Green Anole — care sheet

Beginner–Intermediate. Sold cheaply everywhere, which is exactly the problem — that cheap price tag drives some of the worst care in the hobby. A green anole is a small, fast, delicate arboreal lizard that needs a tall planted tank, real UVB and heat, and daily misting, and it is a look-don't-touch display animal. Simple needs, but they are non-negotiable.

Insectivore — a varied menu of small feeders (crickets, dubia/discoid/red-runner nymphs, flightless fruit flies, black soldier fly larvae): juveniles eat as much as they’ll take daily; adults take 2–3 feeders, each slightly smaller than the anole’s head, every other day. Gut-load feeders 24–48 hours first.

A TALL, planted, front-opening enclosure — minimum 24×24×24 in (60×60×60 cm) for one, larger preferred — because they’re semi-arboreal climbers that live up in the foliage. Pack it with branches, vines, and live or artificial plants to climb and hide in. House ONE (or a single male with females); males fight.

A basking spot of 90°F (32°C) from an overhead heat bulb, placed over a branch up in the canopy where the anole will bask.

Cool side 70–77°F (21–25°C), with a vertical gradient it can climb through.

Night 65–75°F (18–24°C) — a natural drop is fine.

UVB is essential (diurnal, sun-loving): a T5 HO bulb (Arcadia Forest 6%) giving UVI ~3.0–4.0 at the basking branch (Ferguson Zone 3), plus a bright daylight LED. 14-hour summer / 10-hour winter photoperiod; replace the UVB bulb yearly.

Average 60–70%, achieved by misting the enclosure morning and evening — anoles drink the droplets off leaves and will largely ignore a standing bowl, so misting is their main water source. A night fogger helps in dry homes. Live plants hold humidity and give cover.

A moisture-holding, bioactive-style mix (topsoil/coconut fibre) with leaf litter and live plants — it holds humidity and supports the planting that makes an anole feel secure. Vertical cover matters more than floor space.

Dust feeders with a 50/50 calcium + multivitamin mix at every feeding — small, fast-metabolising insectivores are prone to calcium deficiency, so this plus UVB is what prevents metabolic bone disease.

6–8 in (15–20 cm) including the long tail; males larger, with a pink-orange dewlap

Up to about 10 years with good care (often cut far shorter by poor care)

See a reptile or exotics vet if you notice: A rubbery jaw, bowed or wavy limbs, tremors, or a soft spine (signs pointing to metabolic bone disease — very common in anoles kept without UVB/calcium).; Sunken eyes, wrinkled skin, or lethargy (dehydration — usually from too little misting).; A raw, rubbed snout (rostral abrasion from trying to escape a too-small or too-exposed enclosure).; Open-mouth breathing or mucus (possible respiratory infection), or poor weight and abnormal droppings in a new import (parasites).; A female straining and off her food (egg-binding), or any tissue protruding from the vent (prolapse)..