# Help me build a new lizard setup and choose a lizard



## Lizardz (Jun 17, 2009)

I'm going to be getting a 18"x18"x36" Wire screen cage










Next step is I need to find a lizard that I like?

The reason I ask this is because allot of people here have more experience about what types of lizards are available that I might not even seen or heard about? I just wanna make sure I get the right lizard the first time because I do not expect it to die on me for a very long time, so I want to make sure I'm happy with what I get.

I was thinking about getting 5 or 6 Anoles.

But, is there any other lizards that stay under 8" that you think I might like that would work in a cage like this?

Searching around today I found the coolest lizard I have ever seen in my life, the Strophurus taenicauda 
Amazing looking lizard. But I heard the price range is up to $1,000 which is far out of my price range. 
I would like to stay under $100 for my lizard stock and would like to have 2 to 6 lizards. 

The style I like is the reptile Dinosaur look of the anoles, Basilisk and Chinese water dragon. 
Does anyone know of a type of lizard that I might like? Maybe something I haven't mentioned?
I would really like a lizard that can not lose his tail, or at least be able to grow it back quickly if it does

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

After I find the lizard I want, I will then start to build the cage setup and fill it with real plants.

I am changing hobby's
I'm just now getting out of the high tech planted fish tank hobby and selling everything I own and buying lizard stuff :2thumb: 
I been keeping fish for many years and it's now time to move on.


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

You have good tastes in lizards!

Well, Anoles could certainly fit in there, crested geckos, very popular and easy to keep but can lose their tales. Only problem is you may have trouble keeping humidity up with the mesh.

You could try a day gecko.


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## Lizardz (Jun 17, 2009)

Day Gecko just might have to be a option I will have to consider.
I'm not into the other types of Gecko's, but these smaller tail Day Geckos are looking pretty cool. 
I heard they are more for show and not to be handled much?
Also, do they lose their tails?


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## Fence Up (May 7, 2009)

Have a look at dwarf yellow headed geckos. Quite active, very small. Not too good as something to handle, because of their speed. Anoles are a lot of fun, good price and easy to breed. again very fast.


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## Lizardz (Jun 17, 2009)

I been reading up on the lizards mentioned above, I ran across a lizard I think I will have to get. 
The Gargoyle Gecko (Rhacodactylus auriculatus) 

The look of this lizard and the requirements that are needed seem to match up with what I'm interested in more than the others, along with being able to handle these lizards more easily than the jumpy Day and House Gecko's that I was looking into.

*A question I was wondering about is should I get a mercury vapor* *UVA or* *UVB light?*
_I read that they do not need any special lighting, but would the Gecko benefit from this light or would I just be wasting my money on a expensive bulb I don't need? I plan on keeping many live plants in this enclosure._

I was also planing on getting a Red bulb for viewing at night.
In the cage I mention above, how many Watts would I need to have in a 8" dome light sitting on the top of the cage?


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## spend_day (Apr 10, 2008)

A MVB could possibly put the temps through the roof (as they tend to come in quite high wattages). garg's which (like other rhacodactylus species) can die if the temps goes over 85F. if you want to provide UVB/UVA lighting i would go fro a full spectrum strip/tube light

to me you seem to be going at this the wrong way round u seem to be picking equipment before you've fully chosen what species u want. work out what species u want to keep first them look at getting the correct equipment.

u seem to be looking at alot of high humidity species, you could have serious issues keeping humidity up in a completly screen enclosure.


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## Lizardz (Jun 17, 2009)

That's way I'm choosing which species I want first, then asking what equipment will work best.. I passed on the other lizard because of not being able to handle them as much and the higher humidity requirements.

Gargoyle Gecko's require lower heat and humidity levels then the other lizards I was looking at. That's way I said I passed on those..

Not sure how asking first is going about this all the wrong way? Only thing I have picked out was the screen cage.
The temp in my house stays the correct temp without any heat lights, but the essential UVB rays I asked if the lizard would have any health benefits from it and benefit the live plants. Also, they project UVB up to 6 feet. 
Strip lights only penetrate at about a foot and is more suited for aquariums and not cages that are 3+ feet tall. 
With that, I would have the option to hang the light from the ceiling and keep the benefits of the UV

Zoo Med UVB bulbs go as low as 100 watts from what I have seen so far.


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

It's UVA plants need right? I use a strip bulb for my 2ft tall viv and it works fine.

You're obviously going to struggle with humidity with the mesh, what humidity level is your room at already?


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## Lizardz (Jun 17, 2009)

Morgan Freeman said:


> It's UVA plants need right? I use a strip bulb for my 2ft tall viv and it works fine.
> 
> You're obviously going to struggle with humidity with the mesh, what humidity level is your room at already?


Not sure what plants really need, I tried checking online, but it seems like the plants only need regular light or fluorescent lighting to grow well. So if the lizard will not benefit from UVB lighting at all, I could just go with regular light.
I haven't checked the humidity levels in my room, after I sell the fish I have, I will be taking the next step and buy the humidity gauges.

I still need to sell these fish and the rest of my equipment before I start buying what is needed. I want to build on paper first to see what is needed so I will be ready when it's time to buy. Also, I will be doing mist testing so see what is needed to keep the proper levels of heat and humidity. 
Does anyone know how much plants add to the humidity levels in screen cages?


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

What size is your fish tank? You could always use that as a viv, even if it means turning it length ways and amending a few things. Just an idea.


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## Lizardz (Jun 17, 2009)

Morgan Freeman said:


> What size is your fish tank? You could always use that as a viv, even if it means turning it length ways and amending a few things. Just an idea.


