Exo Terra Large tanks

[jhwedmd]

Hey folks,

I currently have my 3 month old beardie in a 20g long tank with and UVB bar light mounted inside and a nice little basking spot. He seems to be doing well and getting bigger by the day. So, its time to move up to a bigger tank.

I have been looking at the Exo Terra front opening tanks. Does anyone have anything good, bad or ugly to say about the large low tank vs the large wide tank, or the exo terra tanks in general? I also wonder about mounting the UVB light back inside the tank if I get one of these. I would either have to remove all or part of the little rocky backdrop that comes with the tank. Anybody done this?

Thanks!

 

[Mattster]

Hi I have the 36x18x18 Exo terra tank it makes feed, handling etc so much easier I highly recommend this tank. I mounted the UVB using 3m command hooks I can post pics if you want

 

[maci]

I currently have a 4 month old 12" dragon in the 36"x18"x18" and it has worked well except a few simple problems. I buy 3/8s inch crickets and they either get stuck behind the foam rock, or crawl up it and can come out the top where the cords can go in. So I removed the foam and duct taped the top. Another thing, is my cats like to sit on top of the cage. My dragon is not bothered, but I always have to push the screen back into the lid. Other than that, I am very happy with the cage, and I'm sure my dragon is, too. The hinges work good, and cage is roughly 3 months old.

 

[jhwedmd]

Hi I have the 36x18x18 Exo terra tank it makes feed, handling etc so much easier I highly recommend this tank. I mounted the UVB using 3m command hooks I can post pics if you want

Did you pull the foam insert to mount the lighting?

 

[Mattster]

Hi I have the 36x18x18 Exo terra tank it makes feed, handling etc so much easier I highly recommend this tank. I mounted the UVB using 3m command hooks I can post pics if you want

Did you pull the foam insert to mount the lighting?

Yes I've had this tank for a year and the foam started to fall apart so I took it out and mounted the UVB using 3m command hooks I used the Walmart fixture it's 10 or 15 dollars and reptisun fits perfectly. FYI my Beardie is 1 and a half years old

 

[jhwedmd]

Awesome! Thanks.

 

[gunkleneil]

I melted the top of mine with the heat lamp trying to get the inside temps correct. not enough room inside to hang the basking light

 

[krusty46]

I have a 1 1/2 year old Rankin in the 36x18x18. He shredded the background after about 3 months from climbing it all the time and my background melted from the basking bulb as well.
Also had the crickets escaping problem--had to stuff paper towels in the holes to stop it.
I love the tank, but the background has to go. It looked nice but was the center of all the problems I had with the tank.

 

[gunkleneil]

this is what the top of mine looks like after only 2 months. From the heat lamp.

 

[ScaleGripper]

I have 4 Exo Terra 40 gallon terrariums and two large, but tall, Exo Terra's as well.
I mount the cheap foam rock background outside the terrarium on the back! The foam is still brand new looking. The feeders have nothing to climb or eat. The terrarium has a rocky background look rather than the cords and wall behind my shelving racks supporting my terrariums.

I pitched the cheap, fire hazard, plastic lattice screen top that came with Exo Terra and bought the 36" x 18" solid screen cover from PetMountain.com for 18.00, no taxes, shipped free with my orders in excess of 75.00! You can mount your heat anyplace on top of the replacement screen top with complete confidence.......no plastic. The screen is very sturdy so you can easily mount your UVB tube fixture on the inside with wire without any damage to your screen top!
The front door design is very, very convenient and safer! I will say that I enjoy the ZooMed front opening terrariums better. They are built better. ZooMed doesn't make a 40 breeder like Exo Terra does. I own three ZooMed front opening terrariums! They are single door, smaller in size but built very well!
I will pay 150-160 dollars for an ExoTerra terrarium. Picking up Exo Terra terrariums is the only reason I have for my brief visits in and out of Petsmart!! For me, with a safe new screen top added, it is worth it!!
Bless,
Bill