Habitat

Question
High how are you. I live in the Athens area of Georgia USA. I have been cleaning my backyard up of all leaves, dead wood, ivy, etc. I am pretty sure these are things that Green anoles and skunk lizards like to have around. I like these lizards alot I find them often on the house to. I was wondering if you could give any information on building little homes or stations for these lizards? Do green anoles and Skunks like Rocks? I have seen 4 or 5 Copper head snakes in the yard as well and that is one reason why I am cleaning the yard. I have seen many different snakes, I do not mind them at all but I do not want to attract Copper heads. The biggest Copper head I saw was a monster as thick as my wrist and I would guess 6-10 years old. Do you have any ideas for homes for anoles and skunks ? Thank you John

Answer
Hi John,

It is really great to hear of someone wanting to encourage and supply habitat for these critters instead of wanting to kill them or deter them all.

You have both the native Green anoles and the more aggressive and introduced Brown anoles in your area. It would be nice to find a way to encourage the green ones specifically but I doubt that is possible. Anoles like hanging out in the branches of small bushes and will also shelter underneath. They tend to favour low growing shrubs rather then tall trees and will bask on nearby rocks as well. If you wanted to actively attract them then choosing a flowering shrub that would attract insects would help. If you were not planning on planting new landscaping plants then hanging a small container with some sweet fruit like bananna would also attract insects like fruit flies which would encourage anoles.

I'm not sure whether "skunk" lizard is a local common name that you are using or perhaps you meant "skink". There are several native skinks in your area as well as a couple introduced gecko species. The gecko species are commonly known as "house geckos" in their native area and in the pet trade for their habit of going into houses and feeding on moths and other insects that gather around lighting. They are primarily nocturnal. They love to gather around outside porch lights for both the heat and the food source they provide.   

The skinks would be more ground oriented but will climb a bit as well. There might be a bit of over-lap between providing shelter for them and copper heads. Skinks also like to hide among, leaf litter, ground debris and under logs and such, similar to copperheads. Providing round rocks with no hiding area underneath will provide basking areas for skinks and anoles without providing hiding areas for copperheads.

These are two good links for your state to help I.D the reptiles in your yard. Just moving the mouse over the names pulls up a quick photo. Lol, I'm a bit jealous! I would love to live with such a large number of native reptiles. We have only one lizard species that lives here in Ontario and a just a small number of snakes.  

http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/snakes/index.htm

http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/lizards/index.htm