Harmless · Invasive in Florida

Brown anole

Anolis sagrei Duméril & Bibron, 1837

Also called Cuban brown anole
Data updated October 2026

Male brown anole on a fence post extending its orange-red throat fan
Fig. 1 — A male flashes his orange-red throat fan to signal rivals and females.
Female brown anole showing a pale stripe with wavy edges down the middle of the back
Fig. 2 — Females usually have a pale stripe down the middle of the back.

At a glance

A small brown lizard from Cuba and the Bahamas that is now one of the most common lizards in Florida. It lives low on trunks, fences and walls and has spread to several other southern states, mostly with the plant trade. It is harmless to people.

01

Identification

A small, slender lizard in shades of brown, gray or nearly black, often with pale spots, dashes, triangles or bars on the back. It cannot turn green. Males can raise a low crest along the neck, back and tail, and have a large orange to reddish throat fan with a pale yellow or white edge. Females are smaller, more boldly patterned and usually carry a light stripe down the center of the back. Hatchlings look like small females.

  1. 01Orange throat fan. Males flash a red-orange dewlap edged in pale yellow or white.
  2. 02Always brown to gray. Never bright green. Females usually show a pale stripe down the middle of the back.
  3. 03Low perches. Usually seen on the ground or low on tree trunks, fences and walls. Its snout is shorter than a green anole’s.

Commonly confused with

The native green anole is usually bright green, and when it is brown it is only lightly patterned. It has a longer snout and tends to perch higher in trees and shrubs.

02

Size

01 ft2 ft Adults · 5–9 in (13–23 cm), tail included 5 in

Adults measure about 5 to 9 inches (13–23 cm) from snout to tail tip, and most of that length is tail. Males are a little larger than females. Hatchlings are about 1½ inches (4 cm) long.

03

Range & habitat

Brown anole perched low on a tree trunk in a suburban yard
Fig. 3 — Yards, walls and low tree trunks are typical brown anole perches.

The brown anole is native to Cuba, the Bahamas and nearby West Indies islands. It reached Key West in the late 1800s, most likely as a stowaway in cargo, and was the first reptile known to be introduced to Florida. Genetic studies show at least eight separate introductions. By the early 2000s it was found in every county of the Florida peninsula, and it now lives along much of the Panhandle coast. Established populations are also reported from Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, California and Hawaii. Nursery plants are a major way it spreads, along with vehicles, boats and yard debris.

It does well almost anywhere, including hammocks and pinelands, but is most abundant in human-made habitat: yards, schoolyards, golf courses, parking lots and nurseries.

04

Diet & predators

Brown anoles wait on a low perch and dash out to grab prey. They eat mostly insects, spiders and other invertebrates, and also some plant material and small lizards. That includes their own young and hatchling green anoles; in one experiment, adult brown anoles were far more likely to eat young green anoles than the other way around.

Feeds on

  • Insects
  • Spiders and other invertebrates
  • Small lizards, including young green anoles
  • Some plant material

Preyed on by

Field cricket on bare ground
Prey — crickets and other insects.
Cattle egret walking in short grass
Predator — egrets.

05

Behavior & seasons

Brown anoles are “trunk-ground” lizards: they spend most of their time on the ground and low on trunks, fences and walls, and favor open, sunny spots. Males defend perches by bobbing their heads, doing push-ups and flashing the throat fan. They are active by day, though some feed at night around outdoor lights, and they sleep on the branches of small trees and shrubs.

In cool weather they hide under bark, shingles and storm shutters, in rain gutters or in rotten logs, sometimes many together. Where they share habitat with green anoles, the green anoles move higher into the trees, so they can seem to disappear from yards even when they have not.

06

Reproduction

In Florida brown anoles breed through spring and summer. A female lays a single egg at a time, again and again through the season, every few days to about two weeks apart. The small, round eggs have brittle shells and are tucked into moist soil, leaf litter, rotting wood or under debris. They hatch in about 30 to 45 days, depending on temperature. Wild brown anoles usually live less than two years.

07

Conservation

In the United States the brown anole is a non-native, invasive species, not a conservation concern. Wiping it out of Florida is considered unlikely because it is so widespread and abundant. Its main known impact is on the native green anole, which it competes with and preys on; green anoles can decline locally where there is little tree canopy to retreat into. Checking nursery plants, boats and vehicles before moving them helps slow the spread, and sightings outside the known range can be reported to EDDMapS or iNaturalist.

Keep reading

Sources

Data updated October 2026 · How we build these pages