CAPTIVE CARE

Generally Anoles are housed singly or in groups of 1 male with 1 to 3 females. Anoles live best in a large well ventilated enclosure. The enclosure should allow atleast 10 gallons for the first lizard, and 10 gallons more for every 2 additional anoles. Male Anoles can be very territorial so shouldn't be housed together unless in a very larghe enclosure (55 gallons and larger).  

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Furnishings

Anoles are arboreal so be sure to include lots of logs,twigs, stumps, and bark slabs to climb and bask on. Also they like to have some greenery to perch and rest on, and most Anoles drink the water droplets on the leaves rather than drinking from a bowl, so a few live (or plastic) plants should be added for these purposes(live plants also help to maintain the high humidity). Some good plants to use include: sanseverias,difenbachias, small ferns, spiderpalnts, variuos bromeliads, ivys, pothos, butterfly plants, some orchids, Ficus vines, and philodendrons. 

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Anoles require a day heat of around 75-85F, with a basking zone approaching 90F. At night the temperature can drop to 70-75F. To reach these temperatures an incandescent lamp is used in a metal reflector lamp. It is also recommended that your Anole recieves some UV rays, so a UV light in a flourescent fixture can be used. Some species of Anoles also require a period of Brumation (winter rest) for 8-12 weeks where the tempereature should be dropped 5-10*F overall. During this time the humdidty should also be dropped 10-20%. The easiest way to do this is use a lower Wattage bulb in the reflector lamp and lower the hours of daylight from 14 to 10 hours. The humidity in your Anole's tank should be maintained at around 50-80% depending on the species.

Feeding Anoles is simple, They are satisfied with Crickets, Waxworms, Small Grasshoppers, fruitflies, houseflies, some individuals may also take mealworms. These should be dusted in a Vitamin Supplement atleast once a week. Anoles should be fed daily, offering 2 or 3 items per feeding. Older animals may not always eat at this rate, but make sure that they can if they so desire. Some Anoles will also eat fruit flavoured baby food, especially apricot flavour! Young Anoles should be fead daily, on a diet of "pinheads" (baby crickets-about 1/8" long), wingless fruit-flies, dusted with a vitamin powder every other feeding, and the apricot baby food as well. Offering a variety to your anoles will make them healthier, and happier!

For the most part, anoles should NOT be handled, they are what is considered a display animal.  NEVER PICK UP YOUR ANOLE BY THE TAIL!!!! it will break off, though it may regrow in time, it will never look as beautiful or be as long as before.

Breeding anoles can be very easy to accomplish, and is a sure sign that you are doing a good job in keeping them. Usually, they will breed on their own, but you may need to condition them if they do not. Condition them simply by making them think it is winter, starting in October or November start to cool down their temoperatures, and offer less food,  keep them at temperatures of between 65 and 80*F until Februaury, then over the next few weeks, offer lots of food, and raise the temperatures back to the normal levels. The key to conditioning is to do it gradually, don't make gthe changes suddenly, remember, you are trying to duplicate nature. The signs of breeding are very obvious in anoles, the male will display his throat fan multiple times daily, and there will be a little of chasing.  Mating usually takes plave in the late afternnon or early evening. The females can lay up to 12 eggs each year, usually 1 every 2-3 weeks.  To incunate the eggs, all you need is a yogurt cup, or similar contianer, 1.2 filled with moistened vermiculite or perlite. simply place the eggs on top of the mixture, and place it back in the cage where they will stay at temperatures of 75-90*F. The eggs hatch after 30-45 days using this method. Another option is to buy a commercial incubator and place the cups inside, set the temperature to 85*F, and check periodically, eggs hatch after about 35 days.