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ajthompson1

My girls want to add an animal to the 10 gal terrarium we made. I have no ideas what might be suitable. Any suggestions besides spiders?
 
Gecko

I was thinking of a gecko, but the plants are tropical and I didn't know if it would like the humidity. I thought about hermit crabs, but I didn't know about the dirt. Any thoughts?
 
Hmm...If it's tropicals with high humidity, then the only thing I can think of is a frog. But if you have Nepenthes in there, becareful. :P
 
I had green anoles when I was younger in a 10 gallon tank. Some of them were very hand tame. They sell them at our pet stores here. They also change colors from green to brown. I would think they would like the environment you describe. Mine actually laid an egg that hatched.

I also had leopard geckos. I think the anoles are easier and more entertaining in this case for the girls. I believe anoles live 3-5 years and leopard geckos about 15 years or more. 3-5 years is plenty for me.

By spiders, do you mean taranchulas? I have one and wouldn't recommend them. I gave one to my son's friend who unfortunately got some of the spider's hairs (microscopic ones) in his eye which are not removable. He's on steroid drops now.

Looked into dart frogs recently, but didn't like the fruitfly thing. Ended up with a tree boa for my son.

A male and female anole. As a girl I liked those.

J

The kids also had hermit crabs which they lost interest in quickly.
 
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well animals defecate and urinate and in a terrarium it can build up in the soil etc and cause problems,I am guessing spiders would do good in there they would make a tasty snack for your cp's.
a chameleon would be cool for a nepenthes setup.
how about mosquito larvae some mosquitoes lay there larvae in certain species of nepenthes pitchers.
 
I would suggest a green anole. They dont mind higher humidty, in fact they need condensation on leaves to drink from. I belive lepard geckos need lower humidity but Ive never had one so I wouldnt know.

Shawn
 
With any animal in a 10 gallon tank you will have to clean it regularly, as you should with any kind of Terrarium that has animals in it. But with Dart frogs, a larger Vivarium would work better, lots of plants. Their are Dartfrog boards you should look into them. they are expensive though.

Stick with an anonle if you want something simple. Dart frog if you want something awesome to look at and take care of.
 
jfoley said:
By spiders, do you mean taranchulas? I have one and wouldn't recommend them. I gave one to my son's friend who unfortunately got some of the spider's hairs (microscopic ones) in his eye which are not removable. He's on steroid drops now.
Click to expand...

Ouch, How did that happen?!?
 
When certain species of tarantulas get mad or defensive, they kick up toxic hairs that are very irritable to the skin and eyes. However, this alone does not make them bad pets. If you were intersted in a tarantula, then I would consider any in the genus avicularia (avicularia avicularia or avicularia versicolor.) They are one of the best begginer tarantulas.
 
This was a Chilean rose hair tarantula which actually has a nice disposition, or should I say "not aggressive" and was recommended as a starter tarantula. He wasn't kicking his hairs up. It was a fluke and it's not a common, but from handling him the sixteen year old transferred microscopic hairs that got on his hands to his eyes when he touched his face. It's actually pretty serious for his eyes as the hairs will work their way through the eye layers.

It's not that the tarantula was being bad, they have no such notion, it was from not knowing something like this could happen. I gave my 6 year old a rose hair also, we don't handle it and I will be finding it a new home because of this. Tarantulas are interesting to watch when you feed them, but they don't enjoy being handled, only tolerate it. Also, their lack a memory prevents them from becoming "tame".
 
Vivariums can be very difficult to manage if one is just starting out, particularly because of the waste build up. Leopard geckos would definitely not appreciate the humidity. I would also recommend anoles as a great "starter" animal. I've had New Caledonian Crested geckos in planted tanks, but they can be quite finicky for the novice.

As for tarantulas, I've also had my fair share. A few years back I sold off my collection, and kept only my Chilean Rose Hair, she was the first one I ever got and she's quite "tame". I got her when she was small enough to fit on a dime, a little over 10 years ago. She's never reared up or kicked hairs, but I wouldn't consider her a pet. My other favorite was a Mexican Red-Knee. These are both low humidity arachnids though, and would not do well with plants.

aminals009.jpg
 
Be careful of that spider, they live forever.... I've had mine for just about 18 years now, it already could be my DD, now approaching to be my drinking buddy at the bar.

You could always get a Pet Gyver too...
http://petgyver.ytmnd.com/ hehe...
 
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