Looking for next herp- suggestions needed

I have a 20 gallon Long screen topped exoterra that will be empty in the next few months and am looking for some suggestions for what kind of snake or lizard would be happy living in it permanently. I already know what bigger snakes and lizards I want down the road when I have a bigger reptile room so I really just want ideas for animals that can live comfortably in such a small enclosure for it's whole adulthood.

The exoterra housed my BP who is getting a tank upgrade to something that holds humidity better. The tank I'm looking to fill is usually around 25% humidity with a large water bowl and no misting/ wet towel and CAN get to 70 with a great deal of misting and wetting towels 2x/day. I'd like to find something that won't require more than daily wetting/ misting or will be fine with just a humid hide because I do travel on some weekends and getting a pet sitter in twice a day is a challenge.

Temperature is not an issue really but the tank is already heated for a gradient of high 70's cold side to mid 90's on the warm side. It has a thermostat so I can alter the temp if needed.

Temperament- I don't mind poor dispositions or flightiness but for lizards I'd prefer something that will not leap out of the cage and run out of reach during cage maintenance.

I'm looking for something that is a little less common or for the more experienced keeper- though I should say that I have 25 years experience with snakes but much less experience with lizards (I have worked with them but not owned them). The shows I go to are filled with leopard geckos, hognoses and Kenyan sand boas but I'm willing to research to find breeders for the right kind of animal. Cost is also not a real factor.

If it helps people think of suggestions- I can maintain a higher humidity by using coco-husk. I tried it with the BP and the humidity was perfect but I worried the substrate was too wet and stopped using it in fear of scale rot. So a snake or lizard that does best in higher humidities could work if it wasn't one so prone to scale rot.

I use coconut with my BP. I allow it to dry inside her hide where she spends most of her time. I will mist the remaining part of her enclosure from time to time when it starts drying out and humidity drops. I do use heat lamps which reduces the humidity and dry out the substrate some. I have had no issues so far.

I'm super interested in seeing what everyone suggests to you, but I am in a similar situation! :)

How about some dart frogs.

Look into sand boas, but not Kenyans if you want something unique (javelin sand boa), rosy boa locales are awesome, hog nose snakes have really unique personalities and many like to hiss and act "tough" if you will I find it really cute, also there's children's pythons. I think a male would live comfortably in a 20 long. It up to you just research there's tons of options and I'm sure many other subspecies of sand boas that stay small.

What about a pacman frog?

I really like frogs and used to keep them many years ago. Sadly my husband doesn't share my enthusiasm. I have actually been considering sand boas (E. conicus or milaris) and the Aussie pythons- either children's or stimson's but for these well... I'm not sure if they will be happy in a 20L even though I see some care sheet that say a 15 is adequate. Are children's pythons fairly active explorers or are they more sedate? I'm thinking maybe a female (since Antaresia females are smaller than the males). I'm also considering a hognose (though I admit the saliva puts me off a little bit), fat tail or leopard gecko. I'm just seeing if anyone can recommend something new. Someone else recommended Tribolonotus novaeguineae (helmet skinks) which have low humidity requirements. I never heard of them before but they are kept more arid and are little dudes. I'm considering those as well.

Knob tailed geckos? I have never kept them, but they look cool and are desert animals and stay small... I'm sure a 20gl long would be big enough for a pair / trio.

Not sure on the humidity requirements, but pygmy chameleons are cool little buggers too.. More of a pet to be watched than interacted with though.

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Originally Posted by DooLittle

What about a pacman frog?

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I second that, or an African bullfrog

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