Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ive seen a brown basilisk in a pet store and it looks really sharp i was wondering if any1 could tell me about these guys. thanks

ooh did you see my pretty boy at work?? I ALMOST brought him home (but then broke the glass for the front of the new cage and had to buy new- leaving me broke)

Native to florida/gulf coast area (my friends in florida are always having their cats bring em in). Same temps humidity as CWD, they like a bit more horizontal space then WD's IMO. Mostly carnivorous- they will eat some fruit on a lucky day. Pretty much the exact same care over all. Like the green they are more high strung then a WD, can be tamed down decently though with time.

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In Florida thats almost exclusively the striped basilisk, B. vittatus and not the brown basiisk B. basiliscus.
The brown basilisk in most cases grows significantly bigger, lacks the keeled belly scales and displays much bigger sails and helmets. Care is very similar to that of B. plumifrons, for which you may find my caresheet in the old forum

And the care for green bassies and green water dragons is very similar. The ones we have in are what i would guess are striped- although they were ordered under the name brown. But ifyou saw him- you'd see STRIPED bassies. (hes a beaut too).

These are the same ones i see hanging out in florida. My mistake for saying brown bassie- not striped in my above post

baby brown basilisks have a lighter strip that runs paralle. They are a high-strung animal. But care is not hard. Ave. size is about 2 feet, mostly tail. they like a very moiste, hot humit enverment. They will take mostly insects maybe some friuts and flowers once in a while. they are best to look at not to touch.

I've had my brown bassie for since Christmas. They can reach a length of 3 feet.They will eat about any insects and sometimes a small mouse.Any tank over 60 gallons is great.A big water dish for bathing.Plant cover,caves and climbing branches.If you get a young one, make sure to give it more supplements then an diffrent lizard because they grow quick,if not given the supplements it will develop metalic bone disease.Browns will not develop 3 crests only 2 ,it will not have one on its back(dorsal fin).
Hope this helps,
Kev

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Sorry, any tank over 60 g will NOT be great!
For these active lizards (you mentioned that some can reach 3 ft!) you need a tank of AT LEAST 400g for cb adults. For wc adults I would recommend to never try to keep them in tanks smaller than 1000g.
Seriously!
Ever seen a basilisk with a damaged snout? Ever heard they only live 4-5 years...
These are very active jumpers and runners which have a life expectancy of >12 years if kept aptly!
Please do not try to cram these guys into a tiny 60g.

Brown basilsics (B. basiliscus) DO develop as large dorsal crests as plumifrons do-see Pic. Only striped basilisks (B. vittatus) do often have very small crests. Please do not mix up species

Actual i am right not you Ingo!A person I know has 1 male and 3 females in a 60 gallon breeding and are over 8 years old.Do you have a brown bassi.If not I would not talk!I know this by personal excperience.

I am talking from more than 20 years of personal experience with breeding and keeping of basilisks.
And believe me, I have learned my lessons (should I mention that I have a PhD in biology?) You are right if you say its possible to keep and breed striped basilisks in a 60g tank for many years. But I am right if I say thats torture for such very agile lizards.
That sth is doable does not automatically mean that its apt.
Hen produce lots of eggs in the smalles cages to be imagined....do you think thats apt housing.

Sorry..you seem to be one of those persons who never change their mind. So these are my last words.