20 gallon terrarium

[Acemmert]

I am going to pick up a couple fish tanks today off craigslist a 10 and a 20 gallon

I have a very rough idea of what i want to do but i do not have enough knowledge of the plants just the animals i want. I will probably be opting to use the 20 gallon going for 4 or 5 green anoles and I was hoping for some reccomendations on some easy to obtain and easy to grow/maintain plants for a tropical type terrarium.

Any help would be great, thanks.

 

[swords]

For easy you can't mess up with pothos, small philodendrons & ferns they all accept low light and a good amount of neglect and still keep growing like champs. If you look around ebay you can find these plants with all sorts of leaf shapes, sizes & colors. I would suggest glass to cover most of the lid to retain good humidity and aluminum screen to cover the ventilation area of the lid cos crickets can chew through nylon screen if they're determined enough.

My fave soil mix for terrariums is sphagnum peat moss (all organic not miracle grow), fine grade orchid bark and crushed up dry oak leaves. About 1/3 of each, I never really measure I just mix until it looks like it's an even blend. I use Hydroton clay balls on the bottom 1-2" to create a drainage layer under the soil, extra water sits down here and gets wicked back up through the clay into the soil. I water again when the soil looks dry from the sides. I rarely have to "water" a vivarium much other than daily misting/soaking with a sprayer. I think I usually go 1-2 months before watering the soil. I just watered all the tanks the other day and I can't recall when it was I watered them last... Just keep a watch until you get the feel of how often to water.

 

[raymond]

You can replace part or all of the peat moss with coir in the sections cps are not growing (sold in blocks at petco) if you want to be more Eco-friendly.

You can also create a depression that is low enough to reach the drainage layer, making a small lake.

For easy plants you can use the terrestrial plants that are mistakingly sold for aquariums in pecto such as the "bamboo" (dracaena) and the "peacock moss"(Selaginella).