Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i am buying a green anole and was hoping someone could tell what i need for one??????

Well for one experience and knowledge. A large either screen cage or a tank( which are horrible b/c they keep in moisture and create mold and will give them an upper respitory infection ( dark brown breathing heavily lose of weight and then death not very pretty) A screen cage is best reptiruims are great, pets smart sells them. A water dish and a dripper, fake or real plants ( i have a ficus for mine when i have some, I live in florida so they are all over my yard. any real plants will be good for them, they drink the water drops off of things and will drink out of standing water ( big myth that they dont drink standing water) If you have live plants water them every other day mist their leaves 2 times a week. if you go with fake you can mist them 2 times a week.. IF you are using a SCREEN CAGE. Glass cages... are for fish. They hot too much heat and too musch moisture ( I have a post discussing this a nit lower under the "help!!!" you should read it also) screen cages are great for reptiles you can also get them off line ( herpsupplies.com is where i got my reptiruims from. But crickets can chew holes in them but you can keep them in a tank ( they may smell more but its better then crickets getting out and playing "catch the cricket" a daily game at my house ) You will also need food crickets but crickets need to be gut loaded, i use cereal and greens for the calicum. Rememeber anoles are fast little creatures always hunting for small big here and there and will get sick of crickets and crickets will make then loose weight and get sick. Anoles need a wide range of food if you want them fat and healthy. Go outside and catch stuff grass hoppers( be careful with spiders i dont see anoles eat those) moths they love moths some eat ants which i dont recomend feeding them. Meal worms are ok... every once in a while. ( snack) but the beetles from the meal worms, anoles will not eat they stink. Creepy crawlies, rolley polies, small baby earth worms, mole crickets, months, catapillars, grasshoppers and tons of other stuff you can find under stuff and flying around and the great time to look for grass hoppers is at night after it rains and its all still moist you can look on bushs and tall weeds and you can get moths that way. Even try leaving on the porch light. Speaking of lights you need lights you uvb full spectrum work great and a basking blub.. but also real sunshine. My cage is near my window i can open it and they get a silver of sun. My anoles I can take out side ( they are huge cuban kinight anoles) I wouldnt suggest taking a reg anole out. but some time in the sun in your house will work. Or buying really expesnive light will work too. Check out that website and price stuff... a 12 dollar lizard is going to cost at least 100 bucks, plus food that could be 10 bucks a month... Anoles arent great beginners pets. You cant really handle them and they need different food. you might want to try a breaded dragon. they can be in a tank and handled. Well good luck, dont forget to read the "anoles and their enviroment (long)" post under the "help!!!" good luck you'll need it thanks

you are wrong about certain stuff anoles would do well in a aquarium tank i have read it on many websites.

I wouldn't say you're "wrong". I would just think it depends on where you live. It's humid enough in Florida that a glass tank has more potential problems. Where I grew up, however, it's the only way to go. In the high desert, a muggy day is maybe 20% humidity, so you HAVE to go glass, just to keep the humidity up to anywhere near proper levels.

You might seek some answers at the Anole Care site here on Kingsnake. It's got lots of excellent information on almost all aspects of Anole care, especially for a beginner.

Good luck, and have fun!
el toro

i need a glass tank because i live in colorado and my room is always dry you were the only one told be what i really needed.

A screen cage can be kept at an ideal temp. You have never used screen cages I am assuming you then you dont know that they can be kept warm nicley and anoles dont need heat at night. but my question is, if glass tanks are so "great" then how come most of the people are killing their anoles on this forum. If you dont think so start reading the posts and think about that.

With respect to your opinion on aquariums, I don't believe that glass enclosures is what's "killing all of the anoles on this forum."

A lot of people have trouble with their anoles because they're often seen as "easy, cheap beginner's lizards:" People won't spend the money they should on them (for UVB lighting, etc.), aren't willing to take them to vets if they suspect the lizard is ill, and a lot of kids try to handle the "cool new lizard" their mom or dad got them. This is a shame, because anoles are great lizards to watch if you're willing to put the money into them that they need.

Sure, respiratory infections due to bacterial or fungal growth which was encouraged by inadequate ventilation and lack of a clean enclosure may have been the demise for a few of the anoles on this forum... But saying that aquariums kill all of them is a biased opinion and a very ambiguous statement if people do not know your reasoning behind it.

