Interesting ideas aaron, though I'd have to respectfully disagree on some of the points
aaronhouts wrote:As humans, we tend to anthropomorphize our reptiles which is often detrimental to their health.
This bit I can completely agree with, along with us wanting to give large enclosures as we feel like it is best (potentially with the idea of "oh, if I was a lizard, I'd prefer..). I'm aware that a lot can thrive in much smaller enclosures and perfectly healthy (as long as it's not under the very basic minimum of course, as that is there for a reason. However, I would argue its still on the too small side of things).
aaronhouts wrote:WE often want t be able to see them in what we think to be a naturalistic environment
True, but a lot of more naturalistic environments can also allow for more natural behaviours. For example, it provides more chance of climbing over things, digging around, smelling new things from items like new plants, natural grazing behaviour as well as potential health benefits (such as springtails being able to remove mould from the enclosure - arguably important with higher humidity enclosures). So in this case, it's a mix of what we want to see and known behavioural changes.
aaronhouts wrote:However, these enclosures are often hard to heat and ineffective at holding humidity. They are often also hard to clean. These three characteristics are often fatal to sensitive species such as Halmaheras.
Yep, can definitely see it being a challenge in large tanks, but not at all impossible. We have a Halmahera in a large naturalistic tank and having zero problems so far in regards to humidity and heating. I do agree it depends a lot on the setup and equipment which can be expensive to do correctly. If done wrong it can be very dangerous. Cleaning can go both ways - in naturalistic tanks it's not needed to clean the substrate frequently from the springtails and isopods actively 'cleaning' the substrate. But trying to move around plants and objects can be more tricky and can be less efficient when trying to clean 3D backgrounds compared to something more sterile like plastic
aaronhouts wrote: The good intentions you had when designing Linus' habitat may be working against him.
If the readings of temperature and humidity (along with full successful sheds) are fine then I wouldn't have seen any issue here. As which parts would you say were working against him? (just curious!)
aaronhouts wrote: Here are two case studies: ....Issues such as eye bubbles were common as well as foot and toe issues.
That's pretty interesting to see you've been able to do a comparison. However, since we've had ours - we've not seen any such problems in a large natural viv. So I would argue that something in the tank was not balanced during your testing. How long did it take before the signs were there? As it's true that we've only had our Bluey since November, but I would have presumed we would see something similar by now if there was a imbalance.
aaronhouts wrote:Our Halmaheras usually hide.
From what I'm observing, hiding if not related to personality - seems to be from lower humidity. For us, our Bluey is out constantly (I'm at home all day, so I know this for a fact). Since we've got ours it's not uncommon to see them out continuously from 6:30am until 5pm (times can change such as from 11am-8pm, but this seems to be average for now). Basically, hiding is
very rare for us, so thought I'd mention the comparison to that
TL;DR - agree it is more expensive and challenging to set up a large naturalistic enclosure. Besides for our own viewing benefit it seems there are more beneficial behaviours if done correctly (exploring more/exercise, high activity levels, grazing, opportunity to smell interesting things, enrichment, clean-up crew for subtrate health). But if done wrong, agree it can harm health wise from bad sheds/heating issues.
- Hons. Degree Animal Management -4 years volunteer in a Zoo -10 years volunteer in animal shelters -Enclosure enthusiast
