29 gallon tank - what to house?

OK, so Karl bought a nice 29 gallon tank from a co-worker, it has a really coarse sand in it right now - which Karl seems to think he could use for SOME kind of reptile - big sigh.

I told him I'd ask on here what would be a good reptile to house in this (he doesn't want to use it for cresties, he wants something that we don't already have) (we have ball pythons - of course, a leopard gecko and a crestie).

"I" would prefer something that doesn't really require special UVB lighting. He seems to think that chams would be easy to care for, but from what I've read - it really depends on the species.

I'd like to find something simple to care for (as I'll likely end up being the one caring for this animal). So - can you suggest a hardy reptilian animal for this tank? I need to know what to steer him away from in Daytona.

What about a sand boa? I'd like to decide on what type of animal and do my research on them BEFORE he makes an impulse buy.

OK, scratch the sand boa - he doesn't want a snake. What will be arboreal or semi-arboreal to take advantage of the height of this enclosure?

Tokay??? :D

I don't know much about them, but i know Beardies use sand? So maybe a Bearded Dragon maybe? Not sure about the lights though....

giant leaftail, leachie, if it is humid down there alot, chams aren't that bad. but they need uv and misting.


a little frilled would work in there for a while.

i say let karl shop at the show for a bit, he'll find something that 'speaks" to him.


vaughn

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Originally Posted by kavmon

giant leaftail, leachie, if it is humid down there alot, chams aren't that bad. but they need uv and misting.


a little frilled would work in there for a while.

i say let karl shop at the show for a bit, he'll find something that 'speaks" to him.


vaughn

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The last thing that "spoke" to Karl was a baby green iguana! I'm not doing that again!

c'mon robin, let the man have a iggie:D


it could be worse, he could be into gambling or strippers!!

some of those bright veiled chams are cool.

vaughn

He really, really wants a cham. I guess it's off to research veiled chams then! :)

I say beardie, they don't get much hardier and friendlier than beardies! Yeah they need a UV light but it's not a big deal. I put then outside in a sceen cage alot in the summer which gives them the best UV you could want. They are very easy and personable, Just sayin ;)

I like beardies - is the 29 gallon big enough for an adult beardie? I understand that the babies eat a LOT of crickets and that they don't eat quite as much as adults. Is this correct?

Yep it is... but they still eat a lot as adults. :) I've seen a single adult to well in a 30, so a 29 shouldn't be too bad. Just make sure, if you got a beardie, to include a sturdy thick branch for them to reach the UVB light and bask.

As far as a cham goes, they are the sweetest little lizards when handled right but they need a lot of husbandry attention in the first months to get the enclosure just right. UV and regular misting is required as well as good ventilation (I know, counter productive...that's what makes them a challenge). I looked into getting one once because I like them so much...but found that I don't have the time or income to try keeping one yet.

Ever considered a Schneider's Skink? :)

Just out of interest you will be changing the sand out with new stuff when you bring something home right?? Or was there ever a reptile in the enclosure before??

Althought I think cams are the 'nicer looking' choice.... If you're looking for something that is easy to care for I'd got with a Beardie... They're hardier, nice and sweet and kinda cute how lazy they can be.

Other lizards I've found listed online as good for 'beginner' or less husbandry: leopard geckos, bearded dragons, blue tongued skinks. I must note that every site I looked at for easy husbandry listed both the leopard and beardie.

The wost for beginners list included any species of camelion that isn't captive bred, green iguanas, tokays and anoles althought cautioned that any cam would be difficult for 'beginners'... Reasons added to the list was their husbandy needs, acceptance of handling and aggression tendencies, as well as cautions from any animal not captive breed due to the possibilities of parasites...

robin, check out some panther chams too, jacksons also.




vaughn

How about California Kingsnake (a nice lavender one) or Honduran Milksnake??? (Yes all those are allowed in GA I already checked ;) )

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Originally Posted by GA_Ball_Pythons

How about California Kingsnake (a nice lavender one) or Honduran Milksnake??? (Yes all those are allowed in GA I already checked ;) )

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He doesn't want a snake. :( I thought a sand boa would be cool.

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Originally Posted by GirDance

Just out of interest you will be changing the sand out with new stuff when you bring something home right?? Or was there ever a reptile in the enclosure before??

Althought I think cams are the 'nicer looking' choice.... If you're looking for something that is easy to care for I'd got with a Beardie... They're hardier, nice and sweet and kinda cute how lazy they can be.

Other lizards I've found listed online as good for 'beginner' or less husbandry: leopard geckos, bearded dragons, blue tongued skinks. I must note that every site I looked at for easy husbandry listed both the leopard and beardie.

The wost for beginners list included any species of camelion that isn't captive bred, green iguanas, tokays and anoles althought cautioned that any cam would be difficult for 'beginners'... Reasons added to the list was their husbandy needs, acceptance of handling and aggression tendencies, as well as cautions from any animal not captive breed due to the possibilities of parasites...

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Yeah, I told him I couldn't think of anything that could be kept on sand. He said his friend had a snake in there, but he didn't know what kind. I honestly didn't think it was sand at first, it's a kakhi color, and very, very coarse.

We already have a leo, he wants something that we don't have yet. I will NOT allow a green iguana - I don't personally like them, and I don't care to have a large adult one.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

He doesn't want a snake. :( I thought a sand boa would be cool.

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Well I guess your next choices are Bearded Dragons (hope you don't mind dealing with a bunch crickets) and geckos which are easy to care for.

go with a beardie



somtimes they do funny lil' push-ups :clap:

A 29g won't be big enough when its older. A beardie should have atleast 18" of width as an adult. Also the height of the tank is gonna make it tougher to get the temps perfect and you'd have to make sure that its getting enough UV. Some sort of day gecko might be cool. You get set it up like a terrarium and get a couple vietemese mossy frogs. I don't think a chameleon would do very well in a tank since they like good ventilation.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Yeah, I told him I couldn't think of anything that could be kept on sand. He said his friend had a snake in there, but he didn't know what kind. I honestly didn't think it was sand at first, it's a kakhi color, and very, very coarse.

