My green anole

Question
QUESTION: I have 2 green anoles.  One likes to be hiding in one of the plants and the other one likes to stay on the wall.  Why do they each like different places?  This is my first time buying
a reptile.

ANSWER: Hello Michael,
Green Anoles are a common first reptile pet. Do you know the gender of your Anoles? You should never house two males together as they can become dominant and fight to the death. They are arboreal lizards meaning they like to spend their time up in high places like trees. So the more height you have on a tank the better. So this is why the one likes it on the wall probably near the heat. The other one hiding makes it sound like he/she is feeling threatened by the other one. I will include a link to a care sheet I have written, to make sure you have all of the care correct and to help you figure out the gender of your Anoles. It is also common for a reptile recently purchased to feel stressed about a new home. This is all new to them, the different views, noises, etc. Can be stressful and it can take them a while to settle into their new enclosure.

Here is the link I encourage you to do all the research you can about these little guys, they are quite magnificent lizards.
Good luck with them!

http://reptilianyex.tripod.com/id14.html



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QUESTION: Ok they are not fighting.  I think they are both females.  One has a long tail but a short body.  The other one has a short tail but a big body.

ANSWER: Hello, You can not tell the gender by body size or tail length. Sometimes males will grow larger then females and other times females will grow larger then males. And the tail really has nothing to do with it. You need to look at the underside of their belly between their legs at the vent. The males will have two enlarged scales at the base of the tail. Females will not. This is the easiest and most accurate way to tell the gender. A simple but only 40% chance of being correct is the dewlap test. Males will have a bright and large expandable dewlap (throat skin) with bright red and pink in color. They will expand it to show dominance or for mating. The reason this is not a very good way to tell the difference is that females have also gotten dewlaps usually not as big or as colorful but they have been known to meet the same size and color as a male. But a 40% chance is better then nothing.

They are just trying to differentiate their territory and different relaxing places will be different for each. They are trying to say "this is my area your not aloud" to each other. Its perfectly normal for both of them to tend to different areas. Be sure they are both eating healthily.



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QUESTION: We are driving to Florida.  We live in the Chicagoland area.  What do we do with them?  Can we take them along in the car?

Answer
Hello Michael,
You can travel with your Anoles in the car, but you will have to be sure the humidity and temperatures stay the same. So instead of heat lights just keep the heat up in the car. It might help to wrap up the glass tank in a towel to help hold in the heat. And if you will be next to the tank its easy to spray in water with a misting bottle to keep up humidity. Bring along some food for them and feed them everyday like usuall. I wouldn't suggest putting them in a box or whatever during such a long ride so keep them in their tank if possible. Another idea is to ship them to your destination. It can be spendy of course but it can be shipped overnight with proper packaging. Are you vacationing in FL or moving there? If you are vacationing then I would suggest you find somebody that can take care of them for you while you will be gone. Maybe a neighbor, a relative, or friend. Some veterinarian offices will house them and take care of them for you for a fee while your on vacation too.

Here are some links that might help:
http://www.anapsid.org/resources/shipping.html
http://www.anapsid.org/kellervacations.html
http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/vacationstress.html

The last link is focused on Iguanas but its the same information, nothing particularly setting it only for Iguanas. More of an all around lizard information.

If you need more information let me know, I can do some research on it for you.