I just recently became a proud owner of a few brown (bahaman) anoles. I did some research on them before I got them, and I thought it would be pretty easy to take care of them. I have experience with all kinds of animals big and small. Anyway, I got two brown anoles from the pet store. I know that I should have 1 male and several females, but I thought that I would start out with just the two and get the large male a few more little sheilas later on. I thought he would be content with just one friend for the moment. I do not have them in a very large enclosure. It's only a 20 gallon lizard tank. I will be moving them into a much much much larger tank when I move into my house in a few weeks. This is why I only bought two. Secondly I know that buying animals from pet stores is not always good b/c pet stores don't always know the proper care for them. But I couldn't resist getting them b/c I use to see them all the time in the wild when I lived in florida and they're such cute, curious little guys. Here is the brunt of my problem. I bought them seperately (probably not a good idea), but from the same pet store... and I bought them only a day apart. So I'm positive they were already together in the enclosure the pet store had. My problem is that I wasn't a hundred percent positive that the little one I just bought was a female. And the petstore people had no idea how to tell them apart. When I put the smaller lizard in with the larger male he immediately jumped on it's back and started biting it's neck... I was really freaked out. He isn't messing with it anymore. (this was just last night) He seems to be ignoring it now, but I don't want to stress the little one to death. The large male has NOT displayed his dewlap to the other. So I'm really worried that I didn't put in a female, but maybe a juvenile male. The little one does not have a stripe or diamond pattern. And I'm scared of trying to catch him b/c of added stress. What should I do? Take the little one back to the store and try to see if I can feel some of the other lizards at the pet store to see if any of them are females and maybe choose a different one? OR should I wait it out and see what happens? Should I try to catch the little one and feel if he/she has the two small lumps where his tail and body meet signifying that he is male? Is it possible that the big anole was just showing dominance? I know some animals do that, but I'm kind of new to lizards. I have looked online all day and I can't find a single person with this problem. I don't think this is food related either b/c I know how often to feed them, and they haven't really been too hungry since I bought them. Also they have plenty of separate trees/sticks/vegetation to get away from each other, and I have two different heat areas set up so they don't have to share. I really don't want my little anole to get hurt. Someone please help asap.
I have new info. After I posted this I saw that the smaller anole in question was near the top of their enclosure so I grabbed him/her really quick so I wouldn't stress him out too bad. I felt where his tail and body meet and I think that I can feel one little bump. Does this mean it's a male? If it is a male should I take him back to the petstore and see if I can feel the others there and maybe choose one that doesn't have the bump?
