which would you buy?

[allaboutfish]

ok so im in love with 2 lizards. the crested gecko and the eastern collared lizard. i just cant decide.
if i were to get the crested gecko it would get a whole 40 gallon to itself with maybe a chrameleon later on. the eastern collared lizard would get a 20 gallon long all to himself with nothing else. ok so here are the 2 decission makers.


1. could i have a charmeleon and a crested gecko in a 40 gallon breeder? what else could i have?

2.how close is the eastern collared lizard's attitude and personality to the bearded dragon?

if you were me which would you choose?

 

[Floof]

If it were me, I'd choose the Crested. Simpler to take care of, not to mention tamer, than a collared lizard.

With that said...

1.) NO, you cannot house a crestie with a chameleon. The cham would likely eat the crestie, not to mention their care requirements are vastly different... With diet and temperatures (crestie room temperature; cham warmer) being the biggies. The only thing you can house with a crested gecko is another Crested gecko, and even that can be pretty iffy.

2) Collared lizards, as a general rule, are flighty and nervous. They don't sit still. They're VERY active (a 20 gallon would NOT do). Their only real similarity to beardies is care... Desert-type lizard requiring higher temperatures, UVB light, and a large enclosure.

On another note, I would swap your enclosure size ideas and ditch the cohabitation thought. Most Crested Geckos would do much better in a 20L set on its side (to make it very tall instead of just short and long) than a 40B (short and wide... Plus some cresteds can get stressed and/or lose the food dish in a very large set up). A Collared lizard would by no means be happy for any length of time in a 20 gallon... It's simply too small. 40B, maybe, but, like dragons, bigger is MUCH better.

 

[allaboutfish]

could i keep 2 crested geckos in a 18 by 18 by 24? or maybe a 29 gallon tank?

 

[Floof]

could i keep 2 crested geckos in a 18 by 18 by 24? or maybe a 29 gallon tank?

Assuming they get along (keep in mind the same rules as any other species--no male/male or male/female), either of those should be large enough for two adult Cresteds.

http://www.forums.repashy.com/ is a good forum for Crested Geckos, where you can get more specific advice from avid Crestie keepers and breeders.

 

[Fuzzyviper]

I would go with a crested gecko. They can become fairly tame. And the second poster is right about mixing species. Not only would the chameleon probably eat the gecko, chameleons usually do better in a mesh tank with a mister (they need the air movement). Unless you have lots of reptile experience, chameleons are probably a bad idea in general. They have very specific habitat specs (humidity/temps/lighting), the females can have problems with egg retention, and they generally only tolerate minimal handling.

 

[Starforce2]

could i keep 2 crested geckos in a 18 by 18 by 24? or maybe a 29 gallon tank?

Assuming they get along (keep in mind the same rules as any other species--no male/male or male/female), either of those should be large enough for two adult Cresteds.

http://www.forums.repashy.com/ is a good forum for Crested Geckos, where you can get more specific advice from avid Crestie keepers and breeders.

I think that size is what I keep my male/female in, and aside from occasional battle damage on the female, which, except for one mating always been minor, they seem fine. They're very active, fairly hand tame once you can grab them and get them on your hand. However, those fancy 18x18x24 have a drawback...they're heavy. and if you think it's no biggie to flip the tank around in a bathtub..mine dones't sit nice and flat in the tub and you have one side of the top lip (where the doors are) that probably is not strong enough to support the entire weight of the cage (to be used as a handle) so as you are trying to clean the sides and dump out the water you have that hassle. I intend to take 3 large plastic totes of roughly the same size, affix the necessary screen viewing window in the lid and a 15w moonbulb for observation and heat. So before you drop 100 USD on one of them suckers, better make sure you're up for the cleaning challenge.