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reptiles to co-exist in one cage????

A

apbt21

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I made a 4't x 2'w x 2'd walnut cage with glass front door, and I built an aquarium into the bottom of it. I would like to have amphibians or small turtles in the bottom, with some lizards and small snakes in the canopy area. Would just like to hear peoples suggestions of things that would be able to live together and create a great display.
 
Tracey, I would suggest you use that nice setup for ONE display reptile. Setting up a habitat for multiple reptiles is tricky at best, even for experienced keepers.

It is a learning process, like most thing that are worth doing. Dedicate that cage to ONE animal.
 
apbt21 said:
I made a 4't x 2'w x 2'd walnut cage with glass front door, and I built an aquarium into the bottom of it. I would like to have amphibians or small turtles in the bottom, with some lizards and small snakes in the canopy area. Would just like to hear peoples suggestions of things that would be able to live together and create a great display.
Click to expand...

I had to read this a couple times...

Can you attach a picture please.
 
from what i make of this he has basically built a 4ft tall cage but put a divider between them(or i hope so) and if so it could be done. but the problem i would see out of it is that with the tank being at the bottom its going to need rather alot of water for turtles or alot of misting for any other animal thus causing alot of humidity to rise into the top half which could possibly cause alot of problems for other types of reptiles such as snakes etc... some reptiles need more humidity then others but as far as snakes such as carpet pythons and a few others wouldnt need the humidity you would be producing and could cause alot of damage to the reptiles respritory. but i am with alot of other that have posted or will post that i think the cage should be for one species only as the earlier post stated it is difficult for the more experienced to keep under control so it would be in my opinion a disaster for someone relatively new trying to do this. i have a 6ft T 4ft W 3ft D cage i built and i only house 1 carpet python in it lol.
 
nope no divide. Im not sure i will make the bottom fully aquatic. maybe just like salamanders in it. Im sure with all variety of reptiles out there i could find three of them what would work together. Also it wouldnt be hard for me to hook a humidity control to the back of it, or anything else I may think up to better it. I think I can make it work out.
 
that would be your decision but honestly i see a disaster coming. and i personaly dont know of any 3 different types of reptiles you can house together without one becoming dominant of the others. and not having a divider in it i wouldnt not suggest any type of snake or iguana being put in it with other reptiles.
 
It's not an impossibility, but there are some very good reasons that nobody who's really qualified to give you the answer you want is likely to do so.

When you mix species, you are adding risks and variables to the environment you're setting up. Different species are unlikely to have completely identical requirements unless they come from overlapping ranges, where they generally interact as competition for resources at absolute best... falling into a predator/prey relationship under the worst circumstances.

In order to keep multiple species healthy in a single environment with one another, a keeper needs to have a completely comprehensive understanding of the species involved and a good deal of direct experience keeping and observing them, in order to be absolutely certain that there are no issues with the mix.

Depending on the age, gender and general condition of the specimins chosen to cohabitate, there are pretty much an infinite number of ways for things to go wrong. The risk is comparatively high relative to the reward of keeping a multi-species display enclosure.

It's simply one of those situations where, if a person is really appropriately knowledgeable and experienced enough to make the attempt, they should not have any questions remaining as they go into it. It borders on the philosophical, when the person is ready to use the answers, they no longer have any questions.
 
I keep 3 vivariums like that you are looking to make. I have a semi-aquatic in a 180 gallon vivarium, a terrestrial setup in a 70, and an aquatic in a 150. Its certainly possible, and can be some of the most stunning and beautiful setups, but it is very
 hard, and unless you are experienced with each animal in an individual setting it will most likely end in heartbreak. I strongly recommend against such a setup with proper experience. Googling a bunch of care-sheets will not suffice, because you will have to know the animals you are caring for. If you are actually an experienced keeper and are quite set on an inter-species vivarium than I will gladly help you, but please reconsider if you are not considerably experienced.
 
apbt21 said:
nope no divide. Im not sure i will make the bottom fully aquatic. maybe just like salamanders in it. Im sure with all variety of reptiles out there i could find three of them what would work together. Also it wouldnt be hard for me to hook a humidity control to the back of it, or anything else I may think up to better it. I think I can make it work out.
Click to expand...

What do you mean by a humidity control?

It sounds like you're intent on throwing a bunch of animals together in a tank, rather than listening to the advice that everyone has already given you. I don't think throwing three different species of herps that you're unfamiliar with in the first place into one tank is going to end up well. While I have seen multiple species tanks before they were either disastrous or done by very knowledgeable keepers in VERY large tanks.
 
Armadillo lizards and leopard geckos are the only 2 I can think of right now that may work together.
 
I had a vivarium a few years back with green snakes, green tree frogs, gray tree frogs, and some firebelly toads. It worked well, and was well planted w/ full spectrum lighting. I used the vivarium plans and supplies from Black Jungle's website, and it worked out pretty well.

Good luck!
 
captnemo said:
I had a vivarium a few years back with green snakes, green tree frogs, gray tree frogs, and some firebelly toads. It worked well, and was well planted w/ full spectrum lighting. I used the vivarium plans and supplies from Black Jungle's website, and it worked out pretty well.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

How did that work out, I was curious about the snakes vs frogs issue. Would there be a population control problem?
 
Because green snakes are cricket feeders, it worked well. I forgot to mention, I kept anoles and house geckos in there as well. The one issue I had was when one of the frogs (I assume it was one of the larger red legged ones) tried to eat a green snake. It didn't happen, but the snake was injured and later died. If I was to do it again, I'd stick to the smaller frog species.

I kept this vivarium up and running for about a year, with just that one problem.
 
hey tracey, the set-up you want to do can turn out awsome if done right. there are certain species you can house together with no problem. i work at an exotic reptile shop and for the past year there has been a group setup that has had no problems and it is in an exoterra equivalent to 40gal breeder tank. we have : red eyed tree frogs,adult dart frogs(babies are too small), day geckos, and ficshers chameleons. all of the above stay relatively the same size and require the same size crickets and do well in high humidity.
 
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