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Tropical arboreal lizard

Green anole

Anolis carolinensis

Kept the same way as the day gecko, veiled chameleon and Chinese water dragon, so they share one kit: the same heat, light, and humidity, sized to the animal.

Build a green anole setup See the gear
Photograph of a Green anole
Photograph by Paul Hirst ( Phirst ), CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.

Care sheet

What it needs

We have taken these figures from published sources and are still checking them against our own experience. Treat them as a guide, and ask us before you buy.

Basking surface
30 to 35°C Measured on the surface the animal lies on, not in the air.
Daytime air
21 to 30°C The cool end, away from the lamp.
Night air
18 to 24°C
UV index at the basking spot
1.1 to 3 Zone 2. Partial sun or occasional basker, thermoregulator
Humidity
60 to 70%
Daylight hours
14 h in summer, 10 h in winter
Winter
Cooling A cooler period: activity and feeding drop, but the animal stays awake.
Where it lives
Foliage or shrubs, Semi-arboreal
Adult length
10 to 20 cm
What it eats
Carnivore
When it is active
Diurnal
How it lives
Semi-arboreal
Typical captive life
5 years
Longest recorded life
7 years A record from the literature, not what to expect. Most animals live well short of it.

Our reading of the literature, not veterinary advice. Animals vary, and so do rooms, so take these figures, and any setup the builder puts together, as a starting point, and ask a reptile vet about your own animal. Where the figures come from.

From the catalogue

Gear that suits a green anole

Chosen for tropical arboreal lizard. The setup builder puts the whole kit together, sized to the animal, with the reason for each piece.

Build the whole kit

Same care group

Kept the same way

Where it comes from

USA (E Texas, SE Oklahoma, S Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, SE Tennessee, SE Virginia), Bahamas, Grand Cayman Islands (HR 33: 321), Anguilla (HR 32: 118), Cuba (Wegener et al. 2019)

Breeding: oviparous Hybridization: Anolis porcatus appears to hybridize with A. carolinensis in Florida (T. Hagey, Anole Annals 2016, Wegener et al. 2019).

Where the figures come from