Species
Brown anole
Anolis sagrei
A brown lizard from the Caribbean that has spread through south Georgia's towns and gardens.
Photo Nosferattus (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- About 12 to 21 cm long including the tail
- Habitat
- Gardens, shrubs, walls, fences and open ground, mostly near the ground
- Diet
- Insects, spiders and small lizards, including young green anoles
- In Georgia
- Established in south Georgia and along the coast; introduced
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Key marks
- Brown or grey, never green; often a pale line or diamonds down the back; males have an orange-red throat fan edged in yellow and a crest
- Told apart from
- Green anole, which is often bright green and has a pink throat fan
- Where to look
- Low on fences, walls and shrubs in sunny gardens
Behaviour
Brown anoles live close to the ground and are bold, displaying from fence posts with head bobs and flared throat fans. They arrived in Florida from Cuba and the Bahamas and have spread north, carried in nursery plants.
Why they matter
Where brown anoles move in, green anoles shift higher into trees to avoid competition and being eaten when young. Brown anoles also eat many insects and are themselves food for birds and snakes.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Eggs — One at a time, every week or so through the warm months
Nest — Laid in moist soil and leaf litter
Incubation — About 4 to 8 weeks
Hatchlings — Small and independent
Maturity — Within a year
Lifespan — A few years
Living around people
- Checking nursery plants before moving them north slows their spread.
- Never release pet anoles.
Misconceptions
- All anoles are native. The green anole is Georgia's native anole; the brown anole came from the Caribbean.
Related species
Seasonal activity
When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breeding | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Active nests | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Notes | Sheltering; out on warm days | Out on warm days | Active | Displaying | Breeding | Laying | Laying | Laying | Hatchlings | Active | Sheltering in cold spells | Sheltering |
Where it lives
Recorded in 10 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
If you found one
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