Tank question

i want to get a 20 gal tank and separate it into two halves for my two sals. and i know there is information somewhere, perhaps on this site, about what to use and how to do it, but i can't find it. any suggestions?

do you mean divided the whole way down? or just like half and half land/water?

mark, i meant the whole way, so that each has it's own separate place, since they are two different species. it will be easier to house them in one large tank instead of two because i tend to move a lot.

hmmm.
I guess I dont have too much advise for that. I have only used a divider once, and it was just for a water divider using plexiglass and silicone sealant. I thought it was kind of a pain to be honest with you. If you do decide to use a plexiglass method, make sure to use a thick piece (I would say at least 1/4 inch), so that it does not bow with time.

on the other hand, if there is not water to worry about, you may be able to separate it with something that does not require an air tight seal, and that may be easier...
maybe some sort of screen?

what species are you housing? dividing a 20gal tank into two parts would make kind of small compartments.

i agree on both of the previous replies. it does sound like a pain to try. the thing is that i have a spotted and marbled, the former being larger than the latter, and they both spend their time either buried or in their hide caves. i would be willing to house them together with no separation, even though i have heard mixing species is not the best idea. with their temperaments, they might never even see each other, unless they crawl their lazy butts out! any more thoughts?

I think a half of a 20 gal might be too small.

If you divide a 20-gallon tank in half, each half will be 12x12 inches (30x30 cm). That would be adequate for a small sal (up to 4 inches). As an alternative, I'd suggest getting an aquarium stand that holds two 10-gallon tanks, and putting each animal in a separate tank. Two 10-gal are cheaper than one 20-gal anyway.

the money is an issue, but unfortunately, i will be in a small dorm room. plus i have a new skink and want a tiger sal, so 4 tanks are gonna kill me. i can't fathom moving those around a lot. right now, the sals are small, but i do want them to have room to grow.

From personal experience I highly suggest you forego attemtpting to keep salamanders in a dorm. The temp requirements are hard to meet, dorms are very noisy and thus stressful on the animals, roommates can be less than trustworthy, and you will have to move out of the dorms in the summer (and perhaps even during winter and spring breaks depending on the dorm). I lived in the dorms last year and paid dearly by attempting to keep sals at first. I learned from my mistakes, however, and sucked it up and decided not to keep salamanders for the year. I am very satisfied with my decision. Now I live in a house, can provide a more stable environment for my animals, and even have more room.

Another thing to think about is that many/most dorms will not allow animals besides fish. While it depends on your RA whether they will bust you for this violation, in my dorm I found that most RA's will become your friend, however, they will maintain their job and WILL write you up if you violate some the rules, especially the more serious ones (which keeping animals besides fish seems to be, as they believe it is a health hazard).

My personal opinion is that you should not attempt to keep salamanders in a dormitory. It is stressful on the animals as well as you. Dorms are too active and too hostile for salamanders. I suggest waiting until you move into a more stable and less stressful habitat before keeping salamanders.

Um, if money is an issue, and space why get MORE animals? You are already in over your head with the two sals you have. You can't afford adequate tanks for each of them, and yet you want to add another species to the complication.

AND YET sals are easy to keep. You could MAKE a stand that holds three or 4 ten gallon tanks - a simple book shelf. The tanks can be light weight. They don't have to be filled with heavy gravel. They could be filled with shredded coconut bark (bed a beast or something like that) and semi buried dish of water.

But the temp thing sounds like its going to be a problem no matter what. IF you are really up on things you could regulate/lower the temps with frozen water bottles for each tank. But you will need time to check this out and as daily temps rise higher and then lower and you are out of the room, it could get beyond complicated to just plain impossible.

Maybe you should see about getting these two situated first then attempt a third setup. Or actually a fourth considering your skink.

Sharon

I also had to give up keeping sals/newts while I lived in the dorms. (actually gave them up for all of college...although I had a couple spotteds and one blue-spotted (separate tanks) at my parents house for a couple of years). Yeah, I know you dont wanna hear it, but I personally dont recommend those kind of animals in the dorms, because it is just too wild of an environment and would probably be stressful. Temps would almost surely be a problem. At the very least, consider not as many tanks and species. Hey, I was willing to wait till this year (I am 23) to get my first tiger sals, and I have wanted them since I was a young teenager! They were worth the wait, as I now have a nice large setup for them, and dont have to worry about moving them around every few months as I would have in college.

Try to do whats best for them for now, and best of luck with your present and future caudates!

i should clarify just so that i don't seem like a careless owner: i can afford the tanks, just not right now. i will start working on their set-ups in a couple of weeks, when i get money coming in. i'm a college student, so money is an issue on principle. but i will do my best to make sure my sals grow well and happily. and as for the dorm, it's not the kind that you typically think of. i live in an apartment-style dorm for older students, with my own room upstairs. you can rarely hear noise, and people aren't coming in and out. the temperature might be a problem, but it's nothing i can't talk to roommates about. i'll get a nice shelf for the tanks. thanks for the concerns, though. i just would never trust my dad with the sals if i left them behind. he doesn't even know what they are.