Hey y’all, I’m in the process of building my first vivarium. Dimensions are 4ftx2ftx4ft, though with substrate added it may well be 4x2x3. I have intended for it to be heavily planted arboreal enclosure, and bioactive to some degree. I am going to install a drainage(after further waterproofing) and misting system down the line so I’m open to a majority of reptiles/amphibians that enjoy anywhere from medium to high humidity
My initial goal was to have a gargoyle gecko in here, yet after speaking with a few breeders, I come to hear this size is entirely unnecessary and may make maintenance/general care more difficult. Even certain snake breeders were saying similar things
for their snakes at the expo yesterday.
This is all kind of making me question what I think I know in terms of size requirements in certain ways. I’ve always assumed bigger is better(within reason) so as to encourage a natural range of behavior. To what point does too large an enclosure become a problem? Most of the time it appears to be an abundance of negative space, but accounting for “clutter”, when designing an enclosure, is this still a problem?
I guess I’m ultimately wondering if you all would agree with this being too large long term for a gargoyle gecko OR if I should just consider another animal(if so which would you like to see in this enclosure?)
Apologies for the long winded, low-effort post.
by SadRobot1131
2 Comments
You can put a gargoyle gecko in there if you want. You will need to clutter the hell out of it though – I’d add significantly more hardscape (like, double at least) and heavily plant (real or fake). Bigger isn’t better when there is too much open space, that is what causes stress. These are small animals that are preyed on by a lot of things and they like to feel hidden. Bigger also sometimes isn’t better if it inhibits husbandry – what I mean by this is, your ability to find your animal. Your ability to monitor their eating and pooping and behaviour. Not sure how experienced of a keeper you are, but going bigger with an enclosure like this means that you can miss things more easily.
So, if you clutter enough, you won’t cause stress. You may make maintenance more difficult but that won’t harm your animal, that is your own cross to bear. If gargoyle geckos are your fave, they will do fine in here.
I’m a strong believer in a “well”, rather than a drain. Drains don’t always leak, but when they do, it’s a fucking disaster.
Instead, I get 2 pieces of cylindrical PVC tube and drill holes in the bottom of each tube, then surround with screen mesh. The exterior tube is permanent, with much larger holes simply large enough for your clay balls/charcoal/whatever substrate layer from penetrating. It’s siliconed to the bottom of the tank. No drilling through your vivarium floor/walls necessary. The exterior tube is ONLY there to maintain structure during annual removal of the inner tube. The smaller tube prevents some measure of dirt or grime, but is removable so you can occasionally do a deep clean and reinsert without the substrate/soil from filling in.
Cover both tubes with mesh. When you want to remove water, the siphon goes inside the INTERIOR tube and draws whatever water you want out. If you’re exchanging water, this also becomes the point where you’d fill back in; it will drastically reduce turbulence, as it’s bottom-filling, promoting laminar flow.