Newbie to Vivariums

[bordercollie05]

Hi all,

I'm interested in setting up a new vivarium and am just in the planning stages. I've been doing fish tanks for a couple of years now and really enjoy having live plants. I decided I'd like to try something slightly different and do a vivarium.

I have a 28 gallon bowfront that I'm thinking of using, but I'm open to another tank size/shape if needed.

The thing I need the most help with is critter suggestions. I think I would like either small lizards or frogs. Originally I wanted to do a mixed species tank, but it seems that's a bad idea. I don't have much experience with herps, but have kept lots of different kinds of fish and have lots of general husbandry experience. Sooo, I'm not completely a beginner but I am new to reptiles/amphibians (aside from a few childhood pets that were probably kept rather poorly....). I'm looking for something that is interesting to keep, but not too expensive or hard to find.

Thanks for any tips in advance and I look forward to soaking up the information on this forum!

Laura

[Epiphile]

Hi Laura, and welcome.

I guess what you're able to keep will depend on your tank's setup- if you're building to possibly house an amphibian you'll need to ensure a higher humidity. This often means a glass lid on the tank, which doesn't permit the use of UV lamps which would be neccessary for a lot of reptiles. There are ways to have UV light and still maintain appropriate humidity levels, but this is just one example of ways in which you'll need to plan your enclosure.

[beckdg]

welcome to the site.

[bordercollie05]

Thanks for the welcome and information! I'd like to have a water feature so I'm guessing I need something that likes humidity. I'm planning on picking my species and planning the tank around it. I'll keep researching and come back with some more specific ideas.

[xsputnikx]

It really depends on what your budget is for your animals but you could always do something like a chinese water dragon there not too bad on cost

[beckdg]

a cwd requires a pretty big setup though. that's where the cost will really come in.