New hide and seek friend for my dog!
 

We opened the door to let the dogs out and in comes a small lizard! My dog now has a new hide and seek friend. My question is should I be concerned about a small lizard in the house? We assume they are not harmful. Should we try to capture and release it outside? If so, how in the world do you catch such a Fast little creature? :laugh:

some carry parasites and salmonella, but the little lizard, will eventually die a slow death of starvation and dehydration..

I have been able to catch these with a clear (or at least reasonably transparent) Tupperware container and a piece of cardboard. Place the Tupperware of the anole, and then carefully slide the cardboard under the Tupperware while the anole climbs on top, carry to the door and open to the garden. I do this several times a year much to annoyance of the CATS.

Use a feather duster ….gecko will stick …release it back outside

when one of these guys get in my home, i carefully 'guide ' them out an open door if Tinker's method isn't available, (the best, imo.) i knew a cat that ate one of these anoles & developed liver flukes, so while it's cute on the surface, keep an eye out that your little guy isn't interested in his new friend as a snack.

Thanks everyone! We have tried the feather duster along with apple slices. So far no success. Will keep trying.

A housewarming gift we received was a butterfly net to catch anoles. These little creatures are your friend. They eat insects such as ants and roaches. I am glad to see a healthy population of anoles around the OUTSIDE of our house.

The anole will likely die in your house, and leave little bitty anole poops on various surfaces. Let them dry out and just flick them off into a dustbin (the poops). Your dog will -probably- not actually try to eat the thing, and if he does he might get a bit of indigestion but otherwise be unscathed. If you manage to catch it (with your hands) make sure to wash your hands after setting him back outside. It won't bite you but it might have some bacteria on its surface, and you wouldn't want to touch food or your mouth until your hands are washed.

Just remember though - if you find a cuban tree frog in your house, try to use a glove when touching it. They are coated with a toxin, which is very mild to humans and deadly to some of its predators. It might give you a rash if you touch it bareskinned (not everyone gets a rash - I didn't the two times I've picked one up).

If my wife seen one in our house, she wouldn't sleep until it was caught and released outside.

My best method to capture an anole is with our shop vac.
Once caught, I take it outside and release it.

I also notice they like to hang out between our door jams.
Open the door and they'll jump in the house.

Before I open the door from our lanai I will kick the bottom of the door to, hopefully, scare away anoles. Then I open the door a crack to make sure they are not in the door jam.

Use chopsticks. That way you don't have to touch them. Be sure you rinse off the chopsticks before you put them back in the utensils drawer.

If all the very good methods listed above do not work, I have always found a size 12 boot also solves most small critter problems. :shrug: