# 75 gal stocking ideas



## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

i recently aquired a 4ftx1.5 standard 75 gal and i im still tring to figure out what i want in it. Tank can hold water but would concider herps. I already have a bearded dragon so i dont really need another.

I would preferably have low maitnece and or a breeding colony of something like leos. I am also interested in larger snakes since snakes tend to be fairly low maitnece. Ive thought of some snakes like ball python morphs, milks, corns and probably my fav option ... hog island boa.
Less maitnence is probably the most important so that is why i am thinking a snake.

Its just the tank so I would have to still chose if i want uth or heat bulb but that will come with what i choose. No cover so i can add glass if i do fish or mesh if i do herps. Its an actual aruarium (braced)so would a normal 4x1.5 screen work or would i need larger due to the thicker frame? My bearded dragon is in a tank with the same footprint so i can always test with that screen lid.

I could also add a uvb if nessisary. Should a reptisun 4ft bulb fit in a standard 4 ft double fixture?
i was thinking of using one repsun bulb along with one normal floro so would that be fine? for a bd and


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Snakes are super low maitenance... All I do with mine is make sure they have fresh water daily, spot clean as necessary, and I do a overhaul/disinfection of the enclosure once a month. Feeding is once a week right now. Once the python and boa get bigger they'll likely be put on a maitenance diet to avoid obesity and get fed every two weeks. The biggest costs with a snake, in my opinion, are usually the snake and the enclosure. You've got half of that out of the way.

In terms of snakes, you have a real diversity listed there. Pretty much everything, haha. One thing to note is something like a milk snake or a corn snake is not going to get very big and can realistically be kept in a smaller enclosure without issue. A hog island boa might be cool. I really like boas and their personalities. Calm, easy going. My red tail is a big baby... Ball pthons are give or take. A baby wouldn't do well in an enclosure that size as they generally do better in smaller enclosures when young to help promote security, etc. In fact, any small snake might have issues in a large tank as far as heat regulation and what not goes.

Doing a small colony of leopard geckos would be cool. One male and three or four females would be easily done. Or you could divide the tank in two and have two separate groups and thus two males. Leos are also very easy to take care of. BUT. Are a bit more demanding as far as food goes - crickets and such. But you said you had a beardie so you must be okay with the bug stuff.

Your heating and lighting depends entirely on what you decide to put in there.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Mettle said:


> Snakes are super low maitenance... All I do with mine is make sure they have fresh water daily, spot clean as necessary, and I do a overhaul/disinfection of the enclosure once a month. Feeding is once a week right now. Once the python and boa get bigger they'll likely be put on a maitenance diet to avoid obesity and get fed every two weeks. The biggest costs with a snake, in my opinion, are usually the snake and the enclosure. You've got half of that out of the way.
> 
> In terms of snakes, you have a real diversity listed there. Pretty much everything, haha. One thing to note is something like a milk snake or a corn snake is not going to get very big and can realistically be kept in a smaller enclosure without issue. A hog island boa might be cool. I really like boas and their personalities. Calm, easy going. My red tail is a big baby... Ball pthons are give or take. A baby wouldn't do well in an enclosure that size as they generally do better in smaller enclosures when young to help promote security, etc. In fact, any small snake might have issues in a large tank as far as heat regulation and what not goes.
> 
> ...


i was at the mississaga expo today but didnt get anything live. I would like to look more into hogs (they were also reasonalbly priced at 200-250$ (on vendor that had them also has his store by me (Garden city reptile and aquaria). Do you think a 75 is good for a hog for life? Hogs seems pretty good since they arnt small but they arnt large enough to need assistance when handling.

what about an amazon tree boa?

I would want something low maitnece so i am thinking a snake but i will still concider other posibilities.


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Well, if I remember right a hog island's length maxes out quite a bit shorter than your average red tail, for instance. For some reason I'm thinking five feet? With females having the chance of getting bigger? So yeah, a 75 gallon tank would be fine for a snake of that size given that it's 4 feet long and 18 inches wide... I would recommend getting a male though, and not a female, just to make sure.

The thing with boas is it can be tricky... I have a male red tail from a set of breeders out of Montreal who are normally into really fancy stuff. They specialize in all kinds of morphs and special line breedings. My rtb is a third gen captive bred and born snake. He is as docile as can be, to the point where I can cup my hand around his head/face and he doesn't resist in the least. The males in his line have stayed relatively small. All of the breeding males have been five feet or smaller. And all the siblings that they know how have stayed within the same size range - five feet or smaller - except for a few from the first generation of cbb babies... Just some added stuff to think about.

