The Anoles Are Coming!

You’ve all seen them. The tiny lizards that run all over the side of your house, the fence and the ground on warm and sunny days. They are called Carolina Anoles(Anolis carolinensis) and they come in two main colors green and brown. Though they are also often called American Chameleons because they will change colors depending on the background object they are sitting on. Lots of people keep them as pets and they are very resilient.

Especially considering they have spread from the Caribbean where they are native all the way up to southern Virginia. They like to hang out in the trees and shrubs but the cracks and crevasses in your homes siding will do just fine. They eat small insects especially grasshoppers and crickets, but they also will nibble on your grass. You may notice that the same Anoles will be in the same spots over and over again. This is because they are very territorial and will fight off other anoles that try to take there territory. Some have even been known to try and fight there own reflection in a window.

The reason they are so active today and on other days in the spring is because of the warm sun. They are cold blooded and thus after a cold night they like to sun themselves to warm-up their body temperature. Just today I saw about 6 outside my back door.