I want to set up a 75 gallon tank in the kennel office and KNOW I can't put a snake in it as too many people have irrational fears.

SO. I am debating what to put in it. I wanted to put my baby timor monitors but they are heat lovers and this set up is not condusive to a lot of heat. The tank sits upright, has some holes available to plumb a sprayer and has a hand made foam background that is peat covered with shelves and pockets for some plants. I am at this moment torn between tree frogs and mossy leaftail geckos. I don't think I want to mix the two as someone may get sick or eaten. Though it is a thought. Especially if I grow up the frogs before putting them in.
So, what would you think would be cooler? I know frogs are less likely to get a bad reaction but I think they will be less cool too in some ways. Both beasties are bug eaters so there will be crickets involved but nothing bigger like cockroaches.
My choices are red eyed tree frogs as they are gorgeous 2".


The mossy leaftailed geckos are cryptic lichen looking 6 inch climbers. No picts of them. The Red Eye was Padfoot. We had her six years.

Is there a possibility for water in part of the tank?

Don't forget about humidity and UV requirements.......
I think the more colorful the better.
I would want wow factor....hey...go for a frilled!!!!
You only need 6ft of space....lol

I like the little froggie....but it could be fun to try to find the gecko.......
Well that wasn't helpful was it?

No to the water....except in small dish pools the tank is situated on end and was drilled for marine. I am blocking the bottom front to hold a half a foot of dirt.The holes have been converted to a plumbing for a lightweight misting system in the top and back if I want.
I need to get some pictures. that might help you.
I think the gex would be more fun for a couple reasons. One...I haven't kept them before...bred Leopards, kept cresties...not any leaftails. AND, if someone wants the gex could come out and be touched.
Had a friend with frilled.....take up LOTS of room. Especially when they get moving.
The tank is good for some heat and uv and humidity. And since Leaf Tails are basically room temp (well, my room temp. animals that is easier.

As someone with a totally irrational fear of snakes I would like to thank you. One time I was in a pet store in the mall and they took a baby boa out. I almost climbed the wall!

I'm partial to frogs.

I think they are really cool. I used to have albino aquatic frogs and they were so much fun to watch. I loved watching them swim to the top of the water and freeze before they floated back down.

The only downside was that the tank was a pain to keep clean. The vibration from a filter freaks them out, so the tank needed to be cleaned frequently. No where near as bad as when I had a newt, though. The newt tank was just gross all the time.

I've never had a tree frog. They are so cute!

None of them bother me but I do understand how snakes freak out many folks, so I think you are wise to not go there! The frog is a BEAUTY! Who could not like her? The gecko sound wonderful as well. I guess I'm not much help, but with the frogs photo, I'd cast my vote for her.

(Not to hijack, BUT - when my son was very young we collected tadpoles from the creek and watched them grow into little frogs and then slightly bigger frogs. At the same time, Adam had a terrarium inside with a gross, white, slimy frog (he named Snot, if that tells you anything about his looks). In any case, as it came time to let all the outside frogs go, Adam asked if he could keep the biggest as a "playmate" for Snot. Sure - go ahead! GULP! THAT fast, as soon as Adam put the new frog in the terrarium, mean ol' Snot had two back frog legs sticking out of his mouth! I don't know who was more shocked - Adam or me, but I sure wish someone had caught our expressions on video... :grin

Now back to the origional topic...

I have a friend with a small zoo (a licensed one) and he has fish in his reptile lobby called arowana in a 250 gallon tank. They're impressive and a lot vicious. He feeds his crickets and on occasion mice. They are illegal in several states but a very cool fish.

Really of my favorite reptiles one that is fairly easy maintenance and really entertaining are leopard geckos. You can keep multiple in a tank, they're beautiful to look at, have individual markings, and are bug eaters. They also require no special lights.

Some tree frogs have a sweet song in the evenings.

a 75 is not nearly big enough for an arowana, but they are very cood fish!

If you can have water in the bottom part you could add a filter and go with an axolotl. They are mexican salamaders that keep their aquatic neonatal form forever with frilled gills and a silly face.

well shoot just saw that you can't put water in it. I would go with the gecko too. I would also recommend looking into getting a breeding Dubia roach colony going, so much easier than crickets and more nutricious!

Aquariums and reptiles are two of my passions. I'm a huge fan of the leopard geckos Melissa mentioned. They can be kept in groups, but only get one male! Males will fight one another viciously (most lizards share this trait). The downside to them is they are nocturnal by nature, but with a dim light (or red) during the day, they will often become active. There are dozens of color and pattern morphs, so you could have quite a colony of girls and no two would look alike!

Red-eyed tree frogs are a great amphibian specimen, and very hardy. Similar to the leos, they will often hunker down and be rather inactive during the brighter part of your photoperiod. There are a few other tree frog species they can be mixed with, though, and some live plants and landscaping can make a fantastic display.

If you'd be willing to cut some large sections out of the glass and seal them from the inside with mesh wire, nothing beats a chameleon visually. Veiled and panthers are two of the hardiest species, and both are AMAZING in their colors, patterns, are active during the day, and feeding behavior still fascinates me after over 15 years of working with chams. Madagascar day geckos are also really pretty and active daytime lizards.

If you feed any critter you choose crickets, just be sure and "gut-load" them. Prepared cricket foods, poultry laying mash, leafy greens, etc. make them much more nutritious. In fact, to put it into dog food terms, gut loading turns Alpo into RMB. I've often heard that the stomach contents provide more nutrients than the rest of the entire bug for chameleons.

PM me if I don't answer here, my plate is awfully full right now and I don't get to keep on top of threads like I usually do.