Starting a Reptile Home: The difference between 10, 20, 30, and 40 gallon tanks.
Expanding your family with reptiles can be a fun and engaging way to learn more about these scaly friends of ours and enhance our knowledge. That being said, they need their own space that fits their specific species’ requirements.
Why It Matters
So, you want to start a collection of reptiles, or perhaps just as a family pet to wonder at. Its not that out of the ordinary, between 1994 and 2012, reptile and amphibian ownership jumped from 2.4 million people to 5.6 million in the United States of America alone. However, as with anything that becomes trendy, you have to make sure no one and nothing gets hurt, such as your new friend. This requires research; here we have some basics laid out.
The size of your chosen pet’s enclosure is crucial. Bigger species will obviously need more room, however even whether the creature lives on the ground or in the trees affects the recommended enclosure size. Starting at a ten gallon tank and climbing our way up to 40, we’ll describe the size, where you get, and why you would get each of these enclosure sizes.
10-Gallon tanks
A 10 gallon tank works best when you don’t intend on getting an animal that is very big at all. 10-gallon tanks are 20” x 10” x 12” on average. Perfect to fit on an empty nightstand you’ve been wanting to accessorize or on top of a shelf. They don’t leave much room for creativity on the inside though, with only enough room for the bare necessities.
Some good choices for a 10-gallon enclosure are Leopard Geckos or Crested Geckos. However, even if you don’t get a reptile with this being its appropriate enclosure, keep it on hand! Oftentimes, settling in juvenile larger reptiles in smaller enclosures is good for their mental health and anxiety!
20-Gallon Tanks
20-Gallon tanks are a bit bigger, as one would guess, being 30” x 12” x 12” or 24 x 12” x 16” if you want it longer or higher respectively. A 20-gallon tank increases the list of reptiles you can have. It is big enough to cohab Leopard Geckos as mentioned in the 10-gallon section, although you should always do the proper research before trying to house any reptiles with each other, since oftentimes it is not a good move.
Another great reptile you can own and house in a 20-gallon tank is a midwestern Hognose Snake, which itself has recently blown up in popularity due to its unique classification as a rear-fanged venomous snake. (That means yes its venomous but it won’t hurt you! Its like a bee sting.)
30-Gallon Tanks
As for the penultimate tank that we will be talking about in this article, the 30 gallon tank comes in at 36” X 18” X 12” and can fit even larger reptiles, though most of the more common ones will still require a 40 gallon tank for comfortable living. With proper hide placement and heat dispersion, a Ball Python could be kept in a 30-gallon tank until it was full-grown, at which point you would want to think about upgrading it to a 40-gallon enclosure.
Other good animals for 30-gallon enclosures include cornsnakes, tokay geckos, and other small lizards and snakes.
40-Gallon Tanks
40-Gallon tanks are pretty much the best investment for casual reptile keepers. Measuring in at 48 X 12” x 16”, All the standard reptiles that don’t grow to 8 feet long will be able to comfortably live inside of this enclosure. Ball Pythons, Bearded Dragons, and Kingsnakes are all perfectly comfortable in a 40-gallon enclosure.
Should we do another article for tanks above 40 gallons? The types of enclosures you would need for Monitors, Giant Snakes, and Tortoises can get much bigger and should only be attempted by experienced and knowledgeable reptile keepers.
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