outdoor pits

[taylor111]

hey i was thinking building an outdoor pit for blue tongues and shinglebacks and i have a few q's

1.what are the best materials to use

2. will they be ok in winter in SE QLD

3. what Other species could you put in it

4. what substrate/ ground covering is best

5. what native plants wold go well

6. is any drainidge needed

 

[Jdsixtyone]

I heard that blueys and water dragons can go together. Maybe a bit of soft dirt and some boulders 4 basking and maybe a bit of bark and leaf litter.

 

[taylor111]

cool man thanx

anybody else

 

[Jdsixtyone]

Have a little pond or creek what they can get out of eaisly and some reeds for the water dragons.

 

[Jdsixtyone]

How big is it going to be?

 

[taylor111]

6m long x 4m wide

 

[Jdsixtyone]

Umm a lot of ppl who i know use colourbond fencing and dig a trench 25cm below the ground and concret it so they cant dig out.

 

[pseudechis4740]

Old above ground pools make ideal pits and it is easy to to rig up chichen wire over the top to keep predatory birds like kookaburras out.

 

[Jdsixtyone]

Neva thought of dat lol

 

[taylor111]

bump

 

[xycom]

How high do folks recomend the walls should be?


Per

 

[taylor111]

How high do folks recomend the walls should be?


Per

thanks didnt think of that one

 

[Lollypop]

With the height, it's up to you, whether u want access without having to bend down. I've used a finer bird mesh that will (hopefully) keep out snakes as well, + the chichen wire if u look at it is large enuf holes for lizards to get thru. On the bottom, try & have something like your colorbond, dig it in as said, & if concreting it in is too expensive u can use a good layer of roadbase compacted to stop them digging out or others digging in. Crickets can't escape over the colourbond either, so u save food.
Any native plants are fine, just make sure they're not too big once fully grown. I've used grass plants as well as they give good shade & can hide. Also plant your vegies & flowers so they can snack at will.
Outdoors wise, if you have your enclosure ready to go for springtime, whatever lizards u have in it will then acclimatise to cope with the winter. Good hides are essential then especially if you get frost where u are.
I used sand (God Forbid:lol, but grass with sand or dirt, as long as they can dig. With using sand, the drainage (with no base that is) happens naturally & well.
Water supply is really important to organise before u start so you've got any hoses underground - s'pose that's a given. I just used the little horse/dog troughs, but do love the idea of a water feature - there was a pic recently of someone on here's outdoor area & it was spectacular. Happy building!

 

[taylor111]

thanks got any pics or anybody else got anything else too add

 

[mark57]

I put a bluey and a smaller jacky lizard in together,and was heartbroken when i found that the slow old bluey had attacked the jacky lizard and crushed her to death.The jacky lizard was about to lay eggs too.Just be careful mixing species,especially ones that are so different in size.

 

[taylor111]

okay thanks