Western bearded anole

Western bearded anole
Anolis barbatus Garrido, 1982

A lizard of curious character, which enjoys contact with its carer when in captivity. The word
“bearded” in its name refers to the characteristic ragged skin on the dewlap. It is native to
Cuba. It prefers high humidity (ca. 70%) and temperatures between 27 and 34 Celsius
degrees. It is more and more often seen on trunks and in crowns of fruit trees as well as on
coffee plantations. Its active time falls during the day, but it uses most of it to “rest”. Its
appearance may seem inconspicuous because of the grey-brown colouring, but it is capable
of slightly changing it to white-brown with blueish shine to its round scales. The anole can
climb on vertical, smooth surfaces (including glass), owing to the specific build of its fingers.
It can move its eyeballs independently of each other (like chameleons).
Female specimens tend to be smaller than males. The sex of an anole can be told already a
few days after hatching, thanks to two discs at the base of the male’s tail, which grow
together with the lizard. Anoles usually hunt snails, which they crush and spit out the shell,
but they are keen on insects as well. In a captive situation, the size of the snail it is fed
should be adequate the size of the anole.

Body length: up to 30 cm (including tail)
Body weight: 100 g (male)