Best terrarium bowls according to redditors

Feeding a lizard that small is going to be a challenge. You're going to want to look into microfeeders like flightless fruit flies, pinhead crickets, bean beetles, rice flour beetle larva, extra small BSF larva, and such. Only the fruit flies can really be found in your average pet store like Petco/Petsmart and the rest would probably have to be gotten online. Generally you don't want the prey to be larger than the space between the lizard's eyes. You also don't want to catch wild insects from outside because they can carry parasites or be tainted by pesticides.


This is a care sheet for your standard green anole. If that isn't what it is, I'd think it should probably still be okay? It seems like a pretty typical setup for your average little arboreal lizard.


Personally I'd use moist paper towel as substrate to make it easier to find prey. Cork bark is also great for climbing and hiding and holds up well to high humidity. And I don't know how much money you're looking to spend, but I use these for my baby geckos to set their water caps on and put worms in. They're more likely to notice it if it's higher up - arboreal lizards tend to mostly avoid the ground.

The juveniles will typically get along. It's when they're adults that the fighting can occur. Plus, if you have a male and female, breeding will happen.

Right now, petsmart has the $1 per gallon sale going. You can get a 20 gallon long tank for $20. A screen lid is $10.

Here are some $4 hides. http://www.lllreptile.com/products/19537-small-black-hide-box

Moist hide can be made from tupperware in your kitchen drawer.

Here's an inexpensive thermostat $25. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NZZG3S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_5i-GxbG417DQD

Here's an under tank heater $15. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002AQCKA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_8k-Gxb5QCNPSH

Food dish $3. http://www.lllreptile.com/products/25551-dubia-dish-small

Water dish $7. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002AR4B6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_im-Gxb6CW2XGN

Including the tank, you're at $91. Might as well round that up to $100 to be safe. If I missed anything, let me know. I'm assuming cheap paper towels as the substrate. If you wanted to reduce the cost even more, you could get some cardboard and a hot glue gun and construct your own hides.

Reptile Dish with Feeding Tweezers Tongs, Ceramic Reptile Feeding Bowl-M https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07K6STZWJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_O0hADb6CP8V54

I suggest picking this up. It's just no good to keep the wood ships there and there's no benefit from it at all.

Get ceramic no escape dishes, not the brown plastic rounded ones,which suck. These are my favorite:
https://www.amazon.com/OMEM-Worm-Dish-Reptile-Ceramics/dp/B06XYH4JVM

Plus reptiles seem to really prefer the white background.

the up front costs of setting up the enclosure vary a lot depending on whether you want utilitarian and cheap or aesthetically pleasing and expensive, as well as the quality of the equipment you use. using a corn snake as an example, since i think that's the most beginner-friendly of the three species you listed, you could set up an enclosure for an adult at anywhere between $50 and $500.

i'll give you some examples based on setups i have/had.

low-end:

• 74qt sterilute underbed tub with air holes drilled/soldered in the sides.
  
• luggage straps to secure the tub.
  
• ultratherm UTH [under tank heater].
  
• hydrofarm thermostat to regulate the UTH.
  
• digital dual sensor thermometer/hygrometer to monitor the warm side floor temperature [with the probe] as well as the ambient temperature/humidity.
  
• cheap/free household items like cardboard boxes for hides, paper towels or newspaper for substrate, plastic food container for water, etc.
  
  mid-range:
  
  
• glass tank, generally in the size range of 30gal to 55gal. could be free, cheap, or $100+ depending on what size you get and where you find it. craigslist can get you really cheap tanks, and petco/petsmart have dollar-per-gallon sales often.
  
• an appropriately sized screen lid and sturdy lid clips for the tank. these things can be purchased separately from the tank.
  
• ultratherm UTH.
  
• hydrofarm thermostat to regulate the UTH.
  
• lamp and CHE [ceramic heat emitter] for ambient heat if your room temperature tends to be below 70 F.
  
• digital dual sensor thermometer/hygrometer to monitor the warm side floor temperature [with the probe] as well as the ambient temperature/humidity.
  
• infrared thermometer to spot-check the temperature anywhere in the enclosure.
  
• two reptile basics hide boxes.
  
• metal or ceramic dog bowl for a water dish.
  
• shredded aspen substrate.
  
  high-end:
  
  
• pvc reptile cage. prices vary depending on the manufacturer. animal plastics is generally the cheapest but requires assembly. i have my corn in a boaphile plastics 421D cage, which is bigger than he really needs but i have a stack of cages so i needed size uniformity, and i like to give my snakes more than the minimum requirement of length+width of enclosure being equal to length of snake.
  
• UTH and/or RHP [radiant heat panel], can be included in the purchase of the cage. i only have a UTH because my room temperature stays in the 70-75 F range year round. i recommend an RHP if your room temperature tends to be below 70 F.
  
• herpstat to regulate the temperature. a herpstat intro+ is fine if you only use one heat source, a herpstat 2 would be best if you use two heat sources.
  
