Confused about glass enclosure?

[RobertsKitty]

I am really confused about glass enclosures. All I have ever read about them is they are super hard to maintain temps and humidity. I have had Loki in a glass tank since day one, and I have never had any trouble keeping perfect temps and humidity. I have done it before with a bearded dragon and I didn't have any problems then either. Why does everyone say they are so difficult to maintain?

[eatgoodfood]

Because aquariums are open topped and do not hold heat or humidity well, it escapes through the top and class is not a good insulator. Many people do use them, often they need to be modified to work well, especially when you live in a dry environment and are keeping something that requires high humidity. Often multiple heat sources are required. For some, as you say, yourself, they work fine. But in my opinion fish tanks are for fish, there are so many options for reptile specific caging using an aquarium is not necessary.

[BrandiR]

Maybe the climate where you live helps. I live in a dessert area and it's easier/harder to maintain conditions depending on the time of year. Other things contribute too, like what kind of heating you use (heat lights?), what the overall temp of your house usually is, your substrate, the size of your water dish....I think there are a number of factors that play into how easy or hard it is to maintain the temps/humidity in a glass tank. I don't think EVERYONE who uses tanks has a super tough time, I just think it's a little trickier than tubs.

[Shann]

I live in the desert, and have mostly kept species with lower humidity requirements because of that. But when I got my boa I just used a glass cage. And it was fine. I had to work at it daily to keep it at proper temps and humidity, but it was doable. But if I went out of town, I had to give whoever was watching my animals very specific instructions about it. And she thrived in it, only because I worked my butt off at keeping the husbandry right. I did that for a year and a half and had a really nice set-up that looked and worked great, with daily maintenance. Now I have a proline cage, and I don't hardly have to do a thing, even though I live in an area with less than 10% humidity. When I have people watch my other animals when I'm out of town, I ask them to just glance in and make sure everything is ok, but they don't need to do a thing.

What I'm getting at is if you're willing to work at it and stay on top of it, there's nothing "wrong" with a glass cage. But there are a lot more convenient options out there that will make your life a heck of a lot easier.

[RobertsKitty]

I live in Oklahoma but I keep the house at 72 night and day so that might help with it. His temp does fluctuate some but its never more than 2 degrees, but I don't see that as a problem.