aquatic lizards?

Discussion in 'General Lizards' started by Shanna66, Dec 10, 2010.

  1. Shanna66

    Shanna66 Well-Known Member

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    i was doing some research on crocodile skinks and i learned they like to swim a little bit and it got me wondering, what other lizards like to swim? i really love watching lizards swim and to be able to do that in my own house sounds like alot of fun.

    so reptilerooms, what is a lizard that can fit in a 75gal at the largest and enjoys swimming? im fine with small lizards too.
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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    I'll try looking into it a little bit - but the things that come to mind for me are the water dragons and the basilisks. The downside to these guys is, to my understanding, they both need larger than 75 gallon aquariums once they reach full size = / very large, active lizards that also have some height requirements in addition to the space.

    There is obviously the option of salamanders,etc but they aren't lizards like you want :p I'll do a little searching and see if I can find anything unique. Although I have always wanted to make a nice little fully aquatic axolotl setup, totally different, but I feel ya on the aquatic nature being cool!
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. Shanna66

    Shanna66 Well-Known Member

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    i know about waterdragons and larger lizards, but im saving up my large lizard card so i can get a frilled dragon someday

    news are my back up plan, if i cant have a water loving lizard then something lizerd-like will work just as well

    i love aquatic life, ive got a 20gal community tank with just fish and i can siter there for hourse just watching them, ive even got songs on my ipod that i listen to when i feed them because they all make me think of tiny sea monsters lol
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. KLiK

    KLiK Well-Known Member

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    crocodile skinks are very shy creatures and you wouldn't be able to enjoy watching them in the water because they'll be too busy hiding from you. since you don't want a large lizard i'd say you would be better off going with a newt or axolotl. the main thing with axolotl's though is keeping the water cold. i'm talking about keeping the water in the low 60's.
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. Shanna66

    Shanna66 Well-Known Member

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    i dont think i could keep the water that cold. ill probably go with newts, though i still plan on getting croc skinks someday
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. KLiK

    KLiK Well-Known Member

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    i had axolotls and could never keep them the right way until my water heater broke and i actually noticed they became more active with the water cold. i wound up giving my trio to a friend who used to keep fish and had a water chiller. he keeps them around 65F and has gotten them to breed twice. there's an article in a recent reptiles magazine all about them and it says you can keep them down to 50 and they'll do fine. the croc skinks are great looking little creatures and are easy to maintain but like i said they are real shy. i catch mine out in her tank early in the morning or late at night.
     
  12. Shanna66

    Shanna66 Well-Known Member

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    im fine with shy animals, part of the fun is trying to see where their new favorite hiding spots are. ive got my leo and cresties to take care of my need for bold lizards


    and ive never heard of a water chiller before, ill have to look into one
     
  13. KLiK

    KLiK Well-Known Member

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    here is a link to the one that he uses http://www.marinedepot.com/chillers_coolwo...ceprobe-ap.html
     
  14. RandomWiktor

    RandomWiktor New Member

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    We breed Chinese Crocodile Lizards, and they spend much of their time in the water. They grow to a maximum of 16 inches, with 1ft more typical, so they might be a good option for you some day. Newts are quite fantastic though, and can be very long lived - plus they are far more apt to be out in the open where you can enjoy viewing them. If keeping the temperature low enough (the vast majority of newts need it cool) is problematic and you happen to be a homeowner, basements are often suitably cold. Mine managed to keep below 75 when it was over 100 degrees for weeks here, which I'm sure is the only way my newt and salamanders survived.
     
  15. Shanna66

    Shanna66 Well-Known Member

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    could you tell me a little more about crocodile lizards?
     
  16. ARMS87

    ARMS87 Embryo

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    Be careful with Fire Bellied Newts they can drown in water deeper than just a few inches...
     
  17. RandomWiktor

    RandomWiktor New Member

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    While firebellies definitely prefer shallow pools, drowning is a minimal risk as long as they have access to a dry haul-out (which they should anyways). It is also helpful to put some floating or surface breaching plants in the enclosure.

    I'm on my way out but I will definitely come back later with some info on the crocodile lizards :)
     
  18. ARMS87

    ARMS87 Embryo

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    One of mine managed to drown with a slope onto land, floating plants and floating platforms :)
     
  19. RandomWiktor

    RandomWiktor New Member

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    How are you certain it was drowning? There are numerous reasons an amphibian can die. For something that spends most of its life in the water, can hold its breath for a very long time, and has even been documented living in a wide variety of type and depth of waters (even in the bottom of wells), drowning is not going to be a very common cause of death. If it was necro'd and had water in its lungs, it may have very well been secondary to the COD or could have even occured post-mortem.

    To be clear, I do advocate keeping them in shallow water, as this is more typical of their habitat in the wild. I'm just curious about the claim of easy drowning, as I haven't read much about it even on sites like caudata.org

    ETA: Shanna, you asked about chinese crocodile lizards, right? They are a poorly studied semi-aquatic lizard found in a tiny range of cool forests in china. In the wild they are typically found in shallow pools or towards the shallows of larger bodies of water. They spend much of their time in the water or perching on plants/branches directly above the water. Despite this, they are very prone to fungal infections if kept in an inadequately ventillated environment, which is one of the main challenges of keeping them in captivity. They also need a nice dry hiding place on land. We house ours outdoors here, which solves the issue of ventillation, but in captivity it generally works well to use a container with a screen lid, and if possible have some kind of side ventillation. Many people even use a small fan to promote better air flow. They require a shallow water area kept dilligently clean, but do not tolerate a strong current, so any filtration utilized must be gentle; using something with a strong intake but directing the output/power head against a corner seems to work nicely. They do come from a cool climate and needn't be kept as warm as many herps as a result; most studies of them in the wild found them sticking to areas that rarely exceeded 80 degrees. It gets very hot out here, but we keep ours in a well shaded area that rarely exceeds the low to mid 80's even in the worst of the summer heat. This is actually a lot like China, as their locale can reach over 100 degrees in the summer, but the lizards stick to cool, shaded areas. They are diurnal and should have UVB, but it should be thoroughly dithered by plants. Indeed, "thoroughly planted" covers the enclosure pretty well; they like plenty of cover at the water's edge and floating plants are appreciated. It would also be a good idea to have a branch extending over or into the water, as they like to rest over the water. Diet should be invertebrate based; in the wild they eat mostly tadpoles and invertebrates. They love nightcrawlers and slugs but do not turn their nose up at roaches, superworms, etc. generally. We feed our adults insects and the babies worms, and it works pretty well. Sorry this is so disorganized... I'm in a bit of a rush as always, but at some point our website should have care sheets up for everything and I'll be sure to PM you when that happens :)
     
  20. Shanna66

    Shanna66 Well-Known Member

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    thanks for all the information. ill do some more research on them and see if one would be good for me. i owulnd twant to house any animal outside where i am since the winters get cold and the summers get hot so it would have to be kept inside though
     

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