Malleus meets Florida wildlife, part II: what's this lizard?

Factual Questions
1

It* looks* like a brown anole, but if it is it’s an insomniac.

I’ve been checking under the yard lights at night, looking for geckos. Apparently that’s where they hang out at night, following the bugs. I finally found a lizard tonight (and a giant snail, but that’s neither here nor there), but I’m sure it’s no gecko. Was no gecko- my dad scared it away. A little brown thing, probably smaller than my hand, with long skinny toes.

According to Google Images, it’s probably a brown anole. According to Google Web- well, that’s where I’m a bit confused, because it seems brown anoles are strictly diurnal. It seems to me like one heck of a coincidence, finding an anole hanging out at night when I can’t manage to find them during the day. It may or may not be the first one I’ve seen under the lights- I saw something on Friday, and I assumed it was a gecko, but it ran away when I yelled “A gecko!” Also brown, same size. Do anoles go to sleep next to lights? Are the anoles here insomniacs? Or is it probably just two big coincidences?

EDIT: Wait a sec. :smack: Do anoles sleep in warm places like, oh, next to a lightbulb?

2

Brown anoles are mostly diurnal, but that doesn’t rule out seeing one at night. Another lizard found in Florida that might be what you saw is the house gecko. There skin is bumpier, and they are not quite as brown, but they are much more nocturnal. Obviously, a picture would be helpful, but not easy to get.

ETA: At this time of year, it wouldn’t surprise me to find a brown anole sleeping near a heat source.