Green Anole Lizard Pet Care Tips

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The Green Anole Lizard is an ideal entry-level pets, or for those who don’t have the room or ability to care for traditional pets like dogs or cats. These fascinating small lizards are inexpensive and easy to care for, and their delightful and unique personalities will enchant any pet owner. Here are a few green anole care tips …

The Green Anole Lizard As A Pet

Anoles are available at most large pet centres. A native species to the southeastern United States, green anoles are one of many types of anoles. They grow to about six or seven inches in length and have a typical lifespan of 3-5 years. Their official species name is Anolis carolinensis, which means an anole native to the Carolina region of the United States.

A somewhat shy and very docile creature, these small lizards make ideal house pets. They require very little care other than feeding and monitoring the conditions of their terrarium homes. After a period of time, they will become used to your voice and your presence and may even happily climb onto your hand or fingers with a little patience.

Green Anole Lizard
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anolis_carolinensis

Tips For Feeding And Care

Green anoles are cold-blooded reptiles who love warmth and humidity. Rather than drinking out of a water dish, they lap droplets of water from plants and branches. It is quite easy to provide the humidity levels they need by misting their terrarium daily with lukewarm water from a spray bottle.

In terms of its diet, an Anole lizard is an insect eater who also enjoys the occasional soft-shelled mealworm. Wingless flies, which are readily available at pet stores, are one of their favourite meals. You will especially enjoy watching your pet stalk and consume their prey in their powerful little jaws.

An adult anole will usually eat every other day or so. Juveniles eat more frequently until they are full-grown, usually within six months. It is not unusual for these small reptiles to go a few days without eating, and sometimes up to a week.

The Anole Habitat

Your pet will adapt quite nicely to a terrarium with a capacity of 20-50 gallons. Decorate the terrarium with artificial plants, branches, and rocks to climb on. They enjoy basking on warm rocks or branches, so it helps to set up a small heat lamp shining on a portion of their home. Heat lamps with timers are also readily available at pet stores or online.

Plan to maintain the terrarium at a temperature above 80 degrees during the day, and about ten to twelve degrees cooler at night. Anole lizards thrive in warm, humid conditions and particularly enjoy having areas within the terrarium where they can alternately warm-up and cool down.

Colour Changing

Probably the most fascinating aspect of anoles is their ability to change colour. Typically, their colour change reflects their changing body temperature. They can change from a medium brown to vibrant light green within a minute or two. It’s a fascinating process to watch!

While these small lizards are solitary creatures who don’t particularly need companionship, you can house a couple of females together, or one male and a female or two. Never house two males together unless the terrarium is very large. Male anoles are territorial and will fight, so it’s best to avoid keeping more than one male at a time.

Summary

Green anole lizards are ideal small space pets. They are economical to buy and care for, and quite enjoyable to observe. The main care requirements are feeding and monitoring the conditions of their terrarium while providing warm and humid conditions. You will delight in watching their colour change, at feeding time, as well as their daily antics scampering about their terrarium.

Article by Jim Hofman

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