Sharing enclosure

[Goliath]

Hi Barnaby,

I have a panther and a leopard gecko lizard. When they saw each other once, my panther turned almost White!!! No joke. Needless to say he was scared.

However, My brother has a good size tank that houses many different species of frogs, and weve been told not to mix too many species, but they have been living in there for years....so.... there's a tomato frog, chubby frog, golden tree frog, blue tree frog, two toads, a salamander, and a red bellied fire toad!

 

[chequepoint]

People ask questions like this because they know what the answer is, and know what they want to do, they are looking for some kind of justification towards what they are going to do anyways so that they can share the guilt at the end when the animals suffer.

You're always presented with two paths in a hobby like this.
1) The path of most likely success, and optimal health. This path is generally strict, conservative, and well thought out by people with much more experience than you. It comes from a collective wisdom, with a foundation laid by experts, not hobbyists.

2) The path of probable failure. This is walked by choosing to do what you think might be interesting, and is generally justified to yourself by finding a few other like minded people to justify your actions. I hear things like "I am experimenting" or "I just like to have a reason" and see impending doom in the animals future.

As hobbyists we are privileged to share our lives with such amazing creatures, and it is our primary responsibility to provide them with the best care that we possibly can. That means taking no chances. Sure your gecko/cham thing might work out, and you have obviously found a few other mouth breathers to support your theory, but what gives you the power to make that choice with your chameleons life on the line?

I come from a background in saltwater fish, and do not presume to be a reptile expert at all. BUT I saw this thing all the time in the Reef hobby. "Can I put these two fish together?" the hobby collectively screams no. "But I saw somewhere that if you have a big enough tank, with enough hiding spaces, that it might work, I'm going to do it anyways"... two weeks later "Hey guys, both fish are dead, what happened?"

OR even better "Can I put this fish in my 25 gallon tank?" - No it needs at least a 90 gallon tank "Well, I'm going to try for now, and maybe get a bigger tank later"...

Sometimes I feel like the pet trade is an unending cycle of murder.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

People ask questions like this because they know what the answer is, and know what they want to do, they are looking for some kind of justification towards what they are going to do anyways so that they can share the guilt at the end when the animals suffer.

You're always presented with two paths in a hobby like this.
1) The path of most likely success, and optimal health. This path is generally strict, conservative, and well thought out by people with much more experience than you. It comes from a collective wisdom, with a foundation laid by experts, not hobbyists.

2) The path of probable failure. This is walked by choosing to do what you think might be interesting, and is generally justified to yourself by finding a few other like minded people to justify your actions. I hear things like "I am experimenting" or "I just like to have a reason" and see impending doom in the animals future.

As hobbyists we are privileged to share our lives with such amazing creatures, and it is our primary responsibility to provide them with the best care that we possibly can. That means taking no chances. Sure your gecko/cham thing might work out, and you have obviously found a few other mouth breathers to support your theory, but what gives you the power to make that choice with your chameleons life on the line?

I come from a background in saltwater fish, and do not presume to be a reptile expert at all. BUT I saw this thing all the time in the Reef hobby. "Can I put these two fish together?" the hobby collectively screams no. "But I saw somewhere that if you have a big enough tank, with enough hiding spaces, that it might work, I'm going to do it anyways"... two weeks later "Hey guys, both fish are dead, what happened?"

OR even better "Can I put this fish in my 25 gallon tank?" - No it needs at least a 90 gallon tank "Well, I'm going to try for now, and maybe get a bigger tank later"...

Sometimes I feel like the pet trade is an unending cycle of murder.

WOW , Perfect !! What a great way to sum it up. I am very impressed with this responce. Great job. Thanks for your input.

+ rep on this one

 

[Dankmeleon]

i like how people edit there posts to make themselves appear more intelligent

 

[barnaby]

People ask questions like this because they know what the answer is, and know what they want to do, they are looking for some kind of justification towards what they are going to do anyways so that they can share the guilt at the end when the animals suffer.

You're always presented with two paths in a hobby like this.
1) The path of most likely success, and optimal health. This path is generally strict, conservative, and well thought out by people with much more experience than you. It comes from a collective wisdom, with a foundation laid by experts, not hobbyists.

2) The path of probable failure. This is walked by choosing to do what you think might be interesting, and is generally justified to yourself by finding a few other like minded people to justify your actions. I hear things like "I am experimenting" or "I just like to have a reason" and see impending doom in the animals future.

As hobbyists we are privileged to share our lives with such amazing creatures, and it is our primary responsibility to provide them with the best care that we possibly can. That means taking no chances. Sure your gecko/cham thing might work out, and you have obviously found a few other mouth breathers to support your theory, but what gives you the power to make that choice with your chameleons life on the line?

I come from a background in saltwater fish, and do not presume to be a reptile expert at all. BUT I saw this thing all the time in the Reef hobby. "Can I put these two fish together?" the hobby collectively screams no. "But I saw somewhere that if you have a big enough tank, with enough hiding spaces, that it might work, I'm going to do it anyways"... two weeks later "Hey guys, both fish are dead, what happened?"

OR even better "Can I put this fish in my 25 gallon tank?" - No it needs at least a 90 gallon tank "Well, I'm going to try for now, and maybe get a bigger tank later"...

Sometimes I feel like the pet trade is an unending cycle of murder.

I completely agree, that's why I asked for some expert opinion on this. Which I received. A few people raised some important issues that made me quit this idea (unlike those guys with the fishes). Like I said before, if I didn't care I wouldn't ask...

Did I want to receive other kind of answers? Yeah sure! I wish everybody would say "Yeah, all my friends and I do this. No problem at all! Go for it!" But they didn't. That's life, hey?

Bottom line, my question is answered.