Just got a free 55 gallon fish tank what recommendations do you all have for a snake/lizard/gecko to put in it once its cleaned up? I plan to breed ball pythons but I know a glass fish tank isnt the best choice so I’ll wait on my rack system for those. Also what should I use to clean up the built up white stuff on the sides?
Edit: I’ll be building a new top for it so whatever I decide cant escape!
As far as cleaning it goes I recommend using a razor blade to (carefully) clean it. But as far as what to put in it I would say something small like pictus geckos or anoles or anything small like that.
Anoles do best in screen enclosures much like chameleons because they need a lot of air flow, and also need more vertical space. Pictus geckos are also very tiny so a huge enclosure like that wouldn’t be necessary. They could put any lizard up to the size of a beardie in there. I recommend a desert iguana if you can find one captive bred. They are the only docile herbivore lizard I know of, and are easy to keep so long as you give them the proper lighting/heat. I believe that size of enclosure might be big enough for an ackie monitor too, but am not sure. It would at least be big enough until a baby one grows up. If you want a skink then a pink tongue skink would be pretty good since they like to climb a bit.
I’ve heard a 4’x2’x2’ is the minimum for ackies, not sure what the gallons of that is tho. You could probably set up a king’s dwarf monitor in there, they get up to 9in in length. Hard part is finding one tho…
I’ll measure it tommorow to give you guys a better idea . I’m not big on monitor lizards except the huge ones, a few of the animals on my list to get at some point are
Small colorful frogs that can live together
One large plump frog
Day gecko
Leaf tailed gecko
Leachie gecko
Sand boa
Blue tounge skink
Chameleons
Giant leaf tailed gecko
Emerald swift lizard
Green keeled lizard
Caiman lizard
Crested gecko
Parrot snake
The kings dwarf monitors sound really cool just read a care article about them! My budget for this tank isnt high as I’m saving most of my money towards getting some ball pythons at repticon Nashville if it doesnt get cancelled, so trying to keep the stuff I need+animal around the $200-$350.
Caiman lizard is way too big/expensive, chameleons will run higher than your budget and also not do well in an enclosure that isn’t a screen enclosure (more than one should also not be kept together because they will stress and fight). Leachies will run at least $800 most of the time, the lowest I have seen one is $500 and they also need more vertical space. Day geckos could work but you can’t handle them because they tear their skin off. Leaf tailed geckos are expensive and usually wild caught (giant leaf tailed gecko is even more expensive and rare). Sand boa doesn’t need a huge enclosure like that especially as a baby. BTS needs more room to turn since they can reach 2ft from head to tail in some cases. You could do a group of emerald swifts but it would be difficult to manage humidity since they live in cloud forests in the wild. Most are wild caught but captive bred pop up towards the end of the year. Crested geckos are also quite small for an enclosure that large and may have trouble finding food/water and a baby would probably have issues surviving in it, and vertical space is better than horizontal just like with leachies. A single nice dart frog can cost around $100 and an enclosure like that would be hard to set up for multiple given the equipment (misting system is strongly recommend+a bioactive setup) and they are small so it will be hard to make sure they get food. You could get a pixie frog if you wanted, but basically all amphibians are a look and don’t touch creature because the bacteria from our hands can go through their skin. A green keeled lizard needs good humidity as well, but the size of tank would work with it. All parrot snakes I have seen are wild caught and cost at least $200-250. No clue what their care is but you have to factor in vet bills since they likely have parasites, and even after that they can die on you from stress (that is a risk taken with any wild caught animal).
Thank you for correcting me 
. The reason I suggested those animals if because I figured the tank was tall enough and if you got something like a anole you could house more rather than one animal.
I personally like the green anoles. I find them to be more friendly and of course more colorful than the brown anoles
Aquatic turtles. I know, they weren’t on your list, but a 55L like that gives you room for the “pond” and some live plants. A few small maps/sliders would be so much fun. And no top is needed!
Wow thank you for taking the time to save me all that research! This community is amazing. I’m really loving the look of day geckos, going to do some more research on them, this would most likely be more of a display tank for my living room. Pixie frogs were actually another I was looking at. Not going to rush as I want to make sure whatever I get can have a healthy happy thriving life!
Anoles are pretty cool I had 3 greens as a kid!
Love turtles but not really considering them for this as I’m going for something that when someone visits and sees the tank there like “woah I’ve never seen this before”. I’ll definetly be getting turtles at some point tho probably a Mata Mata, and a few soft shells as they have always been my favorites!
I have also considered building a divider for the tank to keep either 2 of the same animal that can’t cohabitate or 2 diffrent animals. After thinking about it I’ve realized I can spend a little more (around $500 total) then I was thinking as my savings for balls is quite a bit over what i thought it was (putting my cash tips in savings and just not looking at the account is working well 
)
u can make a paludarium
WHat about a Pixie Frog? I’m fairly certain a 55 is a bit big though
If you get a large male, a 55 gallon could actually be a bit small for a pixie. They are massive frogs.
Basically a football with legs
A football that eats everything.
