I want to put a real grass bottom in the enclosure and add branches, climbing structures depending on the Rep. Since its real grass I'd spot clean but grass shouldn't effect a reptile right, health wise. But on the basking side of the tank the bottom will be river stones or paper towels as the heat lamps and UV bulbs would kill the grass. I want a real docile Rep one that I can take out places when I head down to the lfs also getting him some real sun shine.I can't have snakes though thanks to the media convincing my mom its dangerous... would a tegu be the best bet, a specie of monitor, skink, small group of bbeardies?any other species? Thanks
8'x6' enclosure which reptile?
- Thread starter Zfishies
- Start date
Height is 3' could go taller though right now I have 7 Leos, 1 snapping turtle, 1 alligator snaper, 2 Res, 1 map turtle and 2 musk turtles.
You don't want anything too big, even for that cage if you want to maintain the grass substrate. I would recomend 2.3 Plated Lizards. I used to maintain a group in a large outdoor cage and they were so interesting to watch.
Whatever you get though I would HIGHLY discourage you from taking out for field trips to the LFS. This is a good way to injure and stress your animals and at the very least, risk exposing them to pathogens that could infect your entire herp collection.
Whatever you get though I would HIGHLY discourage you from taking out for field trips to the LFS. This is a good way to injure and stress your animals and at the very least, risk exposing them to pathogens that could infect your entire herp collection.
So plated lizards are docile? Ill Google some care sheets on them in a bit, and I guess I wont be taking any of my herps down to the lfs any more just in that backyard now but my lfs only carries fish that still can harm them? Anyway I wont be doing It again thanks for the heads up
I would ditch the grass and go with a monitor specie. Black throats, savannas, and water monitors tend to be docile if frequently worked with. Do some research on those and let me know what you think.
x2.
You can't come up with a much smarter, cool, and docile lizard than any of those three monitor species. Personally, I'd lean towards the water monitor if you're up for something that gets pretty big yet is tame.
I agree, if you ditch the grass it really opens you up to some other options (species). Not to mention it will make husbandry much simpler if you do not have to maintain the grass as well.
Remember, just because a LFS is fish only, that does not mean the people that frequent are too. As your reptile collection grows your risks for some sort of "illness" effecting your animals also grows. I tend to treat my collection exposure like I would my own kitchen. I would not march a bunch of unknown people through my kitchen touching everything along the way, so I would not march my animals through groups of people unnecessarily potentially bringing that bacteria or parasite back to my reptile rooms. My animals that do get routinely exposed to the public have another room and their maintenance is always done last to prevent cross contamination. I may be paranoid but I have not had a viral, bacterial, or parasitic out break since 1992 when I started implementing these precautions.
Remember, just because a LFS is fish only, that does not mean the people that frequent are too. As your reptile collection grows your risks for some sort of "illness" effecting your animals also grows. I tend to treat my collection exposure like I would my own kitchen. I would not march a bunch of unknown people through my kitchen touching everything along the way, so I would not march my animals through groups of people unnecessarily potentially bringing that bacteria or parasite back to my reptile rooms. My animals that do get routinely exposed to the public have another room and their maintenance is always done last to prevent cross contamination. I may be paranoid but I have not had a viral, bacterial, or parasitic out break since 1992 when I started implementing these precautions.