NEWS 115
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well as daytime retreats for toads, not to
mention quick getaways for any lizards that
find themselves harassed during the
frequent intraspecific squabbles or the
rather importunate courtship of males.
One of the special features of this terrarium is
that,just as in a real garden,you can regularly
introduce beautiful flowering plants in
attractive terracotta pots, and replace them
when they have finished blooming. In this
way the terrarium will have a constantly
changing
appearance,
always
with
something new to offer.
Equipment andmaintenance
The most important element in the
maintenance of this terrarium is the light.
Ideally the terrariumwill receive at least a few
hours of natural sunlight every day, though
obviously you must make sure that the
terrarium doesn't overheat! The temperature
in the terrarium as a whole shouldn't rise
above 30 °C, though there can be strictly
limited localized sunning places perhaps 20 x
20 cm in areawhere temperatures of up to 40
°C occur.The lowest "activity temperature",at
which the animals remain healthy , feed well,
and digest their food properly, is around 18-
20 °C. The temperature should drop to this
level at night. It will be beneficial if the
daytime temperature in winter doesn't rise
significantly above 25 °C. It is, however, more
important that the lighting regime is
maintained at 14-16 hours of light in summer
and 8-10 hours of light inwinter,as otherwise
the hormone budgets of the animals and
plants will be cast into disarray and breeding
and flowering will cease.
Independent of any other lighting, a UV light
should be in operation for the entire daytime
photoperiod, as UV light plays a major role in
keeping this terrarium community healthy
year-round.
The terrarium should be sprayed lightly with
hand-warm water every morning, and the
plantswateredwhen required.Thewater dish
should always contain cleanwater.That apart,
all that is required is feeding.This terrarium is
easy to maintain in all respects.
We will be portraying further attractive and
interesting community terrariums in
subsequent issues of the News. Your pet
dealer can also provide you with advice on
such matters, just as your pet dealer can
himself obtain information froma wholesaler
that he trusts, e.g. Tropenparadies in
Oberhausen, Germany: Fax +49-208-665997.
be a real shame to use older specimens with
thick, picturesque wood for experiments. An
ideal substitute, which will last for years, is a
member of the fig tree genus, Ficus retusa.
This tropical species is usually available fairly
cheaply as an "indoor bonsai". Because of its
tropical origin this plant also thrives year-
round indoors and looks very similar to the
evergreen hardwoods of the Mediterranean
area. Four or five of these indoor bonsai will
create a very attractive effect and really look
like a small hedge in aMediterraneangarden.
Two points need to be borne in mind when
using these indoor bonsai. Firstly, the
substrate needs to be deep enough, at least
15 cm. It can consist of proprietary potting
compost covered with a few handfuls of
garden soil. Secondly, you should be aware
that the leaves are poisonous. Hence if you
keep tortoises you need to make sure that
they can't feed on these plants.
The gaps between these little trees can be
filled with dry oak leaves. Small lizards will
enjoy rustling around among these leaves in
search of food.
The finishing touches
With a dry-stone wall, drinking dish, and
hedge in place, the terrarium now contains
practically all that is required for the animals
to express their natural behavior. All that is
missing is a few tall branches sited near the
front. You can buy some tubes of cork bark,
which are perfectly suitable both
geographically and from a visual viewpoint.
The tubes will provide ideal hiding-places as
Splendid flowering pot-plants (this is
Oleander,
Nerium oleander)
are typical of
Mediterranean gardens.
The Berber Lizard,
Timon pater,
originates from North Africa.
