Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello.
My name is Cody and I saw a cool desert set up at my local zoo and I really want to make a similar se up in my basement.

It was a multi species tank.
There was chucks,desert iggys, beeded lizards and a few select others...maybe sandfish and leopard lizards..maybe a collared.

I was just wondering if it was possible to mix species in a desert set up.
Tank size is going to be 8' long 4' deep and probably 4' tall.

I really want chuckwallas, would they be ok with desert iguanas?
Could they live in harmony?
There will be mutiple basking spots and plenty of hides.
Is there any other lizards I could put in here?
Collareds?
Banded Geckos?

Thanks
---Cody

The Chuck's and Desert Iggie's will get along, but the Collareds and the Leopards will fight if the have males, I also had a male Collared atack a male desert Iguana in the same tank, so the the Collareds stay by them selfs

Cecil
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1.1 Bearded Dragon (Drago,Medusa)
1.1 Desert Iguana(Dima, Dianne)
1.0 Green Iguana (Igor)
0.1.1 Chuckwalla (roxy,Little Chuckie)
1.3.5 Collared Lizard (Fred, Wilma, Betty, #1,2,3,4,5, KND)
1.1 Desert Leopard Lizard (Simba, Kimba)
0.1 Calif. Kingsnake (Keebler)
0.1 Hamster (Tofu)
1.1 Kids
0.1 Wife

ok
good info
thanks for the input.

I've heard of people keeping collards and big chucks together successfully. I personally would love to do a desrt ig and chuck tank at some point. Some of the large Sceloporus species (desert, crevice, blue, granite, clark's, mountain spineys etc) could also be housed with chucks and desert igs. Scelops tend to have mite issues, so if you do throw some into the mix and they're wild caught it would be good to set up a quarentine cage for them at first. Large whiptails, and zebra tails might also be able to co-exist with chucks, desert igs and the Scelops.

I think banded geckos would wind up as lunch with any of the above (I've read some accounts of even chucks taking the occaisional lizard). I have a nice little tank set up with some banded geckos and a night lizard. If you had a large tank you could try a small lizard community tank with geckos, night lizards, side blotches, tree lizards and maybe some of the small Scelops.

-Alice

Hi
I keep my chucks, desert iggs, granite spinys, and a whiptail together in my setup.

Heres some pics.

Andy

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0.0.2 Bearded Dragons
1.1 Mali Uromastyx
0.0.1 Agrentine Blk & Wht Tegu
1.2 Leopard Geckos
0.0.1 Blue Tongue Skink
0.0.3 Desert Iguanas
0.0.2 Western Chuckwallas
1.1 Granite Spiny Lizards
1.2 Rubber Boas
1.1.4 Rosy Boas
1.1 Western Hognose
0.0.1 California Kingsnake

i have a 75 gallon that was set up in my basement with piranhas but I got rid of them and now am settin up in my room as a show tank.
Would chucks or desert iggys be good in a 75?

Thanks.

A 75 would be big enough for a chuck or desert ig, maybe even a pair of one or the other or one of each. I wouldn't put more than two lizards of that size in it.

-Alice

thanks for the input.
anyone else care to kick in their 2 cents?

--Cody

Maybe not what you wanted to hear but that is all I would put in there also.

oh, I wasnt doubting that the advice was good.
I thought it sounded perfect, I was just wonndering if anyone else had anyother setups or pictures or comments.

Thanks all.

In my experience both desert igs and chucks in general do very poorly in aquariums unless the back and sides are completely covered. I also recommend that the covering is on the inside of the glass because the reflection of the inside of the terrarium off of the glass gives them the illusion that the terrarium is larger than it actually is. This makes them have a tendency to try to climb the glass thinking there is more terrarium there. I would suggest maybe using silicon to glue some type of floor or slate tile to the inside of the glass. The openness of an aquarium I believe causes a lot of stress for them. It makes them very insecure. I have had the best luck with custom made enclosures-usually the back and sides of wood with only the front glass and the top screen. I have found the best size to be 30" x 60" for a pair or trio of one or the other. I have also kept pairs only in 24" x 48" with good results(and I believe that a 75 gallon which measures 18" x 48" would be sufficient). Chucks need a lot of rock work for hiding to feel secure also. The draw back is chucks are "PIGS" so always removing heavy rocks and washing them is a real chore. Because of this I think desert igs are much easier to keep. I have kept the two species together in larger vivaria with no problems though. Good Luck. Tom

thanks again for all the advice.

--Cody