Exo Terra 12x12x18 ideas?

[Pazzoman]

Hey Everyone,

I received a gift from a friend. So I was thinking what possibilities are out there, I'm not a fan of arthropods,insects and frogs tho. This is defiantly a challenge as there is probably a very very limited animals that can live in this set up.

[Minkness]

Leopard geckos, male garter snake, colllard snakes, anoles, african fat tailed geckos...and I'm sure there's more out there. :)

Could just tirn it into a planted tank and do a nifty bioactive setup as well.

[Sublimeballs]

I have to disagree... None of the animals listed can live out thier lives in this cage(maybe the anole but theyre active.. and ive never heard of a collard snake).

If you're not into insects or amphibians.... Honestly if get 2-3 mourning geckos. They're tiny little arboreal geckos that are parthenogenic(no males) so you'll get some tiny little eggs from time to time aswell. If you like the looks of leopard geckos you could try out banded geckos they're similar but half the size. You could get a Pygmy leaf chameleon. I know there's some really small Aussie geckos....

[Minkness]

Maybe I have the dimensions wrong? I was thinking that it's the size of a 10 gallon tank....or is ut one that stands up longways? @_@

Also, collared snake=ringneck snake. It was late when I typed my previous response. Bah...

[millertime89]

Maybe I have the dimensions wrong? I was thinking that it's the size of a 10 gallon tank....or is ut one that stands up longways? @_@

Also, collared snake=ringneck snake. It was late when I typed my previous response. Bah...

10 gal is 20x10x12.

Crested or other small arboreal geckos will work. A tarantula would as well.

[Minkness]

Yup, had the dimensions backwards lol

My bad.

A Crestie would be fine in that size though. =)

[Sublimeballs]

I figured you were mistaken seeing how you own Leos and AFTs. Happens to us all.

Really, never heard them called collards but I thought of them as a possibility to what you meant.

[Minkness]

Honestly, I don't think I've ever heard them called collards either lol its just the random strangeness that is my brain at 3am lol

And...I've always been bad at numbers lol

[jjhill001]

The dimensions are basically a ten gallon. Just imagine if you tipped it up onto the small end. I just got one of these as well and have been thinking either anole or green tree frog with natural plants and stuff.

[Minkness]

Well, OP stated that they aren't into bugs or frogs. So small, aboreal geckos is probably where it's at.
Do you want to handle it or just look at it?

For handling, go with a crestie, for just looking at it, maybe a colorful day gecko.

Anoles would need a longer tank as well, so might not be ideal for what you have.

Let us know what you decide!

[millertime89]

Cresties are cool little geckos. I'm a fan.

[Pazzoman]

Hey Everyone,

The mourning gecko's were pretty cool to research on. Hmm Im starting to lean more towards a crestie just to see the hype there is about them. Ive kept bearded dragons, skinks, savannah monitor, leopard geckos as well as corn snakes.

I doubt there is any snakes that can live in this set up. Unless you have snake ideas out there?

So far Crestie is in the lead lol

[millertime89]

As far as an enclosure for their entire life goes, I can't think of any species of snake that would work.

[jjhill001]

Hey Everyone,

The mourning gecko's were pretty cool to research on. Hmm Im starting to lean more towards a crestie just to see the hype there is about them. Ive kept bearded dragons, skinks, savannah monitor, leopard geckos as well as corn snakes.

I doubt there is any snakes that can live in this set up. Unless you have snake ideas out there?

So far Crestie is in the lead lol

Maybe one of the tiny borrowers? You'd never see them though so kind of dumb.

[Pazzoman]

Yeah thats what I figured, looks like at the next expo if I will be paying close attention to crested geckos. Apparently I read somewhere that a pair can be kept in this size enclosure. However I already know that males would have to be separated if they get aggressive with the female. Do you think I can house two female cresties or is it best to have one lone crestie?

Thanks A Million, for all your help

[Pazzoman]

After doing more research on the adult sizes of crested geckos, pretty sure two females in a 12x12x18 would be really pushing it. So If I do decide on a crested gecko, I will most likely just get a single male unless Im confident enough to provide a larger enclosure if I decide on getting two females.

