30 Gal square tank?

[Athen]

ok so here is my laundry list
i have
2ft ball python in a 60 gal tank he is doing great and loving it
1ft water dragon in a 60 gal tank doing pretty good cept for my water discoloration issues already mentioned in a previous post
2.5 ft desert kingsnake in a 20 gal tank my newest addition and pretty bare but doing ok
a very small ( about the size of an index finger) red/orange beardie in a 20 gal tall
and a 4in Savannah Monitor in a 30 Gal square tank


my question is are all these tanks the right sizes and shapes for the animals that are in them? or should i switch them around? my biggest area of inquiry would be the monitor and the water dragon would it be wise to swawp their tanks? i know the water dragon needs room to run and the monitor is mostly lazy and although the 60 Gal is a larger tank i think the 30 gal would give more running room since its square and not rectangle cause the monitor isnt using hardly any of his space he mostly just lounges around in a corner by his heat lamp and occasionally takes a dip in his water i also want to switch out the dragon to the 30 Gal cause i think it would be easier to set up the living vivarium in there that im trying to do any suggestions?

[brettlt]

I am assuming the water dragon is still fairly young. Though I do not have a water dragon, from what I have read they require a rather large enclosure with quite a bit of water. I think water dragons require an enclosure in the 100+ gallon range.
The 60 gallon probably has more horizontal space than the 30 square, so for now I would say your allocation of your resources sounds very reasonable. I would just be looking for a good deal on a larger cage for the water dragon in the future.

Also, on the beardie, I have mainly seen recommendations of at least 65 gallons, being 18" deep, as a minimum for an adult. Yours is extremely small at this point, so the 20 gallon is fine for a little while. My beardie is an adult around 18" long. He is currently in a 65 gallon with dimensions of 48" X 18" X 17" tall. Though this is adequate, I am currently working on his new tank, which is about 74" X 19" X 21".

[Athen]

yeah my water dragon is still quite young yet and along with liking to run around he loves to climb and jump alot i cant even count the times i have come by his tank to see him dangling upside down from the screen on top which is why my concerns with the enclosure and i asked the question cause i wasnt sure what was more important horizontal space or vertical as for the beardie i was planning on moving him into the enclosure that the water dragon is in when i move him out to a larger tank

[froggsong]

Instead of referring to the tanks by gallons, could you measure the LxWxH of the enclosure? This will give people a better idea of what you have because there aren't definite standards in tank dimensions. While up and down room is very important for the CWD, the length of the tank is more important. He needs for the enclosure to be at least twice the length of his body. It is best to go ahead and build the size enclosure that he'll need when he's full grown now, so you don't have to keep buying/building new enclosures as he grows. Be aware that you can use wood to build an enclosure, it doesn't have to be glass (except the front for viewing). In fact, wood will hold in heat more efficiently, and if you waterproof it, it will also hold in moisture as well. If you use wood, you can customize the tank more too. Another good thing about using wood is that you can cut a hole under your water area for drainage. (Comes in real handy when changing the water, it is a pain to try to change it leaning into a tank.) If you start building one now, while the dragon is still small, you can spend more time getting it just how you want, and building it over time will also reduce any strain on your wallet. You can build a comparably sized wooden vive for much less than you would spend buying a ready made glass one, or even building one out of glass yourself. Hope I was helpful.

One more thing, if you are really worried about the height issue right now, you can make the tank taller by building a top to go on it, three sides out of wood (back and sides) and the front out of plexi, glass, or screen (If using screen, you will likely lose heat and humidity).

[Athen]

ok ill do that im not certain as to the dimensions of my tanks tho cause when i bought them they were referenced in gallons but ill get it figured out

[Jason]

You could swap the Monitor and the dragon back and forth till the cows come home. thay will still need a 6' long tank in the end . Well the Monitor will only be in there for sleeping, during the day mine had the run of the house with a basking lamp above a large tree stump i found uprooted, hes gunna be a 2 hander for sure..

[taipan]

Just out of curiosity do many people in the US ( most likely the Southern parts of Nth America ) keep their beardies & Australian water dragons in open outside enclosures ??. Although living in Bangkok I am from Sydney where Beardies & WD's are/were common reptiles & there used to be a large colony of WD's at the bottom of our street

[Athen]

not that i know of most people out here that have beardies and WD generally have them in an enclosure mostly isolated to maintain humidity and high temp in the case of WD and just the high temp for beardies cause out here in San Diego it isnt warm enough or humid enough to maintain one especially not in the winter or night it might possibly be able to be done in Arizona or further inland here in southern cali tho

[froggsong]

Yeah, I know... I had to measure mine. Mine is the same dimensions as a larger tank, but shorter. I can't ever remember how many gallons it is rated for, so I measured it. Besides, since it is supposed to be twice the length of the dragon, it is easier to just measure it. If you don't have a tape measurer or ruler long enough, you can use a string and then measure the string with a ruler.

[Athen]

ya id say my WD tank is about 48w 24h 18d this weekend im buying the wood to start building my bew tank for him it will be 56w 38h 30d those are the measurements for the actual volume of the tank it will be in the form of a cabinet ill post some pics as im building it i had a question on it i anyone knows would it be necessary to line the whole inside of it with plexiglass or just simply seal the MDF and put a viewing pane in the front?