setting up a mixed paludarium

[oogie]

ive had an old 17"X24"H hex tank around for a wile and coudent figure out what to do with it, then the LPS had some reptile UVA/B bulbs on sale that fit the tank hood so i bought afew and ive decied i whant to make a mixed paludarium with some small lizards(anoles,long tailed lizards,house geckos)frogs(green tree,floating,aquatic dwarf)and a pair of fire belly newts, ive kept all these animals before in diffrent tanks ect sometimes with each other but never more than two types per cage, ive read a lot about this working with all the animals just pretty mutch ignoring each other and all get along but has anyone tried it in a tank as small as mine? iam going to be planting it with lots of live plants(ivy,pothos,weeping fig,air plants ect)and a lot of wood braches for climeing, iam also going to put in a divider so theres a 6" wide by 6"-10" high of water in the front for the newts and frogs(and some white clouds and a paradise fish too)the water part will be un heated(sence fire belly newts aparentley dont like water above 75)iam going to try and add a small filter if i can hide it but other wise i will just change 50% of the water a week, iam going to try and get some pics as iam cunstructing it and post them up but first i have to get a cord for my camera(and learn how to use it )if any one has done anything similar any tips would be great and if anyone has ideas for a nice background(i was going to use cork bark but cant find it in the right size )and i know iam looking at a lot of animals for this tank(i dont realy mean to get all the animals i listed)but i realy whant to have alot activitey in this tank plus its realy hard for me to see these animals because there so small in sutch a big tank(i cant see vary well witch is why i like big monster fish ) sorry for the long post

 

[Ophiuchus]

So is the tank 17" across and 24" high? Either way, I wouldn't put a lot of animals in there, maybe 5-6 total. If you're wanting animals you can see, then I wouldn't bother with house geckos. They'll hide all the time and with as much decor as you'll have in there, you'll never see them. Green tree frogs (also being nocturnal) are almost as bad, but occasionally maintaining visibility in the day.

Because of the design of the tank, I don't think it will provide enough land area for long-tail lizards. If its actually 24" across and only 17" tall, then maybe.

So I would suggest sticking to one type of lizard, maybe a pair or trio of anoles. These will dominate the land portion of the tank and will most active during the day.

I'd cut down the number of amphibians because you don't want to overload the waste intake of the water portion. Perhaps just your newts and one of the other frogs, especially if you're adding a few fish, too.

I would suggest just using a taped background on the outside, because if you use the cork, most of the animals will find a way to hide behind it and youll never see them. Another option are those styrofoam backgrounds for those new Exo-Terra herp cages. They sell them separately and are flat on the back so critters can't hide behind them.

 

[oogie]

ya i dont think i will use cork bark but i still whant to try and get a 3D type background so i can have some plants growing on it/up it, i never thought about those exo-terra backgrounds i will look for them, iam going to try and put a littel elite mini filter(or two)in the water iam just not sure how to hide them, the only animals that should use the water would be the newts and floating frog(iam adding the frog to get any crickets that fall in the water)sence ive never seen any green tree frogs ive had before go in it vary often, i think i will still add a house gecko sence i whant to set it up with a nocturnal blue/red light so i watch the frogs/geckos at night,iam also going to add one long tailed grass lizard sence i already have one(and a female green anole)in a 15g, and dos anyone know if you can have a male green and brown anole togeather? i like the look of the male brown anole and would like to have one in the tank iam just wondering if they will fight like with two male green anoles or if they will ignor each other sence browns spend most of there time on the(or close to)the ground

 

[Ophiuchus]

Two male anoles would still probably fight, regardless of species.