Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey, I have an empty 75 gal and am thining of getting a group of cresteds. What's a good ratio and number of animals for a cage of this size? Thanks.

i think it more depends on what you want. what interests you, how much money you have, how much experience.

my personal choice would to be get 1.2 r.chahoua.

Scott

well, I'm a total newbie to rhacs. I was just thinking about trying a cool looking morph of regular old cresteds. From what I've read, they're relatively easy to breed. I personally like the dalmations. What exactly is the Chahoua? I've seen them on classifieds. Are they something more like a Leachie? They seem to have more of the baggy looking bulid of the leachies.

If you have the money, I would also recommend getting a few chahoua. They ARE the BEST rhacodactylus species. They are there own species all together, so no, they are not like baggy leachies.........they are chahouas lol. They are the friendliest of the rhacs and are the 3rd largest.......1st is Leachianus, 2nd is Trachy's, 3rd is chahoua.

John

I'm probably just going to keep things simple and go for some cresteds. There's a good breeder at the nearest large show in Columbus (but if anyone here in KY breeds, then I'd be glad to go thru you. So, with cresteds and a 75 gallon enclosure, should I stick to 1 male-3 females or could I get by with four females. I've read that a 20 gal can house a group of three, so I don't see why I can't expand his harem using such a huge tank. I'm also reading that heat needn't be so high. What type of device can I safely use as a "security blanket" to keep it warm but not too hot?
Thanks again.

if you're going for a naturalistic set-up, it is always a good idea to set it all up, and run if for several weeks before actually placing the animals in there. you may find you need to change your set-up to accomodate for heat, lighting for the plants, humidity/ventilation.
you just want the cage to be between 70-85 degrees. if it's in that range, they'll be fine. ( 85 is on the highest end i would suggest putting them at)
as far as buying a 1.3 group of cresteds, good luck. especially at a show. you're going to shell out some dough for a group like that, even if they're all buckskins. buckskin male $50, buckskin females will likely go for 75-150 depending on who's selling them. if you go higher end you're lookin at a good 600-800 dollars for a decent looking group.
if you intend to breed them, i would suggest buying 4-6 spectacular babies or juvies and raise them up in a more accomodating enclosure before the natural set-up. if you do it this way, be sure to separate the males from the females when they are sexable so the females don't breed too early, and separate the males from eachother to keep them from stressing one another out.