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Day Gecko Paludarium
So I am planning on building my first paludarium/vivarium. I am going to take a 55-gallon Aqueon tank, 48X12X21inch, and place a glass divider, fastened with silicone, separating the tank into a 36X12X18 (for fish) and a 12X12X21in (for land). The water portion wil be about 30 gallons and stocked with smaller semi-peaceful fish like killifish and maybe angelfish, plus an algae eater of some kind. I chose to do this in order to provide enough vertical climbing room for a day gecko, probably a gold dust or peacock because I think the giant would need more room. I plan on leaving a couple inches free over the water so the gecko has more space to move or climb if he so desires, which is why the divider will only be 18inch or less tall. I know there is a threat of the gecko drowning if he falls into the water so I plan on placing plenty of climbing sticks or platforms for it to use to get out of the water if it fell in. I also would want to include live plants in both the aquatic and land potion. I have read a lot about how to set up a vivarium and plan on introducing isopods, maybe springtails to the land portion. Any advice on the best substrate to use for the land plants and any about the isopods or springtails. I've heard that the gecko would be interested in snaking on the isopods every now and then which I am more than happy to allow. My greatest concern is how to best cover this setup. Most aquariums use class tops while reptile tanks use screen covers. Any advice on what best to use or on how to build something that would work better, keep in mind the top must fasten weel so the gecko can't escape and also has to allow UV light and heat (probably from a red light bulb or heat emitter) to pass through to the gecko's basking spot. I know reptiles usually need ventilation so any advice would be appreciated. If this setup just won't work for geckos let me know and maybe advise something it would work with, like tree frogs or something. I would prefer something that was awake during the day so I can see it moving about. Thank you all for any help you can provide.
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