Suitable Herps

[Darwin24189]

Hi Guys

I have a 4ft by 2ft by 2ft wooden vivarium, i was wondering what sort of reptiles that could be housed in it. I was reading in to leopard geckos and a few smaller reptiles would a wooden viv be suitable for anything with high humidity requirements?

Thanks

[Chance]

I don't THINK a wooden viv would be very good for an animal with high humidity requirements but I have never tried it so I wouldn't know for sure.

It depends entirely on what kind of reptile you are looking for?

I used to keep a bearded dragon in a 4ft viv quite comfortably. I have also kept smaller types of snakes in vivs that size. Just make sure u do the research first.

Rob

[vgorst]

In a tank that size you can keep a variety of agama (beardies, painted, rankins), various geckos (leo's, african fat tails, cresteds, gargoyles, various terrestrial geckos), uromastyx's etc. If you're set on that size you can split the viv in the middle and have 2 different setups (2x2ft is over the minimum recommendation for one leopard gecko)

You can keep a humid loving herp in a wooden viv but it must be well sealed, well varnished and have plenty of ventilation. The reason for this is that the wood can warp and your viv will be ruined, which is why most people just use a glass enclosure for humid setups.

Just find an animal you will enjoy keeping and are interested in, then look at their requirements to see if it is possible. Remember lots and lots of research

[Phill Robinson]

You can keep many animals in there such;

- leopard gecko's ( several )
- Bearded dragon ( 2 very most )
- royal pythons ( 2 )
- Corn snakes ( 2 )
- boas and larger pythons ( babies )

Wooden viv's aren't the best for keeping humidity obviously because the wood absorbs moisture but as long as you put down a substrate what is both suitable for the animal and holds moisture good you still could probably keep the humidity controlled especially if you get a spray bottle and put luke warm water in the bottle and sprayed the animal and its enclosure a little. Your best getting a bearded dragon because 3/4 of the time there very friendly loved to be handled and generally easy to look after.

You need to think about the money though because your going to have to have a heat lamp on constantly and your best getting a habistat to control temperatures to also lower the temp at night to mimic the natural environment, your going to have to get a ubv light source and will have to keep it on for around 12-14 hours a day off the top of my head so the electricity bill goes up.

Then you have to think about food, they are omnivore so both vegetation and meat so you'll need to take yourself to the supermarkets every so often to buy a mixture of leafy greens, fruit and veg.. then you have to go to your local exotic pet shop or order live food only which raises the cost up abit and you also need to get calcium dust to sprinkle a little over their salad bowl for that extra calcium they require.. im a bearded dragon freak if you ever need any help feel free to message me hope this helped you

[Phill Robinson]

Just look into some animals you would like to have and see if their requirements are suitable to the enclosure you have

[vgorst]

Originally Posted by Phill Robinson

You can keep many animals in there such;

- leopard gecko's ( several )
- Bearded dragon ( 2 very most )
- royal pythons ( 2 )
- Corn snakes ( 2 )
- boas and larger pythons ( babies )

Some good suggestions but I wouldn't consider keeping more than one of any of these animals together (especially if the OP is new to keeping reptiles).

Reptiles will, and do, fight. You'll be surprised at how much damage a leopard gecko can do to another. I also wouldn't keep 2 beardies in a 4x2x2, that's minimum for one. Minimum for 2 would be 6x2x2 and even then you would need a spare setup in case it doesn't work out.

Cohabiting can work, but more often than not it will end up badly (and costly!)

[ScalezandTailz]

Sorry, your kidding right? a 6x2x2 for two beardies?? I kept 2 in a 4x2x2 and for 13 yrs they did great together - as long as you have enough hides, basking spots and climbing branches, and watch for any dominance/bullying that size does a perfect job, i know there will always be an exception to the rule mind...
I do this every time a 'what can i put in this viv?' question comes up - ACKIES!!! I'd suggest a pair in a 4x2x2? I've got a quad in a 6x3x3 and they're the most fun I've had in years of herp keeping(!) but I also agree with the above posts, varnish, varnish and varnish again - if you do it right the viv will last for years (we've got a cham in a wooden viv and we gave 5 coats of varnish too 3 years ago and today, not a scratch or warp in sight)
Agamas are fun, euros maybe? Rankins you could keep a pair or trio in that size I would have thought? I wouldn't keep aborial geckos in a wooden viv mind, I house my cresties, maddie and tokays in glass exo terras...
Scalez

[Phill Robinson]

Originally Posted by ScalezandTailz

Sorry, your kidding right? a 6x2x2 for two beardies?? I kept 2 in a 4x2x2 and for 13 yrs they did great together - as long as you have enough hides, basking spots and climbing branches, and watch for any dominance/bullying that size does a perfect job, i know there will always be an exception to the rule mind...
I do this every time a 'what can i put in this viv?' question comes up - ACKIES!!! I'd suggest a pair in a 4x2x2? I've got a quad in a 6x3x3 and they're the most fun I've had in years of herp keeping(!) but I also agree with the above posts, varnish, varnish and varnish again - if you do it right the viv will last for years (we've got a cham in a wooden viv and we gave 5 coats of varnish too 3 years ago and today, not a scratch or warp in sight)
Agamas are fun, euros maybe? Rankins you could keep a pair or trio in that size I would have thought? I wouldn't keep aborial geckos in a wooden viv mind, I house my cresties, maddie and tokays in glass exo terras...
Scalez

Sorry i read it wrong i thought it said 4x2x2 aha stupid me but i agree with you completely

[ScalezandTailz]

don't worry i've just done the same on a similar post! - must...stop...posting....online!!!
Scalez

[vgorst]

Originally Posted by ScalezandTailz

Sorry, your kidding right? a 6x2x2 for two beardies?? I kept 2 in a 4x2x2 and for 13 yrs they did great together - as long as you have enough hides, basking spots and climbing branches, and watch for any dominance/bullying that size does a perfect job, i know there will always be an exception to the rule mind...
I do this every time a 'what can i put in this viv?' question comes up - ACKIES!!! I'd suggest a pair in a 4x2x2? I've got a quad in a 6x3x3 and they're the most fun I've had in years of herp keeping(!) but I also agree with the above posts, varnish, varnish and varnish again - if you do it right the viv will last for years (we've got a cham in a wooden viv and we gave 5 coats of varnish too 3 years ago and today, not a scratch or warp in sight)
Agamas are fun, euros maybe? Rankins you could keep a pair or trio in that size I would have thought? I wouldn't keep aborial geckos in a wooden viv mind, I house my cresties, maddie and tokays in glass exo terras...
Scalez

Sounds like we'll have to agree to disagree about beardy tank size.

Just to back up what I said though - minimum for one beardy is 4x2ft. For each extra animal you should add 50% extra (i.e. 6x2ft) and a basking spot. The risk of adding basking spots without giving the extra size is the potential of not providing the correct thermogradient and therefore encouraging dehydration. Not to mention the aggression between the two animals. They won't see it as a companion, they will see it as competition for territory, the most heat, the best food and any other resources.

Maybe you were lucky with your beardies, or just didn't notice any aggression. I wouldn't advise to anyone putting 2, potentially 2ft animals into a 4ft tank (giving them essentially 2x2ft worth of space each). Just because you can do something, doesn't mean that you should