A glass, or even a wooden enclosure is needed for anoles where I live. Winter gets cold and dry, and the summers aren't always as humid as what the anoles would need.

For example... If I were to follow your suggestion to not heat my anole (who, by your instructions, would be housed in a screen cage) at night if it was winter: My anole would freeze to death.

Just my 0.02$...

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Christina Miller
Herptiles.org

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1.0 Iguana iguana - Draco
1.0 Anolis carolinensis - Duke
0.1 Eublepharis macularis - Ocelot
1.0 Cosymbotus platyurus - Baron
1.0 Cynops orientalis - Hyper
1.0 Leiocephalus schreibersi - Turbo

you are exactly right anole need heat during the day byt not at night a you can tell this by their color.i do not handle my green anole i just watch him from time to time. he has pretty much every thing he needs.(i have the supplements, the cricket feed, the gel stuff for the crickets water supply,the other anole food, a spray bottle,the light and the UVB light bulb, sticks and plants to climb on with a spot to bask, a water disk;if he drinks from it; the crickets, and of course the anole;male;

Anoles in florida in the winter survive 19 degrees winters.. and imsure you dont have your anoles out side... and knowing people dont like to get no colder then 55 degrees in your house at NIGHT in the winter.. we go to 60 so save on our bill. So dont give me that freeze at night crap.. unless you live outside in a box.. I could understand that.

Not crap. Canadian winters.

I agree that anoles can survive Flordia winters (19F isn't that cold... We get periods of -40F where I live), but this does not mean that using a glass terrarium for the sake of insulating the heat that was in there is wrong. The "freeze at night" was a bit of an exaggeration, I admit, but I like to keep my anoles relatively warm regardless of the time of day or time of year (mine is kept in a 33 gallon long style aquarium, with a small house gecko, and he is plump, healthy and rarely ever brown).

My house has gone down to 50F during the winter, at night, because when it gets below 10F outside at night the cost of heating triples due to the type of heater we have. Usually the anole's terrarium does not fall below 60F, and we have no night time heating in that enclosure, because the glass (although it is still not a great insulator) keeps some of the heat in. A wooden enclosure would probably even work for these lizards, I've got two being built right now for various other reptile species.

Anywho, glass enclosures, I imagine, can be Hell in Florida because it's already so hot. Especially if you keep one outside... But don't assume everyone's keeping their anoles outside in a climate as warm as Florida's. Glass aquariums work well for lots of species, even if they're not suitable for all of them.

Plus, not all A. carolinensis live in Florida. According to the Audubon field guide they live up to South Virginia, and if I'm not mistaken they can be found a little farther north than that, too. A. sagrei is a similar species with similar care (they're from the Bahamas and Cuba) and they've survived, and even thrived, in the same range as green anoles. Both species can tolerate some variety in the conditions they're kept in (as long as general care guidelines are followed).
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Christina Miller
Herptiles.org

--------------------
1.0 Iguana iguana - Draco
1.0 Anolis carolinensis - Duke
0.1 Eublepharis macularis - Ocelot
1.0 Cosymbotus platyurus - Baron
1.0 Cynops orientalis - Hyper
1.0 Leiocephalus schreibersi - Turbo

You totaly missed what i said.. I dont know of anyone in florida who keeps their reptiles outside thats just asking for trouble. If you keep your house so warm then you dont need to use the heat but if you want to over heat and stress your anoles thats your business not mine. I didnt ask you to get into a pissing contest with me either i was offering some very helpful advice from a person who has had experience with anoles for over 23 years and they dont need lights at night in any state as long as the house dosent get below 19 degress.. thank you end of story im sick of trying to prove my point when your missing it.

Then this has been a huge misunderstanding, because my point was that glass aquariums are not necessarily unsuitable habitats for anoles.
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Christina Miller
Herptiles.org

--------------------
1.0 Iguana iguana - Draco
1.0 Anolis carolinensis - Duke
0.1 Eublepharis macularis - Ocelot
1.0 Cosymbotus platyurus - Baron
1.0 Cynops orientalis - Hyper
1.0 Leiocephalus schreibersi - Turbo

I live in Manitoba,Canada and Jinx u are right it is down right freezing in the winter!!!!!!In the summer it is down right hot!!!!!!!!!!!!!I have to have a little heater in my room at night for my reptiles In the winter.