20 Gallon Paludarium for some kind of gecko?

[dinodeep]

Hi I am a student who is making a paludarium (half water and half land) for a school project. The problem with this is I really want a lizard that meets the following requirements:

-Nocturnal (so no UVB!)
-Can swim (water is 8 inches deep)
-Won't eat fish
-Can live in 20 gallons (essentially 10 with the water)
-Price does not exceed 30 dollars (I live in Canada by the way)
-Not a crested gecko (My classroom already has one)

I was thinking of getting a leopard gecko, but they don't really suit the environment well. So I don't really know what lizard to go with. Any suggestions?
Here is some pictures of the tank: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bx...1g1aU5IM2F2OGc

Thanks in advance!

[Tiny Boidae]

No gecko, that I know of, is aquatic. The problem with a paludarium is that it's hard to meet the needs of both terrestrial and aquatic animals in even a large enclosure, let alone a 20 gallon. You'll need a lot of filtration and daily 10% water changes I'd say, and some really forgiving fish. I'd really consider bumping the water area up more to help with the immense bio-load, and to figure out how much space you'll be providing each animal.

Fire belly newts are lizard-like and would probably thrive better in a paludarium like that, as well as a few tetras. I just can't really recommend a small lizard that would benefit from that setup.

[AwesomeGuy376]

You'd probably be better off with a turtle.. Lizards dont need that much water unless you have a huge lizard like a water monitor.. Even then half the tank is a bit much.. Also, a lot of reptiles will eat fish and anything small they think theyre capable of.. So you kinda got a problem here :P

[Minkness]

Might be able to do an anole.

I would suggest a 20 long insteadof a standard 20...and they would require UVB light. Some salamanders might work, but in reality, you would probably never see them. You could do a poison dart frog though. Or a male garter snake...but he would definitely eat the fish.

As for fish. The only thing I could see working in a set up that small would be guppies, endlers,or maybe kilifish.

However your price range is really what is going to get you.

Good luck.

[dinodeep]

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone, I will look into newts and salamanders as a possible option. My current plan is to put a ton of branches and house 1 green tree frog.

[chairman]

You could try a mourning gecko. I believe that they meet your requirements... just make sure that getting out of the water is easy so she doesn't drown.

[eminart]

Maybe a house gecko. But I have no experience with them other than catching them at a campground bath house in florida.

[dinodeep]

yeah I could try a mourning or house gecko, I just have to make sure there are branches for it to climb out if it falls into the water.