[Minkness]

You can keep frmales alone as well. Most prefer it anyway. So you can get a pretty baby without worrying over gender, and raise it up =)

[jjhill001]

http://i.imgur.com/l8Hwkk0.jpg

Set it up last night.

[Aaron_S]

Didn't read any of the thread past the first post.

FIRE-BELLY TOADS!!!

[Minkness]

Not enough ground space for those though Aaron

[jjhill001]

I think your options are quite limited unless you have really good skill at terrarium design. You could do some terrestrial species of you could design some sort of multi floor type thing that increases the usable area of the terrarium.

For many reptiles kept, they literally only have the floor of the terrarium to be on. All of the height of the terrarium is wasted. People think that terrestrial means they don't climb on things in the wild and just live on a flat piece of land. There is tremendous height differences within the landscape of these "terrestrial" species. Think about the root system of a tree that a kingsnake could live in while in the wild. I've seen root systems that stick out of the side of hills creating a 4-5 foot high habitat.

[Pazzoman]

Thanks for the replies, and cool gecko set up. Im going to continue researching and looking through old threads here on this forum about crested geckos. Im confident I will be getting one. Still not sure if either male or female, but really doesn't matter. Than of course Im debating on what size to get, I'm thinking of a juvinile size.

[Minkness]

I heart cresties!

There's no real difference between males and females other than price. Females are fewer than males so cost twice as much. I like suggesting babes since I think they are cute because they are so tiny, but a juvie or even an adult would be a better fit for that size tank as a baby could get over whelmed and might not eat so well. Most babies are kept in small critter keepers For quite a while.

If you have questions PM me any time. Geckos are my jam. ;)

[Aaron_S]

I heart cresties!

There's no real difference between males and females other than price. Females are fewer than males so cost twice as much. I like suggesting babes since I think they are cute because they are so tiny, but a juvie or even an adult would be a better fit for that size tank as a baby could get over whelmed and might not eat so well. Most babies are kept in small critter keepers For quite a while.

If you have questions PM me any time. Geckos are my jam. ;)

What do you know about Aeluroscalabotes Felinus?

[Minkness]

Lol. I suck at scientific names...had to look that one up XD

However, now that I know that's a cat gecko, I can tell you that they are better suited to an advanced gecko keeper. Semi-aborial means they need horizontal and vertical space, but temps and humidity are similar to a crestie though they are fully insectivores..

Captive breeding hasn't been perfected yet, so most are wild caught and bring all the icky things that wc reptiles usually have.

I don't have experience with them personally however, but they are on my future want list lol

Also...mega cute geckos. ^_^

[Aaron_S]

Lol. I suck at scientific names...had to look that one up XD

However, now that I know that's a cat gecko, I can tell you that they are better suited to an advanced gecko keeper. Semi-aborial means they need horizontal and vertical space, but temps and humidity are similar to a crestie though they are fully insectivores..

Captive breeding hasn't been perfected yet, so most are wild caught and bring all the icky things that wc reptiles usually have.

I don't have experience with them personally however, but they are on my future want list lol

Also...mega cute geckos. ^_^

Stating captive breeding hasn't been perfected yet is an understatement. No one I know of has bred them consistently for an extended period of time. People have done it but my belief is they have gotten lucky.

Guess you googled all that though since you didn't know them :p

Check out the Naultinus geckos for some awesome looking green geckos! Better than day geckos!

[Minkness]

Lol. I know them by cat geckos so yes, I googled them, but knew a bit off hand when I realized what they were lol.

My real knowledge of geckos is in leos and cresteds, but I know a little bit about a few others as well.

Besides, why even ask me about it if you all ready knew?

[Aaron_S]

Lol. I know them by cat geckos so yes, I googled them, but knew a bit off hand when I realized what they were lol.

My real knowledge of geckos is in leos and cresteds, but I know a little bit about a few others as well.

Besides, why even ask me about it if you all ready knew?

Just teasing you about geckos being your jam :p

I enjoy gecko talk outside of leos and cresteds so wanted to see if you knew more species.

