Can a terrarium be TOO big?

Discussion in 'General Lizards' started by lizzo101, Feb 3, 2013.

  1. lizzo101

    lizzo101 Embryo

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    i have a tiny lizard, perhaps no longer than my pointer finger and most certainly no wider than my pinkie. He was originally houses in a 12'' x 12'' terrarium and doing well. he would eat the baby crickets just as soon as they were in the tank and he LOOKED healthy. (eating well not sucked in) one of the walls cracked and over night went from one wall to the other, so went and bought a 18" x 18" terrarium and relocated him. but sience the move i havent seen him eat one cricket and his sides look a bit emanciated. is it too much room for the little guy to hunt in? should i put a partition in there when i feed him?
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. mr_andrew

    mr_andrew Member

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    Hi, Welcome!

    First off, a couple questions. I will try and answer your question but we really need some more info, and some of the more knowledgeable people on here will chime in I'm sure...

    What kind of lizard do you have? How old is it? How long has it been in its new enclosure? Are the temps/humidity levels where they should be?

    It is normal for most not to eat for a little bit after being moved into a new enclosure. Two weeks is an acceptable time (I believe) for the animal to become accustomed to its new home. In that time you shouldn't try to handle it, as that will only stress it out further.

    In my opinion, the new enclosure isn't THAT much bigger that your lizard won't be able to find its food in, but hopefully some of the more experienced keepers will chime in.
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. lizzo101

    lizzo101 Embryo

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    Thank you Mr. Andrew for responding, and i apologize for my, quite delayed response. Aunt Lisa ( thats what my 2yr old named him) seems to be doing much better. He devours two baby crickets within moments of them being in his tank, which was consistent with his eating habits in his last terrarium.
    And I was hoping to avoid this question because I know its a " no-no" but to be honest I haven't a clue to Aunt Lisa's species. The day before Thanksgiving I actually spotted him on our stucco wall, perhaps 3 feet from the dryer vent out front. It was cold so I assumed he was trying to warm up. So we set him up temporarily that night and the following day I throughly cleaned a terrarium we by chance had.
    We were leaving to cali that night and the same afternoon I noticed the lizard sitting on the top of the tank. I knew I had one shot to get him and I blew it. I didn't think we'd ever see him again honestly. But the very first morning after arriving back in town, I woke up and had one foot on the floor and he was on the middle of a oversized TV pillow, that I was getting up to get. I was so excited! and I'm totally smitten with the little guy. I had no clue a person could be so emotionally invested in a reptile!
    All that being said we don't handle him at all. he, like i said is tiny. And I don't want to stress him out at all, being from the wild and not used to human interaction. I actually didn't expect him to even be comfortable eating with us around but he is. I almost want to say that he knows the routine and knows when he's about to be fed, bc he doesn't retreat inside his log or rock. I say 'almost' because I am aware that mammals can learn and understand basic spoken language, I just don't know if reptiles are capable of the same thing.
    I live in Las Vegas, and since he was indigenous to Las Vegas I've tried to maintain the same (or close to) environment. The ambient temp in his terrarium is between 80 and 83 degrees. There is a 8x8" heating pad under part of the tank as well. as well as a full spectrum UVB basking lamp. and at night he has a 75w night bulb. I quickly was able to figure out he drinks from drops off the glass or the background wall.
    I guess I got it in my head that because he's so little he "must" be a baby, so I think I expected him to grow, but he hasnt. I know it must be almost impossibble to give advice without knowing the species but ANY tips or advice would be welcome. As I mentioned before Im completly smitten with the little guy. If anyone is intrested I can post pics!
    Thanks in advance
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. StikyPaws312

    StikyPaws312 Moderator

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    Welcome to the forum! And we love pics here :) That would help a lot with identifying him (or her!)
    From your description of being on a wall and very small and in las vegas I would guess a house gecko but I could be very off with that guestimate, lol. What you're doing sounds about right for a house gecko though. To answer your question about can a tank be too big? Both yes and no - since they live in the wild a tank can never be too big, BUT when the availability of food is greater in the wild than in your tank, then yes, it can be too big. I'm glad he's doing better for you and things seem to be going well. Good luck and keep us posted on his progress :)
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. TristenE

    TristenE New Member

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    From the experience I've had with yard lizards, and the fact that you said it was as skinny as your pinky, it sounds like you have a pet Anole. These lizards are great house pets, easy to own, and so much fun to watch! They are cute as can be, and once they tame down, can be held and petted. Tank size most often is supposed to be big enough for the lizard to run around, but not too big that the lizard cant get its food. So, from the update you gave, it sounds like your little Aunt Lisa is doing great!:)
     
    lizzo101 likes this.
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. lizzo101

    lizzo101 Embryo

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    here are some pics if anyone has any helpful identifying tips!
     

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  12. lizzo101

    lizzo101 Embryo

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    TristenE i was wondering if you had any suggestions on helping him get acclimated to people? his demeanor doesnt seem like hes warming up to us or planning to. i was also wondering if there is any way to identify a lizards age?
     
  13. TristenE

    TristenE New Member

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    lizzo101,

    Naturally, smaller lizards will tend to be more afraid of people simply because they are much smaller and think they are being targeted as prey when a human (Huge in the lizards eyes) attempts to pick it up/handle it. The best way to help the lizard is to continuously handle it. As you interact more and more it will slowly but surely become more accustomed to the feeling of being held, and not feel like it will be eaten. In addition, make sure that when you are near the lizard, try not to make sudden movements, loud noises, or any type of activity that would cause the lizard to be uncalm. This will only make the lizard jumpy and skittish.

    Regarding the age of lizards: It can be very difficult to determine the age of a lizard, especially one that is of the smaller size. Older lizards can shed to look identical to a young one, and young ones can look old when they have not yet gone into shed. All in all, determining age is difficult and, if inferred, still wouldn't be 100% accurate.

    Hope this helped!
     

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