 
It's a 29 gallon tank. 
I use to house pets in aquariums in the past and I don't like it much. 
I want to get rid of the glass and I'm not much into plexi glass at all.
The all screen cage is exactly what I like see see in my home and keeps fresh air circulating. 
The styling is perfect for what I want.


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## spend_day (Apr 10, 2008)

Lizardz said:


> That's way I'm choosing which species I want first, then asking what equipment will work best.. I passed on the other lizard because of not being able to handle them as much and the higher humidity requirements.
> 
> Gargoyle Gecko's require lower heat and humidity levels then the other lizards I was looking at. That's way I said I passed on those..
> 
> ...


Sorry I must have got the wrong end of the stick :blush:




Morgan Freeman said:


> It's UVA plants need right? I use a strip bulb for my 2ft tall viv and it works fine.
> 
> You're obviously going to struggle with humidity with the mesh, what humidity level is your room at already?


Nah UV and plants is a myth most plants use light form th visible spectrum.



Screen cages are often designed for use with chameleons due to there complex ventilation to humdity needs have you looked into chameleons at all they can be quite hard to look after as they require somewhat complex set-ups but you could keep a side striped or a similar smaller species in there.


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

spend_day said:


> Nah UV and plants is a myth most plants use light form th visible spectrum.
> 
> 
> 
> .


That's what I thought but I'd heard the UVA stuff somewhere.


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Lizardz said:


> It's a 29 gallon tank.
> I use to house pets in aquariums in the past and I don't like it much.
> I want to get rid of the glass and I'm not much into plexi glass at all.
> The all screen cage is exactly what I like see see in my home and keeps fresh air circulating.
> The styling is perfect for what I want.


 
Ok cool.

What species do you have it narrowed down to?


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## Lizardz (Jun 17, 2009)

spend_day said:


> Sorry I must have got the wrong end of the stick :blush:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Chameleons aren't my style of lizard. They are cool to look at in the petstore, but I wouldn't want to own one. I heard they don't like to be handled that much and they get stressed very easily. I personally think they are kinda ugly :mrgreen:


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## Lizardz (Jun 17, 2009)

Morgan Freeman said:


> Ok cool.
> 
> What species do you have it narrowed down to?


I think I'm going to shoot for the Gargoyle Gecko (Rhacodactylus auriculatus)

Temperature: This species can be maintained at 25-28°C (77-82°F) during the day and 22-24°C (72-75°F) at night.
Humidity level of 50-75%


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Lizardz said:


> I think I'm going to shoot for the Gargoyle Gecko (Rhacodactylus auriculatus)
> 
> Temperature: This species can be maintained at 25-28°C (77-82°F) during the day and 22-24°C (72-75°F) at night.
> Humidity level of 50-75%


 
Yeah that sounds good! Humidity should be ok, just for a rough idea, my room naturally reaches around 50 daytime and 65 night so with your plants and some misting you should be able to accomodate them, I would have thought anyway.


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## Lizardz (Jun 17, 2009)

Wow, that's pretty cold at 18*f above freezing :gasp:

It's 77*f in my house right now at 5:00am upper 80's during the day, but I do have air conditioning. Not sure about the winter time though.

How many watts do you think I should be ok with for basking and a night light?

I was also thinking about auto misting thing as a option to think about.
Would a small dripper provide any humidity?

I know nothing about how to adjust Humidity as to what provides how much :grin1:


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Sorry, I meant 50-65 humidity.

I use a misting system for an exo terra I have, if I cover all the ventilation it can get up to 100% but I have it set around 70-80. I use a humidity controller which sprays when it reaches a certain humidity. I don't have to worry about spraying or anything, it also waters the plants. It was worth the money, I love it!

Hmm not sure about wattage, they're nocturnal so only need the light to regulate day/night time and you don't need to up the temps.


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## Lizardz (Jun 17, 2009)

I need some help choosing a light. 
I'm trying to piece this together step by step and see what I come up with before I buy the lizard.
I have no idea on how much heat a bulb puts out and how deep the heat goes..
My house stays a decent temp since I don't like being cold in my own house. I would to be fully prepared for if my house did get cold or too warm.

The 8" fixture Deluxe Dimmable Clamp Lamp which will allow me to use a higher watt bulb encase I needed it, or to dim down on a hotter day.

I was going to get the *Zoo Med 100 watt Powersun UVB heat bulb*
*Should I get the 160 watt?* since I have the dimmer switch and the open air screen cage depth is 36" (These lizards will sometimes come out durring day light)

Also, which bulbs are too deep for the dome light to be able to set the lamp on the top of the screen cage?

Also, which would be better:
*Zoo Med 100 watt infrared bulb* 
*Zoo Med 100 watt red bulb*
Should I go with more wattage?

*The Night bulb will not have a dimmer switch*


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## Lizardz (Jun 17, 2009)

Will a UVB heat bulb do absolutely nothing at all to benefit the health of these types of lizard or all nocturnal lizard?
_Which would be using these bulbs on nocturnal lizards completely useless?_


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

I don't have an lizards or amphibians which require heatbulbs so can't help you out there.


There's mixed opinion on uvb for nocturnal lizards. Naturally they would be out in the day at some point in the wild, IMO I think it's worth having though you could get away without it.


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## Lizardz (Jun 17, 2009)

Alright, I will look into it.

Out of 30,000 members, I would think I would get more people jumping in on this thread.. That's why I signed up on this forum and not others.

Thanks for your help


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Habitat section isn't the most active, you could try the lizards section, may get some more responses!


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## Lizardz (Jun 17, 2009)

OK, I will try that

I just like to take multiple responses and put them together to see what would be the best options, I do greatly appreciate your help, but a couple more opinions would be nice :whistling2: lol..


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