Posted by:
Jinx
at Tue Jul 22 08:34:11 2003 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by Jinx ]
Typically, mixing species is not a good idea, for several reasons:
1- Even if all of the animals are roughly the same size, larger lizards will take dominance over smaller ones, or even may consider the smaller lizards prey (you'd be surprised how large a meal some lizards might go after, especially if they're in a stressful, cramped cage situation). Also, when you first acquire the lizards, they may be the same size, but if you are not familiar with the species, you might end up with one lizard that grows to be twice the size of another. Also, what if one species is more agressive than another? The mellower animals would again end up being picked on, and eventually become ill and die if not eaten.
2- Any "community" terrarium (a term used by fish keepers, any enclosure containing more than one species) must be BIG. Every species must be allowed its own space, its own basking spot, its own hiding spots and its own feeding areas. You'll need at least double the space that you'd usually provide the species who needs the most.
3- Any animals you mix must come from the same habitat. Aside from the absolutely ludicrous idea of mixing desert species with forest species (which, and this should go without saying, NOT be done), even if two animals come from the same place, it does not necessarily mean that their needs are similar. Microhabitats within larger ecosystems are home to tons of species, and the conditions in microhabitats can be drastically different from the rest of the area the animal comes from.
Imagine this example: You have two lizards that live in the Amazon. However, one is a ground-dwelling skink, one is a tree-dwelling gecko. Although they both live in the same forest, the skink needs slightly cooler temperatures, higher humidity, places to burrow... A totally different habitat than the gecko, who lives in the forest canopy, would need different food than the skink, an arboreal set up, different temperatures and humidity, etc... Two very different needs from two animals that come from the same place.
4- Disease is common among many reptile and amphibian species because so many of them are still wild-caught. Bacteria are almost a guarantee (and other microorganisms could possibly be infecting one or more lizards), and even if they happen to be a kind of bacterium that is not harmful to one of the species you are keeping, if the other animals come from the other side of the world, their immunity to this particular organism is likely non-existant, resulting in one or more sick animals who will need to be separated and get veterinary attention.
With all of this in mind... I myself have one mixed-species enclosure in my home. It is a 33-gallon, forest-jungle terrarium, that houses one green anole, Anolis carolinensis, and one Asian flat-tailed house gecko, Cosymbotus platyurus. Both species have similar needs and temperaments, both have been quarantined before being introduced to each other, and as an added bonus: The anole is diurnal, the gecko is nocturnal.
So, even though it's not advisable because there's so many things that can be wrong with a community enclosure, it's still possible to do. Like my terrarium, small, non-tempermental house gecko species and green anoles seem to be fine together if allowed their own space. I've also been told that green anoles and American green tree frogs, Hyla cinera, can co-exist in a properly set up habitat. Although lizards and treefrogs can sometimes co-exist, putting snakes, chelonians (turtles, tortoises and terrapins) and salamanders together with lizards is not a good idea. The vast majority of these animals have care requirements that are too different, and many recognize the other as food.
Also, if you want to mix species, each animal must be properly quarantined for at *least* 60 days (90 is better), and tested for sickness by a vet. For more information on quarantining reptiles and amphibians, see my article: http://www.acc50.attcanada.net/jinx/herps/quarantine.html
Christina Miller
Herptiles.org
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A bit of a longer explanation... - Jinx, Tue Jul 22 08:34:11 2003