Welcome to my Anole care sheet

As you have noticed by now, with a little research, everyone has their own opinion about how to take care of these little guys and since they cost about 5 bucks at a pet store no one really ever knows the right answers.  They seem to be pretty much trial and error and if you follow a couple simple rules all parties involved will be pretty happy.  The following is my two cents on the matter.

However, before you can begin you must ask yourself two questions:
1. How much am I willing to spend on my anoles ?
2. How do I feel about crickets ?

Also before you decide on an anole research research research.
Also find a good pet store.  Beware of places with long return times on their animals. if its more then a week then they experience high death rates in their animals and you should look else where or be really pick about what animals you take from them.  It took me three house geckos before i found one that lived passed the 11 DAY death clause. Keep in mind if the animal dies you need to asses if it was your doing or the pet stores.

Rule #1: Habitat. The above is bad.  Anoles like their space, despite how they're stored in pet shops.  The general rule is two anoles to ever ten gallons of tank, but some people insist on bigger tanks.  It really depends on your lizards and how particularly territorial they are. However, you can only have one male per tank as the males are very territorial and will attack each other. (They will also attack their own reflect so watch the mirrors.) Anoles will interact with one another and they are pretty placid towards other species of frogs and lizards, however, it has to be the same size as they are or they will perceive themselves as food sources and hide alot.  Now here is where the money issue comes up.  You can have a cheaper set up of a small tank, some bedding, some plants and sticks and a regular light. Or you can get real plants, a heat pad and a some hanging stuff.  Again it really depends on your lizards and how attached to them you become.
    Personally, I started out with the cheap set up and up graded to a heat pad etc. as I could afford it.  There are also difference in opinion on what kind of floor material to use and real plants vs. fake.  Personally, I use a nice moss stuff with silk leafed fakes because they are both easy to clean and maintain.  Remember you anoles need cool hiding places and mine love to bury themselves down in the moss.  My set up now includes a 15 gallon tank with three anoles and a house gecko - a heat pad in the basking side of the tank, a regular light, lots of sticks and hanging plants.  Be sure that when you buy the heating pad that you first place an aquarium carpet down directly between the glass and the substrata.  Your lizards will figure out that the ground is warm and will lay against the heating pad and get burned if you don't have a carpet in place.  They really like those suction cup aquarium plants too and it helps to build the tank upwards as well as across the bottom.  Also be sure to have a good lid for your tank because if they escape you'll probably never see them again.  The heating pad and the hanging plants are the two best things i ever bought for them.  
 

Rule #2: Food. Remember not only do you have to take good care of your anoles but also their food source.  Most anoles survive on a diet of crickets and maybe meal worms (if they'll eat them) so it is important that they are well kept and health.  Crickets are easily maintained and most pet stores are very helpful in helping you create a good environment for them.  You also want to look into getting them a good food source ("gut load") and a cricket dust of some type as captive anoles are often missing many key minerals in their diet like calcium. The first total cricket purchase will probably be around $15 bucks or so but most of that is one time or minimal purchases as the actual crickets usually run around a $1 a dozen.  Be sure to keep the crickets cage clean and change their water source often.  The crickets should be no bigger then you're anoles mouth, but i've seen my anoles tackle cricket much bigger then this.  Also keep in mind that the larger crickets chirp constantly which is extremely annoying so be sure you have some place to store them where you can't hear them.  I swear they never sleep.  Along with the food, you need to keep your anoles hydrated by spiriting them with water a couple times a day.  Use distilled water to prevent water spots on the tank and if you decide to keep a water bowl in you tank (mind you they wouldn't drink out of it unless the step in it on accident) be sure to put a sponge in it and keep it clean.  Apparently, crickets aren't the best swimmers.

What you need for crickets are: a small tank or small mammal caring container.  a water source -- i like the water jelly they have in pet stores-- its much easier then real food and some are complete so you need no other gut loading food.  ask a good pet store. also look on line.

Rule #3: Handling.  This is also a matter of great debate in the anole forum as most feel you should and others feel that you shouldn't.  Personally, I think it depends on the temperament of you lizard as well as its size.  The anole views you as a predator and some anoles will not have problem with you watching them, but it really bothers others.  The key to raising anoles is to minimize their stress as much as possible.  If the anole runs from your hand, let it go and don't pursue the issue too much.  Because anole color change is mood based it rather easy to figure out when their stressed and when their happy. If you have a lizard that tends to be green the majority of the time and he suddenly become a dark/ grayish brown then something is wrong and it is your job to figure it out.  I don't handle my anoles much because the only one who seems to really like it always tries to escape and if anoles gets lost you may never catch it again.

Rule #4: Sexing and Mating.  By now you're wondering how to tell males and females apart and the convention is that the females tend to be brown with a white stripe down their back. However, what is often neglected is that the juveniles of both sex have the white stripes.  Also, both species have dewlaps but as seen below males are larger and red where as the females are usually flesh colored.  When the male is ready to mate, he'll blow up his dewlap and start doing these funny little push ups. In ideal situation, this "dance" will result in the female returning the dance and then letting the male catch her in the ensuing chase.  However, if the female is not ready to have the sex she'll run away from him and hide as the male can only have sex with the things he see. (which I think is anything with four legs) This can be highly stressful on a female and the best remedy maybe to buy another female as close to the same size as the male.

Rule #6: General Stuff.  Watch your male -- he's the one that will probably have the most issues with anything you do.  When ever I take the lid off my tank my male freaks out, but the females know that it most likely means feeding time and run to the spot where i drop the crickets.  Also be careful because anoles will bite (it doesn't hurt - you can hardly feel it) but it will catch you off guard the first time it happens. Make sure the lizard lets go of you and that you don't rip their little teeth out.  Also, anoles are pretty placid and will hang out with other lizards of the same size - most people recommend house geckos in a mixed tank.  House Geckos are nocturnal so they don't really run into each other too much.  Just watch the male.