how much vertical space do rhacs need?

[rhino43grr]

i have a 50 gal. tank that's 18" high, so there would be a little over a foot of usable height once the drainage layer and substrate go in, is this enough for a few gargoyles or cresties or should i think about going in a different direction for the tank's inhabitant(s)?

 

[Valley Reptiles]

That is enough space for a few adult cresteds or gargoyles.

 

[WftRight]

Why do you need almost six inches of drainage layer and substrate?

I can't see any reason why a crestie would need that much substrate. My crestie has a single piece of repti-carpet and see seems plenty happy with that. I've heard of others just using a layer or two of paper towels. Some caresheets say that no substrate is needed for cresties.

If I were using this tank for a crestie, I'd leave out the deep drainage and substrate layer and give her the other six inches of climbing space. If you need a substrate for laying eggs, you can just add a nesting box filled with whatever nesting material you prefer. The nesting box would take only a small part of the floor, and the rest of the tank would be available with the full eighteen inches of vertical space.


Bill

 

[rhino43grr]

i'm planning on doing a naturalistic setup, 6" of substrate was an overestimation just to be on the safe side.

 

[Bodon]

Depending on your lid maybe you can tip that tank on its end so its very vertical?

 

[rhino43grr]

the problem with putting it on end is that it would only be 12" wide so there wouldn't be much horizontal space for them to move around on branches and such.