Species suggestions for semi-arboreal setup

I have four bearded dragons now, and am relatively experienced at keeping a fairly wide variety of reptiles, amphibians and both freshwater and saltwater fish/inverts.

I need ideas for a soon to be spare terrarium with interior dimensions of 36" wide x 22" front-to-back x 30" tall.

There is currently a juvenile 19" bearded dragon in it, but he is outgrowing the usable floor space and I want to transfer him to an area with more floor/horizontal space, since that's where he spends most of his time.

The terrarium has a solid floor & back, plate glass sides, sliding plate glass front doors and a 1/4" mesh false ceiling, above which I have several fluorescent fixtures that accept 24" tubes. There is a solid ceiling about 4" above the mesh.

It has wall vents low in the back, and ceiling vents in the top, and so flow-through ventilation can be regulated, and thus heat and humidity loss regulated to a certain extent. With the vents clear/open, I get very good convection flow.

A modestly sized basking light can be placed in the space above the ceiling mesh, but there can be heat issues for a lizard that would climb across the ceiling, since any light hot enough to provide sufficient basking heat will also make the mesh too hot for safety. I can also place a basking lamp outside one of the glass sides to shine in, but prefer not to hang stuff on the outside of the enclosure if I can avoid it.

I'd like to get another lizard to occupy this space that would make more use of the vertical space.

Because the doors slide open to the full height of the cage, and I'm not as young as I used to be, I really don't want anything too speedy or especially agile that may get past me.

A very small (tree?) monitor might be OK, but I don't want something that gets too big to be happy in the space I have. While I do think monitors are very cool, I don't know if I'm ready to handle a monitor, even a small one, due to the risk of injury to myself. From what I see, even small ones tend to stay feisty/defensive/aggressive - definitely part of their charm, but I don't think I'm up to it anymore. In addition to being in my mid-50s, I am also on some meds that seem to make my skin very fragile and relatively easily damaged.

I'm interested in the chameleons, and there are very cool ones out there, but I see they are regarded as a specimen for advanced keepers, probably more advanced than I am. I also see they require a lot of ventilation and would prefer a screen enclosure both for the fresh air and for the climbing substrate. So, chameleons seem to be out for my situation for several reasons.

The geckos are interesting, but most are rather small and it would seem they would be lost in the enclosure unless I had several, which would be cool too, but likely unworkable. Looking into the various gecko species, and actually lizards in general, everything seems solitary and should be kept in separate enclosures until breeding is intended, which I do NOT want to do.

I don't know what else would stay small enough to no eventually outgrow the cage, but would be interesting to look at/watch.

I am not driven to handle them, though I do fool with the beardies once or twice a day. I'd be perfectly fine with something I can just observe.

I raise B. Dubia, and have a two-tub colony that is finally sustaining enough to keep my four BDs fats and happy.

Ideally (fantasy), I would have a couple small, colorful, active lizards that could eat B.Dubia and/or greens I have anyway, and can co-exist without stressing or injuring each other. To be able to use natural vegetation in with them would be a bonus.

BTW, I DO realize that this idea is probably impractical, but feel that I should ask anyway.

I'm not really adverse to having a male/female pair of something if that's what it takes for a peaceful co-existence, but really don't want to breed anything "on purpose", if that makes sense.

I'd appreciate any suggestions and comments.

Thank you in advance,
Ed

Bump....????

Hi there!

I'm really new to this forum and a VERY new lizard owner myself. But...I have been reading a TON of info on my lizard--a Horned Mountain Lizard, and from what I read you might be able to consider a pair of them? I've read that they can be a bit territorial, but if room enough they kinda claim their own space in a big enough environment. And I can't remember but I think I read that if you do have two, they should be male/female...I could be wrong on that, but pretty sure that's what I read. They like it humid and doesn't have to be super warm...70-82 or so. (they are arboreal rainforest critters) Mine is pretty docile and just sits there and chills a whole lot, sometimes hanging upside down etc. so I don't think they'd be a real escape risk. Hopefully somebody who knows more can correct this if I'm wrong about any of it.

Anyways, sounds like a nice enclosure! I'd sure wanna put something in there!...Also, how about water dragons? Wonder if they might be a good choice. They seem a bit more active from what I've seen though. I'm considering them in the near future.

Whatever you choose to do, I hope you post, with pics etc. I'd love to see how things end up!

Oh, and also, sorry I don't know what B. Dubia is that you feed your Beardies...The horned mountain lizards though like worms, supers/meals/wax. That's all mine will eat so far. They are also supposed to LOVE earthworms, and crickets. (but mine hasn't taken a liking to either of those as of yet..i keep trying!) Can't recall what the water dragons eat. I've been reading so much on reptiles in general that my head is spinning.

And they also like to be high up in their enclosure so the taller the better, and your enclosure sounds like it is of perfect height....

Thank you for your suggestions Donna!

The horned mountain lizard is cool looking, but I don't know anything about them. Need to do some research and see what they like.

I see the water dragons sprawling out on the artificial vines at the pet shops and they do look comfy being higher up. I'll have to look into their care and see if anyone has them in groups.

The B. Dubia, or just "Dubia", are actually Blaptica Dubia, or the Guyana Orange Spotted Roach, a popular substitute for feeder crickets. I have a breeding colony in a couple totes and they are a LOT better for me than crickets.

Benefits include much reduced odor, better nutritional value, low shell-to-meat ratio, less cost, easy to feed, easy to house, quiet, easy to catch, low mortality, assorted sizes available at all times, can't fly, can't climb glass or the tote, not very smart, die if they get loose in the house...REALLY hard not to like them.

Newborn nymphs are around 3/16" in length, and, depending on food and temperatures, grow to adulthood in around 90 days. In their last/largest nymph stage, they're about 1-3/4" long, and some of my old females are over 2". This means I can select roaches to suit the critter and can provide anything between 3/16" and 1-1/2", about the biggest I'd feed a beardie. Roaches that grow too big for feeders are allowed to morph into adults and go into the breeder bin to replace old adults that eventually become unproductive and die off. At roughly 90 days, the last nymph stage molts into an adult, which can breed within 30 days and produce young 30 days later.

Have you concidered Japalura splendida (the Neon Tree Dragon)?
They are very attractive lizards, and I think they might be a good fit for you.
Care is very similar to that of Chinese Water Dragons - they just don't get as large as water dragons.
They can be kept in pairs or small groups, and they average about 8-10" long (including the tail), so your enclosure would work just fine as a permenant enclosure for a pair or small group.

Here's a link to a caresheet on Neon Tree Dragons:
http://www.reptilehabitat.com/chines..._caresheet.htm

Water Dragons would be a good choice too - however, they would eventually need to be upgraded to a much larger enclosure.