Enclosures:

By far, the best enclosure to house an Anole in is an aquarium with a screen top. They maintain temperature and humidity better than anything else. The MINIMUM requirement is 10 gallons of space per Anole. It doesn’t matter whether the Anole is an adult, juvenile, or hatchling. This applies to small/medium Anoles (A. carolinensis, A. sagrei, etc.). Of course, if you can afford it, a larger enclosure would be better. Also, the high or tall versions are preferred since Anoles are arboreal.

Just because you can house a small Anole species in a 10-gallon enclosure doesn’t mean that you should. The 10-gallon per Anole requirement is a minimum and bigger is always better. Likewise, you should allow at least 30-gallons per Anole for the larger species (A. equestris, A. garmani, etc.).

Substrate:

The first rule is NEVER use a substrate that contains indigestible material. This includes such things as sand, ground Walnut hulls, corncob refuse, moss, bark products, pebbles, gravel, etc. These materials can cause impaction and death if ingested along with a prey item (Anoles often get a mouthful of substrate when hunting on the ground). DO NOT use unsterilized substrates of any kind. You risk importing all sorts of insect pests, slugs, and weed seeds when you use such materials. All of these pests can be difficult to eradicate. Believe me, over the years I have had experience with most of them. DO NOT use any substrates containing Pine, Fir, or Cedar shavings or bark. Conifers produce chemicals that can cause nerve damage in reptiles.

Also, avoid using moss, pure Peat moss and other fibrous, stringy substrates. They can have bad effects on your Anole’s digestive system. It is much like eating string!

Also, be aware that if you plan to use reptile carpet or paper, you might unwittingly be causing another problem. If you have a gravid female, you must provide a place for her to bury her eggs. If she can’t dig in the substrate, she may become egg-bound and die (see the Breeding section).

What can you use? Two of the best are organic potting soil (without Perlite or fertilizer) and organic compost. Both are absorbent and digestible and can be found at most garden supply stores for a few dollars. Unless you go crazy misting and watering, they will be fine WITHOUT any gravel for drainage.

Heating, Lighting, and Humidity:

You don’t need any of the specialty bulbs that you see in the pet stores except for one. You will need a fluorescent UVB TUBE (not coil) and fixture. They come in lengths from 8-48″. A 5% is sufficient and ReptiSun or ReptiGlo are the best of the lot. Anoles need the UVB as found in natural sunlight to synthesize calcium. Avoid coil UVB bulbs, they only provide UVB in a small area. Mercury Vapor and Halogen bulbs are generally used for very large enclosures and can cause blindness in reptiles. Besides, they can be difficult to dispose of since some (Mercury Vapor in particular) contain hazardous materials. UVB only penetrates 6-12” into the enclosure so you need to mount them as close to the screen top as possible.

Heat can be supplied by a regular light bulb (which also produces UVA). You will need to have a warm and a cool side of the enclosure so the Anole can move about and thermoregulate (adjust his internal temperature). The cool side should be 75 degrees and the warm side should be about 82 degrees. You will also need to provide a basking spot of 85 – 92 degrees (90 is ideal). The lights should be on from 12-14 hours a day and turned on and off at the same time each day. A timer will take care of this. Unless your house gets lower than 60 degrees at night, you won’t need any nighttime heating. If it does, a Ceramic Heat Emitter is the best way to go.

Since Anoles are arboreal, they like to bask in heat from above. All of the lighting should be mounted above the enclosure. Remember, glass and plexiglass will filter out 95% of the UVB so DO NOT put the fluorescent on the side of the enclosure but rather over the screen top and NEVER mount the light inside of the enclosure. Also, NEVER use Heat rocks since they can cause burns. Get a couple of thermometers to check the temperature and a hygrometer to check humidity. Place one thermometer at each basking spot to check the temperature there and one at the farthest point from the basking area to check low temperature.

The humidity should be about 50% and can be maintained by misting a couple of times a day. Green Anoles come from temperate environments and 50% might even be on the high end of the natural conditions. This also provides drinking water for the Anole and they will lick the water droplets off the foliage and sides of the enclosure. Use distilled or filtered water to avoid hard-to-remove water spots on the glass sides of the enclosure. The hygrometer placed anywhere in the enclosure will allow you to check the humidity. If you have trouble maintaining a proper humidity level, cover 1/3 of the top with clear plastic (but not under the lights).

Furniture:

Anoles love to hide. Their natural body color range of greens and browns will blend into the foliage to become almost invisible. You can use either real or artificial plants. Artificial plants have the advantage of not needing any care and not being subject to insect infestations. Real plants will help keep the humidity in the enclosure up. When you think you have enough plants in the enclosure, add a couple of more. You can use almost any houseplant that is rated for low or moderate light conditions. The ones to avoid are those with milky sap. They are usually toxic or contain an irritant. I have used Diffenbachias, Aralias, Scheffelaria, Crotons, various ivy vines, and many others over the years with great success. I have also used wild Violets successfully. The white and purple flowers provide a bit of color.

You should also supply some branches for the Anoles to climb on. You can use dead branches from outside that have been sterilized in the oven for 30 minutes at 300 degrees to kill any mites or other “nasties”. The branches should be at least as big around as the Anole’s body. Artificial caves or other ground shelters are not needed. The Anole will be happy to hide and sleep among the plants. Remember, Anoles are arboreal.

Cleaning:

A few minutes spent on a daily basis will delay but not eliminate the inevitable thorough cleaning. If you remove any feces and dead prey items daily, you should only have to do a thorough cleaning about every six months. You can use a Vinegar-based glass cleaner between major cleanings to remove any water spots on the glass.

For a major cleaning, remove the Anoles to a temporary enclosure and empty everything from the enclosure. Clean everything with a dilute solution of bleach, rinse everything thoroughly and let it dry before you put it back. Replace all of the substrate as well.