What would you do with an empty 75 gal tank?

Hi all-

This is Sahara, and he lives in the STEAM lab at school. He was donated to the science program (and by default, to me since he is solely my responsibility) at the beginning of the school year.

This is his current set-up in a 40 gal breeder and he seems pretty happy with the new reptisun t5 bulb and fixture, but I felt like he needed more room to move around after I got it installed. So when I found an awesome deal on a 75 gal tank this afternoon, I jumped on it. Here's the hang up though - I am going to need to bring Sahara, the 40 gal, and all of his equipment home with me over the long weekends and breaks that are coming up in another week. So I can't just move all of his current gear over to the new tank. I have to have a completely separate set-up that will stay at school.

My question is this: if you were going to start from scratch, what would you put in a 75 gal tank? I am looking for 2 types of answers - the budget-friendly, can get it ready ASAP type of set-up and also the ideal set-up that I can work on over time.

Maybe you could have the 75 gallon tank at home for when he's there and keep his school tank at school. They don't like too much change. At home you could put in the non adhesive shelf liner down. Very easy to clean. Get him some new things for home.

You can actually collect some beautiful pieces of driftwod [ or other wood ] from outside. Pop it in a preheated 250 degree oven for an hour or so to kill any potential pests. Nice rocks can also be gathered from outside + washed in hot , soapy water. All free cage decor, then if you just want a nice centerpiece log from the pet sore you can add that.

Terry15":3dx9ldhk said:

Maybe you could have the 75 gallon tank at home for when he's there and keep his school tank at school. They don't like too much change. At home you could put in the non adhesive shelf liner down. Very easy to clean. Get him some new things for home.

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Either way he is going to have to acclimate to new surroundings. Wouldn't it be better to let him have the larger enclosure in the place he spends the most time?

AHBD":ogx1hmz1 said:

You can actually collect some beautiful pieces of driftwod [ or other wood ] from outside. Pop it in a preheated 250 degree oven for an hour or so to kill any potential pests. Nice rocks can also be gathered from outside + washed in hot , soapy water. All free cage decor, then if you just want a nice centerpiece log from the pet sore you can add that.

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Thank you for the suggestion. I will be walking through the woods this weekend looking for some cool tank decor. Up to this point, I haven't seen Sahara do much climbing, but then again he only has a fake resin tree stump and he is a little too big for it.

Thoughts on including a digging box or live plants?

I ordered the 36" T5HO reptisun 10.0 bulb and a reflective fixture for the house. Put down tile for the substrate, added some rocks and a log. I plan on adding tile to the viv at school, so they will be pretty similar but the rocks and logs are different shapes and sizes than the ones at school.

So... is he totally going to hate coming home with me for the weekends/breaks if his viv isn't exactly the same as the one at school? If I make them both exactly the same (other than size) will he be happier?

He looks pretty happy at school there. It is a hard decision, I would probably do the 75 G at home, only one move, less relocation stress.

At home he will need some running time. I've lost Mystic 3 or 4 times, he always gets found. I think they like hiding in cold dark places. Here's one from Xmas.

Terry15":34n30fik said:

He looks pretty happy at school there. It is a hard decision, I would probably do the 75 G at home, only one move, less relocation stress.

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I think the 75 G is going to stay at home. He won't get to spend all that much time in it, but then he will have more room to hide if he is really stressed out by being transferred each weekend. I am also considering just bringing him home for a few weeks at a time so he is able to adjust to the new viv a little before being moved back to school.

Any advice on just moving him for the long weekends/breaks versus keeping him home for a longer period of time?

He will probably adjust better, there's a lot of holidays coming up. He will love his new surroundings for sure.

Here is the current state of the 75G. Thin flagstones from the home improvement store, tile we already had from the kitchen floor, large rock from the flowerbed, cool branch I cut down in the back yard a few years ago, fake plant from the tank at school. Hinged screen cover ordered and should be here in a week or so. Lights are on their way, new hammock should be here tomorrow. I hung the old lights in there from a wooden dowel just to see if it would work while we were waiting on the screen. Not pretty but I will be able to adjust his lights until the temps are right.

Do you think he needs anything else? Another branch that is wider maybe? Or should I just give him plenty of open space?

If I recall, you need to detox any outside foliage of the tannic acids present in them. If I were you I would find a ma and pa local pet store near you and they usually have odds and ends like drift wood that you know are safe. Removing the acids takes time because you have to allow it to soak in solution to release them. I forget what the formula is but do some research about domestication of foliage. If im not mistaken the tannic acids are an irritant to your beardie or any other reptile. Other than that I think your set up is ok. Hope all is well.

This is Spyrah's 75 gal set up. I'm designing a few things like a hide and a sand Jacuzzi. I am thinking about posting a thread on my endeavor. She loves that rock. I found all these things in my local pet store. Not Petco or Pet Supermarket. I just put in her ceramic heater lamp and im monitoring the heat now. Hope you guys like it.

That is a really cool branch, CricketSlayer. Sahara seems pretty happy and active in the new viv. My children have been enjoying his antics here at the house. The kiddos at school can't wait for him to come back after Thanksgiving break though. Every day, each class asks about him which means I had to give the "lizard on vacation" speech 30 times in the past week. :roll:

He is a very loved little dragon and now has two cozy vivs to call home thanks to all of your advice. I really appreciate all of the help.