10 gal. inhabitants?

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rhino43grr

New member
is there anything cool and affordable i can keep in a 10 gal. tank? i picked up a free one with a bunch of supplies. i already have a leopard gecko and want something besides the typical pet store options. no arachnids or insects, though. all the search results i'm finding just suggest boring stuff like anoles, fire bellied toads, pacman or green tree frogs. i'm not opposed to reconfiguring it as a vertical setup if there's something arboreal that would do better in a 10 gal. on end.

thanks in advance.
 
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rhino43grr

New member
they're a possibility for sure. i'm also curious about one of the smaller phelsuma species or anything i could house a pair or trio together in a 10 gal. i could also get more floor space by turning it on its side and adding glass along the new bottom edge to hold the substrate back.

if i get a larger tank tomorrow that will expand my options as well. i want to convert a tank into a vertical setup for cresteds or gargoyles if i can find one big enough.
 
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Aerio

New member
I was just about to suggest crested there great beginner reptiles into the rhactodactylus family. You keep them at room temp 75 and feed them repashy diet that's it no insects ever. My one crested cakes wont even look at an insect he's going on 4 years old.

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rhino43grr

New member
those were the main reasons i was interested in crested/gargoyles as well. i would definitely prefer something that doesn't need insect feeders as its staple diet. i'm just worried a 10 gal wouldn't be sufficient for an adult, which is why i'm looking for a bigger tank as well. it will be a while before i get anything for the new tank(s) so i should have lots of time for suggestions.
 
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Aerio

New member
Its just vertical space you need I've housed my first crestie in a 12x12x18 zoo med since I've had him

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rhino43grr

New member
i was able to get a pair of free 20 gallon tanks this morning, so i would use those for rhacodactylus geckos in the future and keep the 10 gallon for something smaller.
 
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Jonny5

New member
Sphaerodactylus would have plenty of room in a 10 gallon. They can be outgoing as well as secretive depending on the individual animal.

Jon
 
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rhino43grr

New member
ok... i did some research on sphaerodactylus dimorphicus and found a site that's in german that i used microsoft translator on...

do they really need to be "fed is with barbecue, vinegar, oven fish"? :lol:

i think their translation program needs some fine tuning.
 
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Jonny5

New member
Pretty much all sphaerodactylus eat small crickets, firebrats, fruitflies and small insects like that. S. dimorphicus is relatively hard to find in the US, but is a little easier to locate in Europe. Hope this helps.

That is a funny translation.
:rofl:

Jon
 
Airedale

Airedale

New member
I would suggest small phelsuma species, but my top vote go for lygodactylus williamsi. A pair fits easily in a tank, and they are extremely colorful. Where else in nature will you get neon blue and orange in the same animal? They are beautiful and have personality to them. And they are fairly easy to keep on small insects. Some sphaeros can be kind of tough to keep. Then again, to each their own.
 
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rhino43grr

New member
well it's got to be an arboreal species now... i already started the conversion process by knocking out one of the side pieces that will be replaced with a screen. i had planned on carefully taking the glass out and reusing it on the front but it ended up breaking so i trashed it. only needed to stop three times for band-aids. i'll start a thread in the diy forum sometime and update it with my progress.

l. williamsii are definitely in the lead as far as future inhabitants go.
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
rhino43grr said:
i was able to get a pair of free 20 gallon tanks this morning, so i would use those for rhacodactylus geckos in the future and keep the 10 gallon for something smaller.
Click to expand...


Most Phelsuma require vertical set-ups. A 10 gallon tank would make a pair of Oedura castelnaui (northern velvet geckos) happy for life.
 
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rhino43grr

New member
Elizabeth Freer said:
Most Phelsuma require vertical set-ups. A 10 gallon tank would make a pair of Oedura castelnaui (northern velvet geckos) happy for life.
Click to expand...

do velvet geckos need more vertical or horizontal space, and do you know of a good care sheet? also which phelsuma would be suitable for a vertical 10 gal. enclosure?

i'm trying to get a fairly large list of possibilities and read as many care sheets as i can on them so i can look for several species when i go to a reptile show near me in the future.
 
Elizabeth Freer

Elizabeth Freer

Well-known member
rhino43grr said:
do velvet geckos need more vertical or horizontal space, and do you know of a good care sheet? also which phelsuma would be suitable for a vertical 10 gal. enclosure?

i'm trying to get a fairly large list of possibilities and read as many care sheets as i can on them so i can look for several species when i go to a reptile show near me in the future.
Click to expand...


Northern Velvet Geckos enjoy horizontal tanks!

Here are my GU recommendations for them: http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...bitat-husbandry-breeding-recommendations.html

Most Phelsuma prefer vertical enclosures.
 
MauricesExoticPets

MauricesExoticPets

New member
What you run into with vertical conversion aquariums is the difficulty providing UVB and proper basking spots, so keep this in mind when looking at particular species.

It is possible to provide both of those and still use the vertical conversion it is just a far more complicated process.

While many people have kept your typical UVB loving geckos without it, replacing the usual need for UVB with supplements, its not something I feel comfortable recommending to everyone.

Basking spots are fairly easy on the other hand, cut a circular hole in the glass to fit a line voltage halogen puck light leaving a slight bit of room for an air gap between the fixture and glass. ===[____]===

It works and looks clean if done by a pro and you get the glass polished.

Maurice Pudlo
 
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rhino43grr

New member
MauricesExoticPets said:
What you run into with vertical conversion aquariums is the difficulty providing UVB and proper basking spots, so keep this in mind when looking at particular species.

It is possible to provide both of those and still use the vertical conversion it is just a far more complicated process.

While many people have kept your typical UVB loving geckos without it, replacing the usual need for UVB with supplements, its not something I feel comfortable recommending to everyone.

Basking spots are fairly easy on the other hand, cut a circular hole in the glass to fit a line voltage halogen puck light leaving a slight bit of room for an air gap between the fixture and glass. ===[____]===

It works and looks clean if done by a pro and you get the glass polished.

Maurice Pudlo
Click to expand...

i took out the glass completely on what will be the new top and replaced it with screen so i could put a UVB source on top of the screen if that would work. i'll post pictures of the finished product here once the tank is done. i plan on having the tank set up and planted for a while before i get any animals to go in it so i can monitor humidity/temperature/plant growth.
 
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