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Could it be that crushed walnut junk?

Personally, no matter what it is, I'd ditch it and thoroughly clean the tank out. It would sort of defeat the whole purpose of quarantine to put a new animal directly onto a substrate another, unknown animal lived on. (Which I'm sure you will already be doing! ;) )

I'm not sure a beardie would be suitable based on what Robin has already said about the tank....it's a 29 tall, I'm imagining, rather than a 29 long. Beardies need a decent amount of floor space and not so much height. (If the UV bulb is too far up, they don't get the benefits from it)

Seriously Robin...ask Kara about the Tokays. As I understand it, their care requirements aren't that strenuous and they are hardy little animals. And you've got an inside track to some really nice hand-raised tokays, don't'cha know? :P (I know I'm just speaking from my own personal desires here....after cresties, a tokay would be the very next lizardy type creature I'd want to have!)

It could be the zoo-med sand stuff... It comes in all sorts of colours, and over time the colours seem to bleach out.

The bright orange stuff my boyfriend had for his last lizard ended up a walnutty colour after being bleached out by the lights.

Why not try out one of the many species of frog?? There are some sweet looking little guys out there!

how about a turtle

I wouldn't personally house an adult beardie in a 29, although they are very easy to care for.

I've also heard that chameleons do really well in open air enclosures as opposed to aquariums.

Maybe the tank could be a nice size for a frog of some sort?

A legless lizard??? Colony of red-eye tree frogs? How bout a tank full of axolotyls???......I'm not sure......I would have said sand or rosy boas but he doesn't want a snake.....How bout a group of African Giant black millipedes? walking stick bugs?

Rhacodactylus Geckos are my second choice. I don't own one but I think they are super cool. My wife would kill me if I started another obsession(I can't just do 1 or 2), but they are sooooooooo cool looking and those eyes!

there is no way you could house an adult bearded dragon in a 29 gallon aquarium. absolutely not. they need MUCH more space than that. the recommended size is 6-8 square feet! see the bearded dragon enclosure we make... 4'x2'x18" high

http://www.timelessspirit.com/enclosure.html

a chameleon needs heaps of ventilation so a tank doesn't work well for them BUT if you do what i've done... scratch up the glass so there is no reflection and cover the glass with glued on leaves... to remove any reflection, then the tank would work for a short period of time... then you'd have to create a top screened section as they need much more space as adults than a 29 gallon tank would provide.

i think you said no cresties... but did you also say no leopard geckos? i'm too tired to go back and read... :P

please trust me on the bearded dragon enclosure robin... we've owned and housed three of them over the years... that tank is way too small.

get a tortuous

Hi,


You mentioned he loves green iguanas.

How does he feel about Thai water dragons,helmeted iguanas or plumed basilisks?

I don't understand how big the tank is but it would surel do for young examples of the above at least and they are all really fun to watch and interact with.



dr del

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,


You mentioned he loves green iguanas.

How does he feel about Thai water dragons,helmeted iguanas or plumed basilisks?

I don't understand how big the tank is but it would surel do for young examples of the above at least and they are all really fun to watch and interact with.



dr del

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He doesn't love green iguanas, the pet store happened to have a "cool" green lizard at the time he was looking to put a reptile into a tank. I have no clue, but he has to call me before he makes any purchases (we both sort of wander around the show and call each other when we see something cool to show the other - since we have different interests).

This iguana is how I got into ball pythons. It died about a month after we got it, and I told him to let me research something to put in the tank (before he could get another impulse buy - drives me NUTS!), and I always liked ball pythons, did my research, and got Kashmire, and the rest is history!

Gargoyle geckos!:D

No, a 29 gal is not enough for an adult beardie. They're not supposed to be on sand until they're over 6 mos of age (at least). The amount of crickets (and worms) a Beardie eats as a baby and then as an adult is relative.

A single baby beardie will eat approx. 8-10 1/4 - 1/2 inch crickets 2-3 times a day (plus veggies every other day). Then once they've graduated to 3/4 inch crickets, They'll eat 12-15 twice a day (plus veggies). My adult normal eats 20-30 full size (jumbo) crickets daily (plus veggies of course).

Then there's my german giant babies (approx. 3 1/2 months old) that eat more than that! I go through 250-300 1/2-3/4 inch crickets every 3-4 days with 3 of them.

Beardies need ample UV to grow properly as well as an appropriately heated 'hot spot'. They don't really require alot of humidity though. For my 4 adult regular size beardies i go through approx. 1500 jumbo crickets per week plus Butter Worms and Super Worms as well a few Horned and Silk Worms as a treat.

Sorry to be long winded but hopefully the info is useful to you.

Maybe instead of a chameleon look into a Basilisk. They are arboreal and as far as i know don't get too large so a 29 gal may be just right.

This thread is almost two months old. :P


Thanks for the feedback, the 29 gallon tank is still empty and collecting dust.

i have an idea... how about fish! :giggle:









ya ya i know it's an old thread... i'm just being silly!

Get a handfull of anoles.

We have a spare 29G also. I'll be putting a baby Red Tail Boa in it in the spring!!!

Go with fish!! I really wasn't expecting to become as attached to them as I have, but they are truly amazing to have :) At least mine are, they "wag their tails" as the boyfriend has termed it when they're hungry, beg for food, and follow you around when you walk infront of the tank :)

What kind of fish do you have? Oscars?