A soil, wood, or peat mulch-based substrate will work much better. Personally I believe the best substrate is some pure, clean topsoil. Most packaged potting soil comes with fertilizers, perlite, vermiculite, fungicides, pesticides, or other chemicals in them, but I'm sure there are some out there free of these things. Topsoil is typically devoid of chemicals...I think. I've never actually bought it, I just use soil dug up from my backyard. If you do opt for digging (might be hard in January though) you may wish to bake the dirt to kill off any pesky critters in it, though I don't do this myself.

If you can't find useable soil, you may wish to look around for some hardwood mulch, like that used for lining the bases of trees on some properties. Pet store substrates are generally insufficient when compared to the options you can find in the home and garden section of a hardware store (or Walmart). The mulch has similar properties to soil, and unlike softwood mulches (like cedar or pine) it's non toxic. Since it's designed to be used in bulk rather than for lizards, you can usually buy a rather large bag for a very low cost when compared to pet store substrates. It will last you a long time.

As Lacey mentioned, a respiratory infection is usually a sign of low temperatures or overly high humidity, but since your habitat seems ok in those aspects, I don't think an RI is to blame. If your anole starts holding his mouth open though, then it's more likely. Again as she mentioned, it could possibly just be the walnut bedding, or your anole could have gotten sick from something else. One thing I would recommend is getting a new UVB light. Unfortunately the coil lamps aren't as efficient as the fluorescent tubes, which are already rather inefficient when compared to mercury vapor lights. Your habitat is too small to warrent the use of a mercury vapor though, but a fluorescent tube across the top will do your anole good. It's unlikely that the anole is bored with his diet, they're generally not that picky.

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I have used the baking technique myself. Be warned though that it will smell up the house and the smell will linger for days!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

I'm tempted to try it sometime just because I'm so curious as to what baking dirt could possibly smell like Since I keep earthworms, isopods, centipedes, and other little critters in my soil, I tend to leave mine unbaked, but I haven't had to gather dirt in years anyway.

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"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." - John Benfield

LOL! Matt when you try it you might want to arrange to be able to leave the house for a couple of days.
It was an odd type of smell.
I found it mildy annoying but it bugged the heck out of my ex wife!
But then so did everything else!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

I suppose you'll have to wait until you have an oven matt, I havent read anything on the effectiveness of microwaving the soil!

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~*~Lacey~*~

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Well the barracks do have an oven in the common area downstairs....

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"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." - John Benfield

Do you really enjoy peeling potatos THAT much?

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Why is everything so hard in January, lol! Don't think my husband would take kindly to the baking of dirt...it's the most i'd have used the oven for in weeks!

Just tell him its an ancient family recipe!
And most garden centers do have topsoil and peat moss without additives year round.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

lol, yeah, in that case I'd opt for some store-bought soil, peat mulch, or hardwood mulch. If you can't find them, coconut fiber or Bed-A-Beast from a pet store will do. Cypress mulch (also available at pet stores), may possibly be used, but I don't trust it because it's derived from conifers. Walnut bedding, like many other pet products, unfortunately does more harm than good and serves no real purpose other than to make the industry money. You can add that to the list along with pine and cedar bedding, liquid UV drops, Calci-Sand, and many other bad products. Also keep in mind that although the walnut bedding has got to go, it ay not necessarily be the cause of your anole's current problems, so keep us posted on how he's doing. You may wish to add electrolytes to the water to stimulate his appetite. These can be found in Reptisafe water conditioner, Pedialyte, or if need be, Gatorade, though I recommend the alternatives to that one.

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+5 bonus points to whoever finds me a job!

"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." - John Benfield