Different techniques come in and out of fashion so you may be right that in the future community vivaria may be more popular than now. Certainly when I started keeping in about 1981, nobody would think twice about mixing species - as long as they were healthy, needed the same environment, wouldn't bully/annoy/kill each other and the viv was big enough then there was no problem.

People were not as well informed in 1981. Ignorance is indeed a problem, and led some idiot to sell me aquarium gravel for my agama in the early 90's, which in turn led to me waking up one morning and finding him dead, his gut full of the coarse white gravel.

Oh but '81... those were the good old days. It was better when we didn't know as much, weren't it. It was better when we didn't know of the miriad issues and problems which community vivaria present. But yes, all these things go in fashions don't they.

/nostalgia

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0.0.1 Leopard Gecko - Perdy, 1.0.0 Crested Gecko - Trochee, 0.1.0 Yemen Chameleon - Coraline, 1.0.0 Ackie - Oscar!

Mark,community vivs need more knowlage and keeping experiance, specialy if it is a planted environment and the end result can be stunning and, in my opinion you actualy learn far more about the animals and their natural behavour.

I don't make a point of knocking those who want to keep reptiles in the most excepted way and I fail to understand why those who want to keep community vivs meet so much resistence. I have spent some twenty five odd years developing community type vivs and they have been very succesful and great fun.
cheers,arthur.

The animals were the same as were the techniques used to keep them - the current predilection for hysteria against keeping animals together exists only among the relatively small numbers of keepers who frequent these forums.

Believe me, you don't have to go back to the '80's to hear bad advice, or meet people who don't know how to keep animals properly.

Fair enough, if you feel you don't have the experience to keep mixed vivaria, then don't try it. But don't criticise those of us who have that experience and use it successfully.

For those of you who work this way, I would like to invite you to share your experiences and your set ups, and your failures. I would love to see your photos and hear what, who and how you have accomplished it. if you just want to share a photo that would be great too. I would love to be able to showcase what is being done well in this area.

I am not sure what the link rules are but I am findable, google the screen name, or look in your links section of the forum under care information.

Pat

Hi, take a look at my utube test1 on page 17.
cheers arthur

Awesome Arthur........would you mind if I pulled it into my site.

This is speedy and Al...



They've been together for about 10 years...

Don't mind at all,feel free.
cheers arthur

Hi EJ

What kind of torts are those?

Arthur ~ Thanks (have the link open on the bottom of my screen)

Hi Matt ~ great looking vivarium you have. I have had great success with both blue tailed or rainbow skinks and 5 line skinks in community settings. I also use fire bellies. Water quality is an issue if you use fire bellies. The filtering capacity has to be huge so that their toxins are not toxic to others in the tank. The skinks will drink out of the water pond area. ie. 7 gallon water area I am using a fluval submersible 3. I still have the original fire bellies and they have been in this environment for 5 years now. I also have fire bellies in with a leaftail gecko.

Pat