Hey! Need Your Advice

Hey! thank u for reading this. My boyfriend is just now getting into reptiles because ive had several. He has this idea that he wants to get this really big aquarium and have a water side and a land side. He wants to put different reptiles in it...frogs,hermit crabs,lizards. Since ive had lizards I know putting all those things together proabably isnt possible lol. I wanted to know though is there ANY reptile that can be housed with a different kind . Ive seen water dragons,frogs, and chamelians together. That was at a petstore so I didnt want to go off that..knowing pet stores usually do the complete wrong things where I live. Also wondering if you can put hermit crabs in a aquarium with other lizards? on the water side of the tank my boyfriend wants to put some small fish in there. I used to know someone with a water dragon who had a land and water side and it worked very well. I just wanted to get ur opinion on all of this! any advice would be really appreciated and if you house ur lizards with other lizards id love to know about ur experience. Thanks !

I used to have a big tank with green anoles, brown anoles, 3 species of house gecko and some long-tailed grass lizards. The key is finding animals that have similar needs in terms of temperature, humidity, housing etc. You can also select animals with different activity schedules too to minimize conflict. For example, the anoles and grass lizards were out during the day and the geckos were out at night.

Multiple species set ups can have draw backs. Most of the small species that would be compatible together are available almost exclusively as wild caughts. When ever you throw wild caughts together, especially if they originate from different places, you also risk introducing new pathogens. There is also always the risk of interspecies aggression as well. I once had a very amorous male green anole decide to mate with my male house gecko, the gecko was fine, but didn't look too happy at the time.

-Alice

Absolutely...the keys are that the cage must be HUGE, and very heavily planted--as a result, strong lighting is key, and of course it must be UVB lighting. You have to create a temperature gradient that's proper without scorching the plants, and select non-toxic plants that can survive in that environment.
I recommend using computer fans or an air pump or two to create good air circulation in the cage or tank (don't consider anything under 100 gallons for what he's proposing, and much bigger would be better). Mold is a huge enemy.
It has to be just about packed with greenery. Be sure that the water has a high quality filtration system, perhaps blocked from direct access so that nothing can get stuck in the intake. Be sure that the water has plenty of places where creatures can easily climb out--a small lizard could quickly drown.

Set it all up, plants, lights, heat, filtration, perhaps some water plants, snails, a guppy or two....
And run it as a terrarium for at least 6 months. That will allow you to determine if you're going to have any problems! You can adjust to make sure you can keep your plants alive, that mold isn't growing...you can establish some species of moss on driftwood, get your water cycled properly, and get yourself a little mini-ecosystem that actually works, BEFORE you add animals to complicate the picture.

Then, you start out small. First, as has been pointed out, most small lizards are going to be WC. That means several months of quarantine for each and every one of them, and vet checks to clear them of parasites. You want them clean, completely healthy, and thriving before you put them in your expensive big setup.
One animal with parasites could result in all the animals being infested, all dying...and then you'd have to rip the whole thing down and sterilize every inch of it, throwing away what couldn't be sterilized. NOT a pretty prospect.
You HAVE to be sure the animals going into the community cage are parasite-free and completely healthy.
You can, if you hunt around, possibly find what you are looking for as captive-breds. Quarantine them, and after 4 months, add them to the tank. Do only 1 species at a time. Start with the less aggressive species first. Be very aware of possible conflicts. Dart frogs are cute...they're also small and resemble food, and if licked, can kill. Not a good choice.
Fire-bellied toads...an iffy prospect. Also secrete toxins. Newts secrete toxins. Green or grey tree frogs might work out well.
House geckos and mediterranean geckos (similar size and appearance) can work out well. Green, brown, and bark anoles can do well, as can the long-tailed grass lizards.
I saw a community setup with a green grass snake in it, but I'd be leery of that.
Do not overcrowd. You cannot pack a lot of animals into a community tank, and expect it to work. A 100 gallon tank, heavily planted, you can probably get away with a tree frog, a couple of anoles, a couple of house geckos, some guppies, maybe tiny ground skink or two...and that's it.
I would be concerned about a hermit crab's well being in such a setup, and also concerned that it might pose a threat to the other animals.
I once saw a room-sized community setup that contained a variety of arboreal lizards, box turtles, painted turtles, white's tree frogs, and java sparrows. The birds were nesting. The trees and shrubs, vines on the walls, and actual hide boxes kept everyone secure--the animals all appeared to be doing well.
It can be done, and the effect is really cool, but you have to be careful, thorough, and shell out the bucks. The room-sized enclosure was lit by halogens, for the UVB.

Hey! WIngedwolf. Thank you so much for the time you took to reply to my post. I will definatly get that information to my boyfriend! It would be so awsome if it could work. Out of all the posts ive recieved so far yours is one of the most informative. Alot of people say it is not possible to make this work. I totally respect their opinion and they may be right but ive heard of it working before. Which makes me think it can work again if the conditions are right. My bf wanted to put up barriers in the cage to mabe to keep the animals from getting to each other. Not sure if that would be good idea or not? I agree with you on just doing the set up first to see how everything goes before adding animals! I do not want the animals to die because I didnt do everything right. Thanx again for ur advice and time! I really appreciate it.

To aliceinwl thank you for your post to. I understand that putting some animals together is not the best idea. It is nice to see people like you though who have tried it and it has worked out alright for! Hopefully that will happen fo rus when we try this oneday.

anyone else who would like to respond with ideas please feel free to post!!! thanks!

The barrier might not work out un less it is a very very large inclosure like the room sized one mentioned by WingedWolf as the barriers might restrict the diffrent species from getting enough space.(Just an opionion of mine)