Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Howdy folks,
Yesterday I went to a local pet store with the intention of getting a Leopard Gecko. I've had a Leo in the past and enjoyed having it, but lost it in a break up. Anyway...I was taking a look at the other reptiles they had before asking the fellow for assistance when something caught my eye...a brown basilisk.

I went and got the guy to ask him some questions, as I do not want to get into a pet I can't care for. After talking with him at length, the information he provided me with said that I could take care of this lizard and provide a home for it.

Here's where things take a turn for the worse. After getting it home and setting up the tank I decided to do some searching on the internet for additional information. I found these forums. Uggghhh...it's now clear to me that my current set up is certainly not going to do. It's in a 55 gallon tank, roughly 2' tall...4'6" wide...1'6" deep. I can't get exact measurements right this moment because my wife is sleeping. Trying to provide as much detail as possible...there's a roughly 9" x 14" water dish, 3" deep...two live pothus plants and a fair sized branch set up for climbing and a fair size (12" x 15" half log for hiding. I've wrapped black window screen around the tank in an attempt to avoid the running into the glass plague. Right now the basilisk is 16" or so long.

I completely understand that this is not a fitting home for it. My main question here is will it be alright in there for a few weeks until I can build a better enclosure for it? I'm thinking a 4' tall x 4' wide x 2' deep wood enclosure with screened front and possibly sides...is that an adequate size? I certainly don't want to torture an innocent animal...but if I bring it back to the pet store they're going to put it back in the 2' x 2' x 2' tank it was in originally...any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
J

It will survive in there while you build it's bigger home. You may have to cover the inside of the glass because they can see their reflection if you just cover the outside. He may bump his nose, but it is still better than the pet store tank. Make sure you have proper lighting and the temps are right, it can be hard to maintain a proper heat gradient in a small tank.
-----

a single basilisk in a 55 should be fine temporarily. You can use a magic marker to make a pattern on the glass so he doesn't run in to it, but the best thing to do is to have a lot of plants and hiding places for him so that he'll be less inclined to get spooked.

Thanks for the responses you two. We're getting bonus checks this sunday at work and I'm going to begin construction Monday, hopefully to be finished by the end of the week.

Another question has come up though, you'll have to forgive me, I'm new to anything other than Leopard Geckos and a few small snakes hehe! My bassie hasn't really done anything since screening the cage other than sit under the log. I've fed him twice...half dozen crickets 9/4 and another half dozen today, 9/7. I wanted to feed him yesterday, but every store around here was closed. Point being I haven't seen him eat yet...I've watched the little critters mosey right in front of him and he doesn't seem to notice. Should I expect this while he acclimates to his new, temporary, house? How long should I wait before this is a problem, and if it becomes a problem what is to be done?

Thanks in advance!
J

Yes, this is common, especially with wild caught adults. Don't leave food in the cage if he's not eating and try not to disturb him to much. Make sure the temperature and humidty are good and he should be fine. If he was sick or seriously depressed then he won't move even when you tried to pick him up, thats a bad sign. Try to feed him a variety of items, crickets, superworms, or small pinkies. You might hit on something that he just can't resist. He could go for months without eating and be okay if his intitial health was okay, but considering that you got him from a petstore, I would try more aggressive means of getting him to eat after a week or so. Generally its pretty easy to get them to open their mouths when you pick him up, so I would suggest placing food items directly in his mouth and see if he takes it from there. If not, then you'll just have to be patient, its not worth trying to force feed them, you 'll just increase his stress and his decline. More then likely he'll be eating fine after a week or two, even wild caught basilisk are usually not poor eaters.