[Minkness]

I'm familiar with other rachs, tokays, house, golden, afts, panthers, curly tails, knob tails, bribons, mournings, neons, ect. Probably things you consider common. I tend to like more easily accessible species myself. That one you suggested however is pretty awesome.

I'll be looking at a leachie as my next speices though if I don't try to brave an angry baby tokay lol.

[Aaron_S]

I'm familiar with other rachs, tokays, house, golden, afts, panthers, curly tails, knob tails, bribons, mournings, neons, ect. Probably things you consider common. I tend to like more easily accessible species myself. That one you suggested however is pretty awesome.

I'll be looking at a leachie as my next speices though if I don't try to brave an angry baby tokay lol.

I dig all geckos. I need a tokay again. One of the best looking geckos in the world.

Interesting you mention knob tails as common. They were incredibly rare at one point. Ironically, the uroplatus were more common then and now seem to be a lot more uncommon.

[Minkness]

Perhaps that's because I seem to see them all over every reptile site I visit. I don't know much about them though. Not really a gecko that interests me lol. The chinese cave geckos are getting more popular however. I remember a few years ago couldn't find them anywhere, but they are coming around more often now. Not sure if they are successfully captive bred yet though.

The common flying geckos make my heart go boom though. LOVE their feet!

So many geckos...so little time!

[Aaron_S]

Perhaps that's because I seem to see them all over every reptile site I visit. I don't know much about them though. Not really a gecko that interests me lol. The chinese cave geckos are getting more popular however. I remember a few years ago couldn't find them anywhere, but they are coming around more often now. Not sure if they are successfully captive bred yet though.

The common flying geckos make my heart go boom though. LOVE their feet!

So many geckos...so little time!

The G. Luii is my favourite. Really neat guys. They used to be found more frequently a decade or so ago. Very easy to take care and very easy to breed. The bright purple and orange bands are awesome! You're right though. Don't see them often anymore.

Pictus geckos (also known as Panthers) were rare too for awhile but then disappeared and now back! These guys are so cute and neat.

Everything comes and goes in circles. No matter what people always follow trends/fads. It generally takes morphs for something to 'stick'.

[Minkness]

Sorry, not sure what a G. Luii is (don't know scientific names)

Panthers are adorable, but a bit on the tiny side for me lol. I like having something I can handle confidently without worrying of squishing or dropping them. At least until I get experienced and confident enough to set up a fully 'natural' enclosure and just enjoy them as a display animal.

[Aaron_S]

Sorry, not sure what a G. Luii is (don't know scientific names)

Panthers are adorable, but a bit on the tiny side for me lol. I like having something I can handle confidently without worrying of squishing or dropping them. At least until I get experienced and confident enough to set up a fully 'natural' enclosure and just enjoy them as a display animal.

Luii is a type of cave gecko. I only know a few scientific names! Pretty much the ones I named lol. Now I'm done.

Panthers are pretty hardy. Just smaller african fat tails (probably my second favourites)

[Minkness]

Much smaller lol. Don't they tap out at like 2.5 inches?

[Aaron_S]

Much smaller lol. Don't they tap out at like 2.5 inches?

But hardy and a little chubby. They ain't so bad.

[Minkness]

Lol ok. Maybe I'll look into them...though for now, next speices will probably be a Leachie, so I need to start setting aside a savings now and research which type I want and what color type.

[Aaron_S]

Lol ok. Maybe I'll look into them...though for now, next speices will probably be a Leachie, so I need to start setting aside a savings now and research which type I want and what color type.

Cool! The rhac family got really popular for awhile leading the way with Cresteds. Poor gargoyles and chahoua. Such cool geckos.

[smy_749]

A. felinus and A. aff dorsalis are bred regularly here in the states now. Many keepers hatch them with ease, in the US and in Europe. Jordan Russell and Thomas Wood produced / produce a ton. I had a trio of Cbb baby cameron highlands locality from Thomas, they are very easy, but not a 'beginner' species if things like Reverse osmosis water, frequent mistings, and staying away from high temps is difficult for a particular household. They sleep in leaves all day, come out at night like clockwork. Very cryptic, and slow, in everything they do. Feisty, stress easily, but super unique. Can house an adult in a 12x18 comfortably but they do not do as well housed in groups.