reptile help please questions.....

[ryanhayes9]

I went to ***** today and have finally decided to make a reptile tank. I have a 20 high laying around that I am using. I want to get a armadillo lizard for it. questions.......
i am going to use sand for the bottom, does it have to be that special sand that they sell just for reptile cages or can it be like walmart sand?
Right now i have the tank and a heat rock. im planning on buying
humidity and temperature guages
heat lamp
sand
finding some wood and moss around the house
water bowl
food
mesh top
is that all i will need?
do reptiles have salmonella on them?
also any extra tips woul;d be great!

 

[sharkboy13]

the sand from wal mart wont do, u need to use the calci sand, if ur gonna use wood and most buy it, the stuff around ur house might have pathogens deadly to reptiles, turtles and tortoises r the onloy reptiles that have been reported r turtles. if ur gonna have a lizard ur gonna want a UVA and UVB bulb to get a sufficient source of calcium in their bones. also dust ur crickets w/ calci dust

 

[ol'salty]

No cedar --- it's poison to reptiles.

 

[sharkboy13]

Originally Posted by ol'salty
No cedar --- it's poison to reptiles.
yes

 

[30-xtra high]

no walmart sand, its bad for reptiles,
if you have a heat lamp no need for heat rock, just buy a daytime bulb, and nighttime bulb.
any "high" tank isn't good for reptiles unless its arboreal(meaning climbs trees), its a waste of space.
dust your crickets to make your lizard more hady and prone to bone disease.
water bowl must fit the entire reptile in it.
if you buy moss, it has to be from a petstore.
wood must be from petstores.
buy cage clips to keep the screen top down so the reptile can't escape.
buy electic gauges, the normal sticker ones break.
food- for lizards- crickets, snakes- mice, turtles- goldfish, tortoise- crickets.
and if you are still deciding on what to get... snakes!, i love all mine, red corn, ghost corn, black rat snake.

 

[sharkboy13]

30 im pretty sure u didnt mean to say it but u said dust crickets to make them more prone to bone diasease which is actually the opposite

 

[sharkboy13]

for tortoise u forgot veggies, quite important. snakes depending on the species will eat crickers and fish, hes getting an armadillo lizard. pretty nice imo but i wouldve gone w/ the retic python

jk. maybe as ur next herp u could get a ball python or if ur feelin lucky and spaceous a red tail boa

 

[30-xtra high]

Originally Posted by Sharkboy13
30 im pretty sure u didnt mean to say it but u said dust crickets to make them more prone to bone diasease which is actually the opposite
lol, good catch, yea... i meant less prone.
and about the retic. ... my lfs manager has a 15 foot retic python in an enclosure he built taking over half of his room, and its pregnant. its so freakin sweet, he wears it like a piece of clothing, and its really nice.
and yea, forgot about the tortoises veggies.
and when i said snakes i meant average snakes which will eat mice... unless he happens to stumble across an Egyptian earth snake i'm pretty sure other snakes will eat mice, and i've NEVER heard of snakes eating crickets.
and snakeboy, what repts do you have?, just curious...

 

[sharkboy13]

well its sharkboy but i like snakeboy. well at the moment ive got a pair of kings (thayeri and hypo brookes) a ball python male and a colombian red tail. nothing to fancy, letting my wallet get fat for the all new england reptile expo down in manchester this april

 

[skipperdz]

get a savannah monitor! lol i had one and he acted like a dog! yea if he's not a tree climber your gonna want a longer tank not a high one. i went to home depot and made one saved mucho $$$. used wood and chicken wire fencing. with ballast lights he was nice and toasty/climbed all over the tank

 

[sharkboy13]

most monitors r gonna be arboreal as babies, so im gonna want something tall and long. id get a savannah but ive got a score to settle w/ an old friend, the blackthroat monitor. when i started volunteering at my lfs i went to go change the water in his tank and i opened it up and he tried scooting out. i pinned him don but there was too much room and he bit my thumb and held on for like 20 mins. i was sitting there just kinda watching him, evry once in awhile he would chomp down and i would grunt in pain. hye woulda held on longer had one of the employyes sprayed him and he let go. he made his jump to freedom and we see him now and again, when he bit me he was 4.5-6in, customers say hes about 18in. but really i want a brazilian rainbow boa pair or an EMT or GTP, maybe an ATB. btw only u real herp nerds r gonna be able to understand me