• digital dual sensor thermometer/hygrometer to monitor the warm side floor temperature [with the probe] as well as the ambient temperature/humidity.
  
• infrared thermometer to spot-check the temperature anywhere in the enclosure.
  
• naturalistic style hides and water dish, such as this hide and this water dish from exo terra.
  
• additional hides, half-logs, driftwood, artificial plants, etc, to clutter up the enclosure and make it interesting.
  
• naturalistic style substrate like cypress mulch, coconut husk mulch [the big chunky pieces, not the soil-like coconut fiber], fir bark mulch, etc.
  
  then there are basic medical and emergency supplies. i recommend having these things on hand:
  
  
• a good disinfectant for the enclosure. this stuff is the best.
  
• a way to contain/transport your snake outside of the enclosure. this can be a cotton pillowcase, a snake bag, or a small plastic tub with a locking lid and air holes.
  
• uniheat shipping packs for providing heat during a power outage or evacuation.
  
• a spare UTH and basic thermostat, so you're not scrambling to find a replacement if anything breaks.
  
• povidone-iodine [betadine] and an antibiotic ointment without pain relief [neosporin]. these are useful in treating things like minor burns, cuts, scale rot, etc.
  
• provent-a-mite to tackle a mite infestation.
  
  as far as annual costs go, electricity is negligible for one snake, so you're really just dealing with food and substrate. for a corn snake, you're looking at $30-$40 per year if you buy mice from expos, local shops/suppliers, or online bulk suppliers, instead of the way overpriced petco/petsmart/etc. substrate costs depend on what type you buy, how big your enclosure is, how deep you keep the substrate, and how often you do full substrate changes, could be anywhere from $20 to $100 per year.

I've never actually seen mine eat but I noticed my gecko eats a lot better after getting a magnetic ledge to hold the food up higher. When there small like that you usually don't even notice they eat anything (you can usually tell by little lick marks on the food) . However you don't want her to get used to hand feeding otherwise she won't eat by herself and then you have to hand feed her. Maybe get different types of pangea or repashy mixes and see if that helps her eat because she might just not like the food that much. Either way I think you should get her a ledge.

I got mine this from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Z7PIYHY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_kXr0BbE7MSDW1

Zoo Med Reptile Rock Corner Water Dish, X-Large https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B000QFVYOA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_o0ARybWEZM13X

Yeah, I love that thing since the insects can't escape. I got it on Amazon!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IRIL1P4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_X5VWCbH2RJJW3

dish

tube, but the included dish was cracked upon arrival. I didn’t worry about it since I was just after the smaller-diameter tube

its just a glass fish safe petri dish that you put small foods into and it all gets eatenhttps://www.amazon.com/Senzeal-Aquarium-Shrimp-Feeding-Reptiles/dp/B077S8VF8P/ref=asc_df_B077S8VF8P/?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid={creative}&hvpos={adposition}&hvnetw=o&hvrand={random}&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl={devicemodel}&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584345015762094&psc=1

If you're keen on doing some work to save money and have some tools lying around, you could build your own enclosure for much cheaper than premade ones. There's plenty of tutorials and the materials (usually wood or acrylic) are fairly affordable. The long term costs of owning a snake are pretty negligible, it's the initial cost that's going to be pretty high.

Aside from the enclosure, you also need; a heat mat (ex), a thermostat (ex1 ex2), thermometer and hygrometer (ex), substrate (ex1 ex2), 2 hides (ex), water dish (ex), ceramic heat emitter (ex), cleaning supplies (ex), and a mist bottle (ex).

Those are all just examples and some of them might not work for you, but it should give you an idea of what to look for. Things that aren't "technically" a requirement but are highly recommended are plants/decor and a light (UVB if you want to spoil them) to provide a day/night cycle. If you're wanting a Ball Python, options are practically endless on MorphMarket. Just make sure you do your research on a breeder before buying.

https://www.amazon.com/Blinky-Chameleon-Bar-Hanging-Reptiles/dp/B07K6XCBKD

I lightly sanded the outside of the cup so he wouldn’t try and shoot his tongue at the worms in the bottom of the feeder. I heard that they can get discouraged if they get tricked by the clear plastic too many times.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QFVYOA/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_N2yRyb91HCBJR

Something like that would probably work great for you

not too bad, maybe a little more cover and I would recommend a ledge for their food
https://www.amazon.com/Mini-Magnetic-Gecko-Feeder-Ledge/dp/B00Z7PIYHY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1518591367&sr=8-3&keywords=crested+gecko+ledge

it’s this:
SLSON Gecko Feeder Ledge Acrylic Suction Cup Reptile Feeder with 20 Pack Plastic Bowls for Reptiles Food and Water Feeding,Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F2H6BK8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_y58WBbCJ7FVYE

it’s so great, my gecko prefers it so much more than the bottom bowls— i never see him eating out of those