Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, so i've had my basilisks set up for a few weeks now, and they have both settled down extremely well. I have this concern though. They have a large body of water in the vivarium enough for them to submerge into. It is kept relatively warm, so as not to subject them to extreme temperature drops.
However, everytime one of them walks into the water, by accident or on purpose, they go extremely skittish. They bound out of the water as fast as possible and up the nearest tree.
Any ideas of what could be wrong? Or even if there is anything wrong at all?

I owuldn't be very concerned. My basilisk's water is not heated and the water temp usually stays around 70 degrees. It seemed they never used their water areas until they had to shed. Very occasionally I've seen them soak in it or swim a little bit but otherwise from my experiance they actually don't need a huge water area because they don't seem to use it often. I use big cat litter pans for them and they work just fine.

I actually know a breeder (you can argue wether this is good or bad, I wouldn't recommend it) who keeps them on a substrate of peat moss and mists them very frequently so it stays humid.

Not to worry. I would recommend that you don't heat the water though. I've heard of people eletrocuting their animals or hurting them from extra heat. Refrain from heating unless the water is exceptionally cold. Also try to make the water area at ground level, hope this helps.
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Chris

1.2.0 Bearded Dragons
1.2.0 Green Basilisks
1.1.0 Crested Geckos
1.2.0 Veiled Chameleons
1.1.0 Corn Snakes
1.0.0 Tokay Geckos
0.0.1 California Kingsnakes
2.5.1 Leopard Geckos

Ah no. No heater involved. Should have explained that, the water is warm because I usually put warm water in there to start with, and the heat sources in the vivarium keep the water relatively warm throughout the day.
I was under the impression (from books and caresheets) that they needed a large amount of water because they spend a lot of their time swimming around. Mine seem to prefer being little stuntmen and jumping as far as they can.

The books and almost everyone will say to have a huge water area...I think as they get older they enjoy the water much more but mine truely only soak when they are shedding or overly hot. Sometimes they'll swim but that's about it. Honestly they are in the water very short whiles when they do jump in.
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Chris

1.2.0 Bearded Dragons
1.2.0 Green Basilisks
1.1.0 Crested Geckos
1.2.0 Veiled Chameleons
1.1.0 Corn Snakes
1.0.0 Tokay Geckos
0.0.1 California Kingsnakes
2.5.1 Leopard Geckos