Want to start vivarium but have questions

[chris lay]

I got a station for every mood, From the Sex Pistols to Vivaldi. While you are on the topic of literature has anyone heard of 'The Firefly Encyclopeidia of the Vivarium'? i was it onamazon while i was getting some other reference books was wonderin if it was worth getting.

[beckdg]

no, i have not... the only reference i have found say that it is long, focuses more on animals in the wild that cannot be kept in a viv, and is worth the $25 he payed for it, not the nearly $40 it retails for... i do not know of the validity of that source, but that's what i found.

i did get ahold of this though: i am not so sure there is anything about herps anywhere in there, but lots of free reading on the fly...
Online Libraries - 25 Places to Read Free Books Online | Educhoices.org

[Chu'Wuti]

every profession has times where there are no major breakthroughs.

Well, currently there are about 50 academic/medical research articles published every month in my area of interest, and several books are published each month . . .

Thanks for the pandora link--I started two stations & will certainly build more!

[beckdg]

i did not say that now was that time or likely to be it. am i to believe you are going to be teaching doctors because i still have no idea what you are going to school for. if so congratulations, that is an accomplishment. must not be too hard paying the bills either.

[chris lay]

Well that was a heck of a response from one question! I have plenty more but am waiting till i start my cage build next week. i have the full design and lay out ready on papaer just need something visual before i can move forward. Thanks for your help so far. There arent to many questions that cant be answered with a little bit of searching on this site.

[Chu'Wuti]

Chris, I apologize--we really took your thread way off track! Sorry for hijacking it. Good luck with your build! I got one started this morning for Phelsuma klemmeri.

[AlbinoCricket]

I have had luck with keeping some types of tree frogs together in a vivarium. A couple of whites and a white lipped tree frog. They have thrived for years.

As far as reptiles and amphibians it will be a lot harder to succeed and make them thrive. Lizards are active during the day and amphibians at night thats a good start. For example A green anole and green tree frog come from the same geographical region. Both will be up/feeding at different times so there would not be altercations when feeding thats good but. Consider where/when the green Anole will be sleeping. For example anoles love sleeping on branches and plants at night. If you add green tree frogs who are very active and love jumping around on branches and brush all night you know the frogs will be jumping all over the Anoles when sleeping that will create stress and possible altercations nightly. That will lead to sickness then death for the Anole. So even though they both come from the same geographical region and will feed and be active at different times the green Anole would not coexist well with the green tree frog. Aggression is also a concern as the species mixed should all be more docile in behavior. So I would find reptile/amphibians that thrive in the same types of climate but will be spending most of the time apart. So basically all angles need to be considered when mixing species its really hard to do correctly but is possible. To start I would pick a climate/region/favorite reptile/amphibian and make your vivarium mimic the needs perfectly. Then get rid of selections of species that can thrive in the climate you chose by looking at daily/nightly habits, aggression etc etc... continue till you find a small group that can coexist without much altercation. Have fun.....Start researching.

Building a paladarium is another route you could take..