Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is their cage today. Not shown:

Egg-laying box buried in front left, where Chica was scratching the most.

Water pan on other side of it, in back left corner. Also serves as breakfast pantry, becasue when I change it in the morning, any leftover crickets come hopping out of that spot.

Extra layers of screen under the floodlight to filter excess UV.
2 caves built into bottom of brick area. About to downgrade that bulb to a 100 and try 105 for the main basking platform. I can always up the regular bulb next to it by a little bit if they want more brightness, since the nearest regular bulb mostly just heats the top left quarter of that front log anyway.

1.5" wide run-through on far side of bricks. (Fake plants are packed in to keep them from trying to squeeze through the other side and gettin stuck, which was a problem early on.)

And, yes, that's a big plastic rat wheel that I just put in at the far right a couple days ago, since that end wasn't getting used much anyway. Didn't have high hopes for it, but thought it might help Chica with her hyper-feet. She's been relatively calm (for a collared) ever since I fed her today though. Chica and Pancho aren't really interested, although Chica has checked under and behind it just to see what was there, but I've seen Lupe's use it four times today while I was sitting here, sometimes for over a minute, and struts away looking very proud of herself. Not what I expected, but since Lupe is the big fat one, I'm all for encouraging her to do cardio.

I plan to add more climbing tiles to the perimeter, put one more high log crossways over toward the wheel, and continue experimenting with lights. No doubt as summer kicks in they'll be getting most of their light from fluorescents.

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0.1 2006 Western Hognose (Bebe)
0.1 age unknown Cane Toad (Hengo)
0.1 2005 White-Banded Sheen Skink (Minerva)
1.0 2006 Northern Diamondback Terrapin (Queequeg)
1.0 2006 Madagascan Speckled "Hognose" (Sigmund)
1.0 2008 Bullsnake (Winkle)
1.2 2008 Eastern Collared Lizards (Pancho, Lupe, and Chica)

Your lighting is set up nicely, may be a bit hot but Nicely set up. I think if it were me I would lose the big logs, as COOL as they are, they would be so much better in a tank for different type lizards. And the rat wheel, collareds can get their tails caught while movign in them and get hurt, some have tried it before

Collareds will use the logs because thats whats provided, but normally in nature sit on rocks/ boulders. I have at times had smaller ones just to sit on, but rocks are where its at, Maybe a couple piles of those nice cinder blocks you have there, would be awesome for them, and give them much more space. and even lighten things up more because the logs would not be shading everything. This is just a suggestion since rocks are more natural to them. You can set up your tank anyway ya want, it is yours

Any thing you use if it's logs or rocks just make sure they are real secure as many have lost their lil friends to cave - ins

The tank is a great size and lighting s wonderful looking, I would just use secure rock.

Good job though, I can see that you really are getting into this and certainly caring alot for your collareds
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PHEve / Eve

Rodents can hurt their toes and tails too, but a few companies are actually conscientious about it. There are no spokes, nor does the axel havce that crossbar that most designs foolsishy include. I worried about that too. I do keep checking on it a few times a day to make sure it doesn't collect sand, which could be an unpleasant faceful, but it seems to be sufficiently elevated. It's even broad enough that two could easily run on it, if they chose to, with room to avoid scratching each other.

I started out with two big rock piles, but had trouble getting climbing area that didn't interfere with ground area. Every brilliant idea I had for a bridge they could run under was connsidered an uncomfortable barrier that they would use if they had to but mostly avoided. Pancho will use elevated jump-throughs, but Pancho is a little jumping bean that will use AMYTHING. The ground-level caves were used as sleeping caves but not as actual passageways, so a lot of floor went to waste that way. The logs were something I could keep high enough to still give them headspace while running on the ground, but if rocks would be preferable I'm open to ideas on how to set that up. i've looked for something large and arch-shaped, but haven't found anything yet.
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0.1 2006 Western Hognose (Bebe)
0.1 age unknown Cane Toad (Hengo)
0.1 2005 White-Banded Sheen Skink (Minerva)
1.0 2006 Northern Diamondback Terrapin (Queequeg)
1.0 2006 Madagascan Speckled "Hognose" (Sigmund)
1.0 2008 Bullsnake (Winkle)
1.2 2008 Eastern Collared Lizards (Pancho, Lupe, and Chica)

I agree with everything Eve said and wanted to add that I don't see a lower basking spot that any of your collareds might use if they don't want to bask at those temps. They might bask up on those logs, but they really don't have an alternative. They need to bask, so they seek the heat, but it would be best to give them a less hot spot in case they prefer it.

Do you have a pic of the female in question?

Something Eve just said in another post gave me an idea. there's a stump that does nothing except support one of the logs. They do seem to use the logs well, but they don't seem to like the stump. I can remove it, work a tall notched rock I've got into that same area to brace the same log in the same place, and have a cooler stone basking area at that end. It's not as bright over there, and that bulb isn't UV, so I'll have to add a striplight to the equation, but it's doable without tearing apart the entire cage on them.
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0.1 2006 Western Hognose (Bebe)
0.1 age unknown Cane Toad (Hengo)
0.1 2005 White-Banded Sheen Skink (Minerva)
1.0 2006 Northern Diamondback Terrapin (Queequeg)
1.0 2006 Madagascan Speckled "Hognose" (Sigmund)
1.0 2008 Bullsnake (Winkle)
1.2 2008 Eastern Collared Lizards (Pancho, Lupe, and Chica)