When I think about a little green Fort Lauderdale lizard, I usually think that 15 minutes can save me 15% on car insurance. However, that is actually a gecko, not the Green Anole. Since the Green Anole is also native to the southeastern United States, I don’t think that it would speak with an Australian accent either. I mean, if it could talk. But if it could, I bet that there would be a “Y’all” in there somewhere.

The first fun fact that I found out about the Fort Lauderdale Green Anole is that it can also be brown. It depends on the Florida environmental conditions that it is facing, but it can change from green to brown, similar to a chameleon. The males can grow up to 8 inches long and the females are often, much smaller. They like to hide in foliage and prefer moist, humid places. However, that doesn’t mean that they don’t climb walls and wander into the occasional home.

The prey of the Fort Lauderdale Green Anole is usually spiders and small insects. While the lizard does stalk its prey, the chosen food source actually has to move to be detected. It is able to conceal itself among the vines and branches, and blend in, so it is an effective hunter. In the wild, the males can be extremely aggressive toward other males in their territory. This starts with head bobbing, and then proceeds to push-ups. If this doesn’t work, they will flare the pink sac under its chin. The intimidated interloper will do a submissive head bobbing and leave the dominant male’s domain.

Some people keep the Florida Green Anole as a pet, and the lizard seems to be very friendly, even liking to be hand-feed. They do need special care and handling the lizard too much is not recommended. The Green Anole is one of the most common Fort Lauderdale lizards that are kept as pets and there are many articles on the Internet about the feeding and care of this small reptile. Since they do very well in captivity, their life span can be anywhere from 5 to 7 years. In the wild, their life span is usually only 2 to 3 years.

Florida green Anoles drink water, but usually dew or mist from leaves. They cannot get out of deep water and will drown if there is not a branch or log to hold on to. If kept as a pet, they will drink from a bowl, but it must be very shallow.

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