Wtf am I going to put in a 55 gallon

[Arachnaeoccult]

So being a fiend for cheap tanks my old roomate offered to sell me a big 55 gallon one for 30 bucks. I don't know what I'd ever put in it once I get it. Maybe 20 scorpions. Who knows. Halp?

[havoc_vulture]

Brb and bioactive set up?

[Arachnaeoccult]

A full sized adult iguana maybe? A chameleon? This tank might not have the height of a chameleon tank (but close! Taller than my 20g for sure) but its got plenty of medium sized reptile space. Thats medium if we're thinking large water dragons as medium-large... Right?

[dannybgoode]

Way too small for iguanas or water dragons and not nearly heigh enough for chameleons.

Both iguanas and water dragons get to 3'+ and need height to their enclosure as well as length. A 55 would be far too short and not nearly heigh enough.

Chameleons need at least 3' of height as well - a total viv of 2'*2'*3' as a minimum.

Assuming it used to be an aquarium why not some water and some fish?

[Tiny Boidae]

Yeah, no water dragons. My two girls are in a 6'x3'x6' indoor enclosure when the weather is rough, but spend more time in a 10'x10'x8' chicken-mesh enclosure. They're very active and need a lot of room.

If you can describe your dream animal for this enclosure though, we can help suggest some animals that suit your needs.

[Bandit]

Waaaay too small for iguanas and water dragons. Not too familiar with chameleon setups, but it sounds a bit short for them.

[Jim Smith]

What if you made a very nice toad viv out of it with several different species of toads. Easy to keep with lots of personality. Just a thought...

[Minkness]

Some toads may eat eachother though.

It would be good for an IJ carpet, possibly a BRB or CRB. A smaller boa like a hog island maybe (but those are also $200+).

Could do a bearded dragon...but would need an adult as that size would stress a baby out....

Also, if you just kept it for a while would make a killer display tank for your corn snake when she's full grown.

[Arachnaeoccult]

This enclosure is 4ft long 2ft tall and 1 ft wide

[dannybgoode]

Not big enough for a beardie . A couple of small geckos maybe or as I said earlier - an aquarium.

Watching fish swim around is strangely relaxing...

[Nightflight99]

How about using it as a holding tank, feeding tank, or quarantine enclosure? This might be less exciting, but very useful.

[Arachnaeoccult]

Fish are dirty and expensive to upkeep though!

[dannybgoode]

Fish are dirty and expensive to upkeep though!

???????

Not really. Certainly no more expensive than reptiles to keep and dirty?? No not at all. Weekly water change (25-50%) depending and your good.

A marine tank is a commitment and can cost a bit to keep running well but a tropical tank isn't. Fish food is cheap and water comes out of the tap...

[Tiny Boidae]

My dad builds saltwater tanks as a hobby of his. Has a bunch of marine tanks and I used to have to take care of them when he was gone for weeks or months at a time. Those, I assure you, are expensive and time-consuming.

I used to keep freshwater tanks a few years ago, and those are a walk in the park compared to marine fish. My favorite was a rope fish I had, the little bugger would come and eat bites of shrimp out of my fingers. The aquariums have no odor to them, although I used to have to do water changes with tubing and a bucket, and I'd have to suck the water up to get it started. That can be kind of icky, but I'm sure there are more sanitary ways to do it than what I did. The part that would probably drive you up a wall would be the filters, and the never-ending sound of running water. I used canister filters which you could make pretty cheap by throwing some biological and mechanical filtration into pvc piping. Let gravity pull it down under the tank and use a pump to push it back into the aquarium.

If you want to just entertain the thought of a fish tank though, liveaquaria.com has a good selection to choose from.

[dannybgoode]

@tiny - the secret to getting a good syphon going is just to get the hose out of your mouth before you get a gob full of water! :)

I use the good old fashioned suck on the hose method and 99/100 is goes according to plan. The other alternative is to get a cheap water pump and just put the pump into the water to the level you want to empty the tank to and just turn it on and it do its stuff.

Filters can be near silent too. My in tank Fluval U4 hardly makes a sound and my canister can be set up so the water re-entering the task is very quiet.

A nice, well planted tropical tank is a happy medium. Very attractive but way easier to keep than a full marine set up...

[Aaron_S]

Has anyone heard of a gravel washer? Many are commercial made and no need for any gobs of water at all! Super cheap too.

Anyway, you can try your hand at raising scorpions, smaller gecko colonies, stuff like that.

[sirtalis]

Well for starters you should change the title, 2nd an adult iguana can get 6+feet so it would need at least a 12 foot cage, you could Probably fit a bearded dragon in there

[prairiepanda]

I'd put another vote in for fish. It's a great size; big enough that the water values won't spike easily, but small enough that it won't be overly expensive to set up and maintain. I had a really nice Cichlid setup the same size as that tank. Very pretty and active fish. As long as you stick with freshwater, aquariums are easy to manage. I think a lot of the problems people have with aquariums comes from the fact that most people start with very small aquariums with way too many fish in them. In small volumes of water, it's very difficult to maintain consistent water quality, so it doesn't take much to make the water stink and eventually kill the fish. Larger tanks are much easier to maintain, because there's more water volume to dilute pollutants until the next water change.

But if fish are absolutely a no, I'd suggest a corn snake or maybe some sort of rat snake(just not the huge ones)... The narrowness of it makes it a bit challenging for reptiles. Maybe a group of crested geckos? Or anoles?

