilizing the evaporation. Just know you will need to refill the bowl more often or require a larger water source. Also you are going to need a crack for ventilation, you do not want to seal them in there.

 If you are in an area with not much sunlight available, you are going to need artificial lighting. Anoles like to live between 65°F and 85°F in temperature with at least a 75% humidity factor. There are many different styles and designs for terrarium setup, so spend time finding what works best for your setup and budget. Whichever style you choose, be sure to unplug it phisically at night or set it on a timer that will turn the lights off at night. Anoles, being diurnal lizards, can begin to stress unneeded due to constant light and lack of sleep. Just be sure not to unplug your heat stone. Also remember to change your bulbs every 6 months. The amount of UV light produced from most bulbs halves after about 3 months and becomes non existent after 6. Even if the light itself still functions, you will still need to buy a new bulb.

(You can find cheap lights at Walmart for around $10 a piece. Multifunctional lights lights like these will start around $30 per bulb. That’s not even including the lamp itself!)

Once your lighting is setup, your going to want to line the bottom of your tank with at least an inch of substrate. You can use sterile options like moss or soil bought from the store, or you can take a bucket outside and grab some soil and substrate right from the ground. Just know this stuff from outside is likely going to contain critters and possibly even pathogens that are harmful to your lizards so you’re gonna want to sterilize it if you can. You can sterilize soil with a variety of different methods including the microwave. The microwave is by far the easiest. After making sure their is no metal pieces in your soil, simply microwave it in a safe bowl on high for about 90 seconds/ pound. Sift it around about half way through cooking and bam! Safe, free substrate. 

(Fen posing in old setup)

Once it’s clean your going to want to create different depths as well as place down a water dish to aide with hydration and humidity. If you have an automatic mister, fogger or heat stone (one made for SMALL lizards) you are going to want to place them in there now on top of your substrate. Place your heating source on one end of the tank, preferably under your basking spot to create a gradient temperature in the enclosure. This means one side is noticeably warmer than the other. This allows the lizards to thermoregulate their bodies. Remember they are cold blooded and their body temp is based on their environment.

Make sure your habitat is interesting with different depths of soil. Tunnels and stones are fun for hunting. Climbing areas and foliage to hide. When it comes to decorating the tank this is always my favorite part. I like to use a mix of fake and real plants to really give a natural look and feel how I want it. An added bonus is that live plants help raise the natural humidity and oxygen levels within the tank, keeping your animals happier and healthier in the long run. Just be sure to check that all live plants are safe for your tank inhabitants and care for them similar you would a house plant.

Once your terrarium is all setup, it’s time to drop a few feeders in and release the lizards! If you have a single male or female, than congratulations. They should adjust to their new home in a few days and you can observe it at your leisure feeding them every other day. If you have multiple lizards than you are going to want to observe them closely the first few days. A male and a female together will do fine. You may even see them courting each other over the next few weeks as the male establishes his territory and the roles of those in it. Two females together should also be fine as they typically share territories in the wild with each other.

 Two males together, will normally fight to establish dominance as the leader. This can go one of three ways. The first is both males will be extremely dominant and fight till one of them dies. Sometimes the winner attempts to eat the loser. This is never advised to allow happen as the winner can easily perish from injury. Two overly dominant males simply should be separated. The second scene is they will fight briefly, dominance will be claimed by one who will stay green and the other will turn brown and flee. From then on the loser will turn brown and bob submissively whenever the dominant one approaches. But they will coexist relatively peacefully. The third outcome is unlikely as Anoles tend to be a very territorial species, with the amount of testosterone in males being directly correlated with their crest size and aggression. In this scenario though, both males simply flee from each other’s presence, avoiding conflict all together. I’ve never seen it outside a case of over crowding, so would I call it a natural response? No. Happy males are likely to fight and are best kept apart unless the owner has experience with signs of stress.

Once your lizard has taken to his new home, all the hard stuff is essentially done and now it’s just maintenance and observation. Anoles are small and fragile. They don’t like to be handled and can drop their tails if grabbed by them which can take away a good chunk of your lizards overall size. When they grow back, they contain no bone, just cartilage and stay an unattractive grey color that does not change with its body. If you simply must hold them, than it should always be with the softest of grips, akin to holding a straw wrapper, and with a cupped hand. Grasp them gently behind the head (never their limbs as they will readily break them trying to escape) and place them wherever they need to go head first as they tend to shoot off when released. Also a good thing to remember is they do bite and the larger ones can pinch pretty hard if they get a good grip. It’s not hard enough to break skin, but because of that and their lightning speed, I would not recommend handling by children under 7. 

Remember to refill water bowls and hydration systems, cleaning them thoroughly once a month. Clean up any waste you may find in the enclosure as lizards do in fact poop. It looks similar to bird droppings and can get stinky if left for too long with not terrarium decomposers. I would recommend trying to always have crickets inside as any uneaten bugs will clean any waste left around until eaten. Just make sure it’s not so many as they harrass your lizards. Replace bulbs every 6 months as well as do a full tank cleaning and wipe down with natural cleansers like vinegar. You don’t want your walls getting so dirty you can’t see your lizards anymore but you also don’t want to stress them out too much with constant tank clean outs. Try and feed them every other day with a variety of insects no bigger than their head. Make sure to observe them regularly to assure they are looking healthy and happy. Remember, black spots behind the eyes means ‘I’m stressed in a bad way’ and you should always seek to rectify.

The cool thing about vivariums and turning them into terrariums, is that as you come to know the species within them. You can gradually turn it from a simple habitat, to a self contained ecosystem. Tank sizes can get huge and depending on you’re investment ability and time, you can easily create your perfect miniature ecosystem complete with weather cycles, ambiance and water effects, all in the comfort of your room. It’s amazing the wonders and escape that can be found inside a glass box. With a little bit of science and a whole lot of observation. I've been learning about reptiles and specifically the little Green Anoles since I was a kid watching Animal Planet instead of cartoons. Years of experience has taught me the hard way how these guys like to be treated and I've grown to love the species as a whole as both a gardener, a terrarium builder, a wife and a mother. I look forward to sharing more adventures and stories about these Terrific Terrariums and Vibrant Vivariums!