Amazon tree boas require an arboreal age. IMO, a 75 gallon isn't suitable. As well, they can be more aggressive and more finicky when it comes to care. Not to mention they will cost a lot more too. HOWEVER. They are gorgeous display animals.

Almost all reptiles that I can think of will require more care and attention than any single snake. But some can be very cool and still easy to take care of... A couple that come to mind are a couple of my favourites, bearded dragons and blue tongue skinks. For me most of the popular reptiles in general tend to be rather easy to care for. Simply because they live in tanks, don't require walks and so forth, haha.

Another idea is you could look into crested geckos and make a colony of those.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Mettle said:


> Well, if I remember right a hog island's length maxes out quite a bit shorter than your average red tail*yes they are between bp and rtb at about 4-6ft- true hogs that is*, for instance. For some reason I'm thinking five feet? With females having the chance of getting bigger*generally true with snakes*? So yeah, a 75 gallon tank would be fine for a snake of that size given that it's 4 feet long and 18 inches wide... I would recommend getting a male though, and not a female, just to make sure.
> 
> The thing with boas is it can be tricky... I have a male red tail from a set of breeders out of Montreal who are normally into really fancy stuff. They specialize in all kinds of morphs and special line breedings. My rtb is a third gen captive bred and born snake. He is as docile as can be, to the point where I can cup my hand around his head/face and he doesn't resist in the least. The males in his line have stayed relatively small. All of the breeding males have been five feet or smaller. And all the siblings that they know how have stayed within the same size range - five feet or smaller - except for a few from the first generation of cbb babies... Just some added stuff to think about.
> 
> ...


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Yeah, I mixed up the Emeralds and Amazons for some reason... weird.









But even if you wanted to get one, turning the tank on its side wouldn't be sufficient. An enclosure that's 18x18x48 is hardly adequate, imo.

As for cresties being high maitenance... any lizard will be in comparison to the snakes. But that's just me. I find my cresties to be lower maitenance than my beardie though. And definitely cheaper.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Mettle said:


> Yeah, I mixed up the Emeralds and Amazons for some reason... weird.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 cheaper as in upkeep like food or initiaL cost becasue around me they seem pretty expensive and no less then 50 for a normal morph that was bred by a hobbiest

any other snakes that would be cool? how would an ijcp like you have do? ive seen them and they look cool.


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

ij's are maybe not as arboreal as amazons or emeralds, but still spend a lot of time roaming branches and that sort of thing. It's something to look into.

As for 'cheaper' I meant for maitenance. Mine eat primarily Crested Gecko Diet which comes in a small jar, last forever, and costs only a few bucks. My cresties were definitely more expensive than my beardie. My beardie I got for free because he's a rescue while my cresties were $100/pair. I got a good deal though. The mother is some red morph and the father is some freckled morph. I'm not really up on crestie morphs, so I don't know the teminology.

I wasn't away that cost was an issue...

Another thing you can think of doing is looking in your local online classifieds and searching out deals and such. I might be getting a 2 year old ball python, all accessories, tank, etc. from someone for $100 which imo isn't that bad of a deal. Often people have animals on there that are looking for new homes for various reasons. The case with the guy I've been talking to is he is moving and can't bring the snake with him... Just another thought.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

i would kind of like a show species too so i dont really want a ball python unless its a morph (i like mojaves, pastels spiders...)

i think a hog island would be pretty cool since they arnt very common but still are low maitnece and fairly small compared to other boas

cost isnt an issue but i would like to keep down. I have the money (if i couldnt afford it i wouldnt get anythign) and want quality but dont want to be spending 500$ plus. So i concider a 2-300$ hog pretty good and still in my price range

For those who dont know what hog island boas are:
and yes they are natrually occuring hypos!
hog boa link


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## phantoms (Dec 11, 2007)

what about a brazilian rainbow boa?!?!? i think they top out at 4-6 feet. and the larger ones i handled were all good tempered. might need a 20 long for a grow out tank if you get a baby though lol


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

i have looked into them and they seem to be a bit demanding and have more specific needs which i want ot keep minimal.

for whatever snake i get i have a 15 gal 1x2 tank with heat lamp that is empty that i could use as a grow out

what woudl be better for heating? heat wire or heat pad/uth?


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