[dannybgoode]

Well for starters you should change the title, 2nd an adult iguana can get 6+feet so it would need at least a 12 foot cage, you could Probably fit a bearded dragon in there

The op mentioned the tank was 4*2*1 and it's the one that makes me think it's too small for a bearded. I'd have thought they'd appreciate a bit more height (and of the 1 is width then definitely would be more?).

However that is just from my research on lizards not from experience keeping them so happy to be corrected.

I like nightlife's suggestion of a spare enclosure for a quarantine tank / hospital task etc. Always good to have and something that a lot of keepers don't have to hand when perhaps they should (and I am guilty as charged!).

If it must be filled though and you don't want fish how about an African house snake. Underrated imo, very attractive looking snake, active, tame and stays small. It's also a bit different...

[Albert Clark]

How about a trio of garter snakes? Some of the plains garters and the easterns get pretty large. The 55 gallon would play into their lifestyle quite well. Then it would also be easy to hibernate them in the same enclosure if you were interested in breeding them. 2 females and a male. Otherwise, same sex individuals if you don't want to breed.

[Arachnaeoccult]

How about a trio of garter snakes? Some of the plains garters and the easterns get pretty large. The 55 gallon would play into their lifestyle quite well. Then it would also be easy to hibernate them in the same enclosure if you were interested in breeding them. 2 females and a male. Otherwise, same sex individuals if you don't want to breed.

A communal snake was certainly in consideration. Maybe a few su-adults or babies? Someone told me this is excellent for a bird eater but I'd probably be raising a sling first.

[Albert Clark]

Well, if you go the communal enclosure I would not have more than 3, and preferably a pair of garters would be better. No babies in with adults or sub adults. 55 gallons is a lot of space to fill in backgrounds and hides or even the bio- active route are options.

[Bandit]

Agreed. That would be a good enclosure for Garters, but no more than 3 adults.

[eminart]

I had a 55g saltwater setup for many years.

But, the options are limitless with herps. Many snakes will do well in that size. Some smaller turtles are an option. A leopard gecko colony. A large dart frog set up. Lots of options for a planted bioactive tank.

[psychocircus]

I'm not a big fan of 55 gallons because the tank is only 12" front to back, as mentioned. That rules out bearded dragons.

Some options you have:
crested geckos
dart frogs
leopard geckos
several species of small colubrids
fish

Ultimately, I don't think you should purchase an animal just because you've come across an enclosure. You are better suited to determine an animal you really want and build/purchase an enclosure accordingly.

[Arachnaeoccult]

I'd rather wait 2-3 months and sort my cricket breeding operation, than buy the tank off my roomate and fix it up with a screen and divide it into 4 smaller tanks that would please an arachnid display.

If the cricket breeding goes well it'll open the door to owning lizards, but as of right now I can only do animals that need weekly rather than daily feeding.

[AZretic]

I just never understand the point of these threads....

[RAD House]

I think it is pretty clear the point of this thread is the op wants to know what options he has for a certain enclosure. Ironically Azretic, I really do not see the point in your post.

[Aaron_S]

I just never understand the point of these threads....

I just never understand the point of people reading or posting in threads they don't see a point in....

[prairiepanda]

Crested geckos don't need insects. Growing babies should get some insect protein in their diet, but there is crested gecko food with insect protein in it already now so you wouldn't have to worry about your crickets. Just mix powder with water and feed every couple days :)


But if it still has to be something that will eat once a week, then I'd definitely go with a small snake. Corns, kings, milks, and some of the smaller rat snakes would be fine in there. Don't push it with bigger snakes because that 12" width will become a problem.

Another option would be a huge colony of communal tarantulas, but the size might be a bit excessive :p

[Arachnaeoccult]

On the tarantula boards references to 'communal' seem to get attacked a lot as "Its not an 'if' but 'when' they decide to eat each other.

I sexed my forest scorpion recently, turns out to be a male;

The knowledge dispensed at the local pet retailer is horrendous. I decided not to buy a water dragon because of the need for so many crickets every other day. Later I found out it was an even better idea because they get way too huge, and it would be months before any tank I use becomes a tight prison for the lizard. This tank is way off in the future even if I get it this year.


Right now my ball python keeps moving her substrate around. She has no visible burns under her belly but I think I need to fix that soon because i don't like her underbelly being exposed to the heater. Its likely because Reptibark is chunky. The most exotics I plan on getting next are a common pink toe tarantula or one of their 'special babies' as I call them.


I'm digging scorpions lately, even those not as docile as emperors.

[daisymaisy]

I have a 55 gallon set up as a terrarium/vivarium with a drainage layer, soil, lots of plants and a rough green snake (still a small one). I also have an anole keeping the snake company. (About a month after I had the tank set up, a baby anole appeared. It turns out I had used a chunk of sphagnum that had been in with my pair of anoles in a separate cage..apparently they had laid an egg which hatched out!) They are both small and eat crickets. I'm not sure if the 55 will be big enough for the snake when full grown, if not I will get a bigger tank or build something (any excuse for another tank!).

Anyway, the 55 can be a bit awkward due to the dimensions. It has a good length to it, but the plants need trimming once they hit the top. Also I would avoid things like fast geckos if you have a normal screen top that you have to lift up to access the tank. I have to keep a close eye out that the anole doesn't escape when I've got the lid open.

Garters would be really cool in a natural set up too.