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Reptile choice for new viv.

DanielE

Juvenile Dragon
3 Year Member
Messages
421
Hello,
So I had a dart frog terrarium but due to mass amounts of pest that had developed in the terrarium I had to take it all down. I sterilized the pants and tank then threw the rest out. I don't want to do dart frogs a again right now.
This is what I have right now. 36" tall 36" wide 18" deep. (I will have several vines growing up the back with time but for now I'll probably just add an artificial substitute or two for now.)
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I'm considering ankles or long tailed grass lizards. So any thoughts there or any other suggestions.

Requirements
*Diurnal
*Will use the height of the terrarium
*Will not outgrow terrarium
*No major changes needed for terrarium to be suitable.
*Inexpensive preferable
 

PatsyB

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Someone else just got this tank for their beardie and I recommended a creastie but you want diurnal :(
I think anole's are diurnal.

I hear you about the pests. We have whites tree frogs and one time we had an over abundance of what I think where springtails and now just the other day I had a mushroom growing. I don't have any live plants but a mushroom grew LOL!
 

DanielE

Juvenile Dragon
3 Year Member
Messages
421
I had hundreds of centipedes as well as slugs and snails. It was a mess and I lost the dart frogs due to it. It was my fault though. I trusted a dealer that said their plants where pest free and did not follow sterilization procedures.
 

PatsyB

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OMG I would DIE if there were centipedes in my tanks! Last year there was an earwig under my water bowl and I almost passed out! I'm glad you mentioned this because I am planning on making a planted tank for my frogs. I never had any luck keeping the plants alive before but since we got a chameleon and the lighting I'm using for him i'm having really good luck so I have a smaller version of his light that would fit on my frogs. I'm really going to make sure the plants are cleaned out and transplanted before I use them.
 

DanielE

Juvenile Dragon
3 Year Member
Messages
421
At first it was not bad I was picking them out when I saw them. I'm guessing there where eggs in the soil the plants came in. But after they started reproducing there was nothing I could do other than complete deconstruction to take care of it. I lost somewhere around $500 worth of substrate and cork as well as $200 in frogs. The slugs and snails where there but manageable. I also had a few small mushrooms pop up. Most of the time they are harmless.

I'd advise completely removing all soil from the plants and giving them a bath in either a potassium permanganate sterilization solution or a mild bleach solution. If you use bleach be very careful as you know chlorine is very toxic to reptiles even in small quantities.
 

DanielE

Juvenile Dragon
3 Year Member
Messages
421
So anyone have experience with anoles or the Long tailed grass lizards for recommendation or comparison?
 

Hdrydr31

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I do not have any recent experience :) growing up we had a couple anoles that was a long time ago :) I do like learning about others so just here reading :)
 

PatsyB

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I don't. I only know frogs, beardies and chameleons.
 

Kmay571

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
19
I've had experience with both. I personally like anoles better. They aren't as skittish. I also think they are easier to care for in general. They are bulkier. They, in my experience, have more personality and are easier to handle. Other than that, basic care is pretty much the same.

One male with several females. Humidity 60-70%. Temp 80-95. No lower than 70. Plenty of branches and plants to climb on.
 

DanielE

Juvenile Dragon
3 Year Member
Messages
421
I've had experience with both. I personally like anoles better. They aren't as skittish. I also think they are easier to care for in general. They are bulkier. They, in my experience, have more personality and are easier to handle. Other than that, basic care is pretty much the same.

One male with several females. Humidity 60-70%. Temp 80-95. No lower than 70. Plenty of branches and plants to climb on.
Thank you for your input.


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I've also been looking at considering crested geckos.
They don't meat the diurnal prerequisite I had set but they do seem to be an interesting species that could work also.

Any experiences with this species would also be helpful in making my choice.
 

PatsyB

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I think cresties are adorable. Again I don't know too much about their care. I did read that although they are nocturnal some do like to be awake during the day sometimes.
 

Kmay571

Bearded Dragon Egg
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I have also had cresties. I am a big fan of them. They have so much personality and some do enjoy being handled. What I like best is that you do not need additional heat as *usually* room temperature would be fine. And by room temperature, I mean 70-80 degrees. They do not like to be over 85 degrees. They can live solely off of crested gecko diet. I recommend Repashy. While they are nocturnal, I have seen mine out and about during the day and most definitely in the early evening. It seems that twilight period is when they are most active.

Out of the three you have named, I would go with the cresties even though they are nocturnal. I like the idea of having a pet as opposed to a decoration, but to each their own.

In all, your basic set up will be the same. Lots of vines and plants for climbing. Elevated food, water, and hides with relatively high humidity. Anoles and cresties are almost exclusively arboreal while grass lizards will utilize the bottom of the tank, but perhaps not the very top. They are normally found, as their name suggests, in grassy areas among the stalks and brush, not usually trees.

The tank you have is perfect for multiples of either species. A pair of cresties or a trio of either type of lizard.
 

DanielE

Juvenile Dragon
3 Year Member
Messages
421
Well the newest member of my family is officially named Lucy. At least until I know if he or she is male or female lol. After doing some reading and considering I decided on the eyelash crested gecko. The one I picked up today I got at Petsmart as a fancy crested gecko but from my research I believe it is the flame coloration morph. As it has a more orangish coloration and the flame like markings along the sides. I may be wrong in this As I am still new to this species but in any case he or she is a welcome new member to my family. I will add photo shortly thank you everyone for your help with making this choice.
 

Canicke

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what a cutie !! PatsyB has a beardie named Lucy - they named him before knowing his sex, then when found out he was a he, call him Luci - short for Lucifer !!
 

Hdrydr31

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Oh Lucy is really cool!! I've seen those at the pet stores and I've thought wow those are cool!! Congratulations and keep us posted on hi/her :)
 

PatsyB

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YAY! I love it :)

Yes we named one of our beardies Lucy before we found out he was a boy. He is a wild one though so just changed it to Luci. Lately I've just been calling him Lou or LouLou!
 
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