55 gallon vivarium

[gm72]

I have a corner bowfront 55 gallon tank that I am switching over to a reptile vivarium (RIP fishies, read the associated post in the General sub-forum about the first major catastrophe in my life if you are so inclined).

I am looking for some suggestions as I embark on this new adventure. I know zero about reptiles but am starting to do some general reading as I type this.

Anyone have any ideas for a relatively easy first setup to introduce me to this?

[smaug]

There are many different reps you could choose which would make for a wide range of vivarium types to build.What reps interest you the most?Do you want a viv with high humidity and moving water or a dry desert?Pygmy leaf chameleons are kinda neat ,they like a moist well planted viv.The skys the limit when it comes to vivs.They really had my interest for a while but the upkeep is extensive and the health issues much more extreme.

[gm72]

Thanks for the reply, Smaug.

To be frank, I have no idea what I want at this point. My wife likes leopard geckos and over the last hour or so of reading I see they are relatively easy to keep. I'd like a lower maintenance setup if at all possible, so maybe a vivarium isn't what I want after all.

I do love the look of a vivarium, particularly those with waterfall effects.

[smaug]

Thanks for the reply, Smaug.

To be frank, I have no idea what I want at this point. My wife likes leopard geckos and over the last hour or so of reading I see they are relatively easy to keep. I'd like a lower maintenance setup if at all possible, so maybe a vivarium isn't what I want after all.

I do love the look of a vivarium, particularly those with waterfall effects.
Yeah,the ones they keep at that fish place in lancaster are little works of art and are what inspired me to do one.At the moment they have been keeping some very nice viv plants in stock.When I was setting one up and running it they had nothing.I got all my plants from this place.
http://www.blackjungle.com/
I kept tiger leg tree frogs,sumatran clown tree frogs,green and black poison dart frogs.I actually had them all together in a 20 gal which wasnt advised due to aggression.Because I had the viv with such clear arboreal and terrestrial territorys it worked.The pdf died of some horrible bacterial problem that I had no experiance to treat.The tree frogs I gave to a pet shop nearby.
The geckos you mention would be a great choice to start on,I think Sailor knows all about them.

[annageckos]

Waterfalls are really cool lookin in vivs, but a pain to keep clean. They need to scrubed often to keep bateria away, and feeder insects, IE crickets, will drowned and foul the water and feses too. Leopard geckos are a great reptile to start out with. The don't need UV lights like aot of lizards do and are desert animals so you don't have to play with humidity. Temps need to be higher. Daytime temps 80-85 with a hot spot of around 90-95F. They are slower and can be very tame. They also come in all kinds of really cool colors. You could do a male and a couple of females or a group of females(my reconmodation). Maybe 4 depending on the footprint of the tank. With lizards one insect you sould not feed them but is really common is the mealworm. Many people feed these but they can cause impaction and do not offer much nutrition. The shell is made of chitin and is not degestible. They have a low "shell to meat" ratio. Meaning that they have more shell than meat.

If you want a more tropial reptile look into Crested Geckos. They also do not need UV lighting and not much heat, a low watt household light will do fine. When I had mine I kept the temps around room temp with a hot spot of around 75-80F. I had one male and three females in a 30 gallon tank. They would breed and I incubated the eggs on a heating pad set at low. When young they eat insects and fruit(fresh and babyfood) There is also a complete diet from I belive T-Rex, developed by the top breeder in the US. As they get older they eat less insects an more(mostly) fruit. If you are interested in crested gecko photos let me know and I will post some for you.

There are a ton more reptiles you could do in this tank, ball python, anoles(needs UV light), different geckos, frogs, dart frogs, horned (pac man) frog, Pixie frog. I would not do chamelons (leaf chams would be fine, but I don't think that they are a good begginer reptile). Chems need high humidity and good are flow, they do best in large screened enclosers.

Good luck and keep us updated. Reptiles are great and some of my favorite animals, I grow up with them and have had many different types over the years. A geat reptile resorce is http://www.kingsnake.com

Good luck.

[gm72]

Good information, anna, thank you!

[annageckos]

Any time I can. Reptiles are a passion of mine.

[Northernguy]

Fishguy had a vivarium with some firebelly newts and eastern newts.He also had a few firebelly toads.
I know nothing about reptiles but they were kinda cute.The tank was nice too!

[annageckos]

Here are some pics of my cresteds. I don't have them anymore but they are great lizards. The group shot on the bottom is of two females and the male(missing tail). The salmon colored female was very very tame.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/525/thumbs/Copy_of_DSC_0209.JPG (http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/showphoto.php?photo=15408)

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/525/thumbs/Copy_of_DSC_0211.JPG (http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/showphoto.php?photo=15406)

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/data/525/thumbs/Copy_of_DSC_0205.JPG (http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishpictures/showphoto.php?photo=15404)