Reptile habitat idea

[HedgieAndDegu]

I think I've just found the perfect idea- I have a glass terarium, and have covered the bottom with a thick, healthy carpet of moss and lichens. If I were to put an animal in there, my plant/fungus carpet would take in any waste the animal would make, no?

[xocharxo]

At my Petsmart, they have a whole thing of fresh greens, and although lizards and snakes will drown in the water, toads won't, the tank is filled with water, and has a bunch of moss, and leaves, and stuff. Plus, its not too expensive. Another cheaper option/way to go, is just going to the garden store, or the nursery. However, with that, you're not going to get any advice on what plants are best for what reptiles. good luck! :)

[HedgieAndDegu]

I think you misunderstood. I have almost all moss, it's thick, velvety, carpetlike, and requires minimal watering. It looks very nice too. One type is a deep earthy green, and is very thick and velvety, while the other type is yellowish, looks almost leafy, and is kind of rough but fuzzy.

[amberglitter13]

The moss would probably look cool as a substrate, but it affects the kind of lizard you can get. If a lizard eats insects, you have to be careful that the insects eating the moss and then being ingested by the lizard won't be toxic for the lizard, and if its an herbivore, its the same question of if the lizard can eat the moss safely.

A desert type of lizard would potentially get sick because of the high humidity, whereas a tropical lizard or even amphibian might do better in the stuff, being used and needing humidity. The lizards feces could potentially be used by the plants - kind of like fertilizer I guess, but from as much as my lizards go, I don't know if it would really be absorbed by the moss as fast as the lizards produce it. Mine are anoles so they are also fairly small, larger lizards could fill it up even faster.

With lizards there is also a question of how sanitary the tank would be, as lizards can carry and pass salmonella. So theoretically if it breaks down and is in the moisture in the tank bacteria could potentially thrive in those conditions and it could get to be a big petri dish, which is especially dangerous for you because salmonella can be quite hazardous to humans (though not always deadly it certainly is not fun).

And last but not least, when tank cleaning it would be all but impossible to santize a plant (unless theres new products out there I don't know of) without killing it.

Also, its best not to get plants from a garden store, because it is pretty likely its been grown using pesticides which can potentially harm any pet kept with the plants.

Hope this helps!