Re: Best Display Reptile?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
WingedWolfPsion
You can go two route with cleaning--use a thin layer of inexpensive coco fiber or moss substrate (you need to keep humidity up), and change it frequently, OR...
Use a soil mix (no vermiculite or perlite in it), with some bioballs underneath, and make it fairly deep. Add some tropical springtails and woodlice (roly polies). Once a week, brush droppings from sticks and leaves, clean anything badly soiled, and wipe the glass down. The scavenger bugs will take care of the waste, and you may possibly not have to actually break down the cage for a complete cleaning more than once a year. This is less disruptive to the animals. If you see any sign of plants dying in this setup, break it down--some balance is off if the plants start to die when they were previously healthy.
I personally recommend Lygodactylus williamsi, because I have found them to have amazing personalities in comparison with most small lizards. They lose all their shyness within a couple of months if they're kept in an area of the house with some traffic. Green anoles and some other anole species also have a reputation for losing their shyness and getting to trust their keeper.
All the the things that you've said so far are absolutely true. All the lizards in my sig are all in one of my larger tanks. They are probably the most fun to watch, and each one has their own personality. T-Rex is my favorite by far. He's dominant to the others, but he's also laid back and chill.
The best part about watching them is that they are infact always moving around, eating, fighting for territory, or mating even. They don't mind being watched either. I fed them last night some mealworms, in a dish on the ground. It was fun to watch a few of them look at the dish for a minute or two after I set it in there, and decided what it was, and then realize it was food. As soon as they did, they all enclosed on it very stealthy like, and grabbed what they wanted. It was very cool to watch some of them hand upside down and pluck the meal worms up. T-Rex will even eat out of my hand.
Sorry, I know I show this a lot but here is me and him for a good photo:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4134/...8f62d003_z.jpg
He is very calm, and he will chill on my shirt all day if I let him. I even do normal activties sometimes and forget he's hanging out with me. One Time I even was brushing my teeth before I realized there was a lizard on my shoulder. Haha
So I would say +1 to getting some form of lizards such as Anoles, or others.
Re: Best Display Reptile?
I don't know much about chams, especially their behavior and how often they hide, but by appearance alone, I have to go with ambilobe panthers.
Look at these colors. If that doesn't wow whoever's walking by, nothing will.
http://www.lostlakechameleons.com/images/MrLemieux.jpg
http://www.flchams.com/inventory/Red...e(Stamper).jpg
http://www.screameleons.com/Portals/...on_111104b.jpg
But obviously, and I'm sure you know this, do your homework before you get one just because it looks pretty. ;)
Re: Best Display Reptile?
green tree pythons are great display animals. so i would go with one of them. but if your having trouble convincing parents, i would go with a chameleon. However, they can be hard to maintain if you don't know how to manage their conditions. Definitely do your research!
x nicole
Re: Best Display Reptile?
