Green anole: the dominant recovers from stress, the subordinate sinks deeper
Published by Planète Pets · managing editor: Clément Lacaille · how our guides are written
Catching a green anole to check it over, weigh it, or move it rarely gets the same reaction from every individual, even within the same terrarium. A study published in 2004 by Plavicki, Yang and Wilczynski in Physiology & Behavior shows that this difference is not just a matter of temperament: it depends on the social status the animal has acquired (see the study). Our other guidance is gathered in the reptile travel and safety section.
Contents · 6 sections
A protocol that mimics capture, not an actual trip
The researchers first tested each male green anole individually, chasing it around its home cage for ten minutes with a slender wooden stick. This forced movement acts as a standardised stressor, comparable in intensity to being caught for a weigh-in or a move. The response was measured through two somatic indicators driven by catecholamine activity: body colour darkening from green to brown, and the appearance of a black postorbital eyespot. The males were then paired up and left to cohabit for two weeks, long enough for a dominant/subordinate hierarchy to stabilise, before being separated and put through the same test again.
The dominant recovers, the subordinate sinks deeper
The result: animals that had become dominant during cohabitation showed a reduced stress response compared with their initial test, even though they had not known their rank beforehand. Subordinates, by contrast, showed an increased response on the same measure. Two genetically comparable males, subjected to the same forced movement, therefore react in opposite directions depending on their place within the pair.
A signal that predicts who will dominate
Another finding from the study: among pairs where both males eventually expressed the postorbital eyespot, the one who displayed it first — on average 70 seconds before his opponent — almost always went on to become dominant. The speed of the stress reaction therefore precedes the hierarchy's outcome, it does not merely follow it.
What the study does not show
This protocol does not reproduce a trip in a travel container: it is a chase around the familiar home cage, not a car journey with vibration and a change of environment. Only adult males were tested, in pairs, never in groups or alongside females. Finally, the measures used are colour-based markers rather than a direct assay of plasma corticosterone.
What this changes day to day
If several green anoles share a household, it is not unusual for one individual to darken more and withdraw more than another during an identical handling session: that animal is likely the subordinate of the group. Handling it more gently, with shorter sessions and less restraint, limits a stress load that is already compounded by its status. This point complements our article on recognising stress signs in the green anole and the one showing that brief, routine handling does not create chronic stress in this species.
Frequently asked questions
Should a dominant green anole be separated from its subordinate?
The study does not test separation, only the stress response once the hierarchy is established. Above all, it shows that the same handling gesture should not be read the same way for every individual.
How do you recognise a subordinate green anole?
More pronounced and longer-lasting body-colour darkening during handling, combined with more withdrawn behaviour, are consistent with subordinate status. Find all our guides on the reptile hub.
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This guide is part of Planète Pets’s Reptiles universe. Our advice is general in nature: for any health concern, your veterinarian remains the only reference.
