What Do Pets Need

Reptiles, amphibians and inverts

The enclosure size, heat, UVB and food each reptile, amphibian and invertebrate needs.

Is my tank big enough?Pick your pet and your tank or cage, by its label or its length, width and height, and see which vet and welfare minimums it meets, and by how much. Minimum enclosure size chartThe minimum enclosure, tank or cage for reptiles, amphibians, tarantulas, hermit crabs, fish, shrimp, small pets and cage birds, by source, with temperatures. Printable PDF. What does a leopard gecko need?A long, low vivarium of at least 36 x 18 x 18 in, a warm and a cool end, dry air, low UVB and dusted live insects. What does a bearded dragon need?A 4 ft vivarium, a hot basking end, a high output UVB tube and a diet that moves from insects to greens. What does a crested gecko need?A tall 45 x 45 x 60 cm vivarium, misting for humidity, a 5-7% UVB lamp and a diet of crested gecko diet, fruit and insects. What does a ball python need?A vivarium as long as the snake and at least 4 x 2 x 2 ft, heat day and night, 50-60% humidity and a thawed rodent every week or two. What does a corn snake need?A vivarium as long as the snake, a 28-30 C basking spot, a soil, sand and leaf substrate and a thawed mouse every week or two. What does a hognose snake need?A 36 x 18 x 18 in vivarium, a 30-32 C basking spot, a low to medium UVB lamp, 40-50% humidity and a mouse a week. What does a Russian tortoise need?An open-top table or a 10 m² garden pen, a 35 C basking spot for 12 hours a day, high output UVB, baths and a diet of weeds. What does a red-eared slider need?Water for its shell size, a dry basking area under heat and UVB, a strong filter and a sturdy heater. What does an axolotl need?An axolotl lives under water in cool water, 16 to 18 °C, with a gentle filter, sand and no UVB lamp. Check your tank against the 78 liter adult minimum. What does a pacman frog need?A pacman frog burrows, so it needs floor space and 3 to 4 inches of substrate, a heat mat on the side of the tank and 60 to 80% humidity. What does an African dwarf frog need?A care sheet handed out at reptile shows: at least 24 x 12 x 12 in for adults, water at 72 to 78 °F, gentle filtration, a tight lid and a group of three to five. What does a White's tree frog need?A White's tree frog needs a basking spot of about 30 °C on a thermostat, 60 to 70% humidity, a low output UVB lamp and water deep enough to submerge in. What does a tarantula need?A ground-living tarantula needs a low glass or plastic enclosure without a mesh top, vermiculite, a shallow water dish and no heat lamp, heat pad or UV. What does a jumping spider need?A shop's care sheet for the regal jumping spider: a vertical enclosure, strong cross ventilation, a room at 70 to 78 °F and no heat pad or lamp. What does a hermit crab need?For the Caribbean hermit crab most US stores sell, and the Australian one: 20 gallons or more for two, deep sand and coir, fresh and salt water and spare shells. What do bearded dragons eat?How much is insects and how much greens at each age, how often to feed, the greens to limit and how to dust with calcium. What do tortoises eat?Weeds first, salad when there aren't any, fruit and high-protein foods avoided, and a calcium and vitamin routine, for Mediterranean tortoises. What do turtles eat?Pellets, some animal food and leafy greens for red-eared sliders and other water turtles, how often by age, and what to keep out. UVB strength explained: 5.0 vs 10.0What 5.0, 10.0, 6% and 12% mean on a UVB lamp, and the strength, basking UV index and distance the vet and welfare sources give for each pet. Heat lamp vs heat matPick your pet for the heat source its vet and welfare care sheets give, a lamp, a mat or room heat, and the thermostat that goes with it. Why gallons don't tell you the floor sizeA 40 breeder has more floor than a 55, and a 20 long and a 29 share one. Pick a tank label to see its floor and the labels that share it.

Minimum enclosure and heat for each reptile, amphibian and invertebrate

The minimum enclosure on each page, the bigger one where the vet and welfare sources differ, and its warmest spot
PetMinimum enclosureHeat
Leopard geckoAt least 36 x 18 x 18 in28–30 °C (RSPCA), about 32 °C (RVC)
Bearded dragonAt least 48 x 24 x 24 in38–42 °C (RSPCA), basking 35–40 °C (RVC)
Crested geckoAt least 45 x 45 x 60 cm tall26–28 °C (RSPCA), about 28 °C (RVC)
Ball pythonThe snake’s length, and at least 48 x 24 x 24 in30–32 °C (RSPCA), about 32 °C (RVC)
Corn snakeThe snake’s length, and at least 48 x 24 x 24 in28–30 °C (RSPCA), about 30 °C (RVC)
Western hognose snakeAt least 36 x 18 x 18 inAbout 30–32 °C (RVC)
Horsfield’s (Russian) tortoiseAn open-top table or floor pen, as large as possibleAbout 35 °C, on at least 12 hours a day (RVC)
Red-eared sliderAbout 80 liters of water for every 5 cm of shell30–35 °C (RSPCA), 32 °C (RVC), 24–31 °C (VCA)
AxolotlAt least 78 liters for an adultWater 16–18 °C (RVC); 22 °C is the safer top
Pacman frog10 to 20 gallons for an adult, floor over height24–28 °C by day, not above 29 °C for long
TarantulaNo taller than the spider’s body lengthRoom heat is usually enough; no heat lamps or pads (RVC)
Land hermit crabAt least 76 liters for two crabsWarm area about 80 °F with a cooler one; Australian 26–32 °C

Sizes are length x width x height. Each page has every source’s minimum, the cool end, night heat and UVB.

Where we get our information from

Minimum enclosures and temperatures come from vet and welfare sources and vet clinics’ care sheets. Checked against published data from Royal Veterinary College, RSPCA, VCA Animal Hospitals, The Unusual Pet Vets and NSW government (plus 5 more).

See all 27 sources
  • RSPCA, Leopard gecko care
  • RSPCA, How to care for your bearded dragon
  • RSPCA, Caring for your crested gecko
  • RSPCA, How to care for a royal python
  • RSPCA, How to care for a corn snake
  • RSPCA, How to care for a terrapin (pond terrapins and sliders)
  • Royal Veterinary College (Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital), Leopard gecko care, reviewed December 2024 (PDF)
  • Royal Veterinary College, Bearded dragon care, reviewed December 2024 (PDF)
  • Royal Veterinary College, Crested gecko care, reviewed December 2024 (PDF)
  • Royal Veterinary College, Royal python care, reviewed December 2024 (PDF)
  • Royal Veterinary College, Corn snake care, reviewed December 2024 (PDF)
  • Royal Veterinary College, Hognose snake care and advice, reviewed December 2022 (PDF)
  • Royal Veterinary College, Mediterranean tortoise care (Hermann's, Horsfield's, spur-thighed), reviewed December 2024 (PDF)
  • Royal Veterinary College, Terrapin care (red-eared terrapin), reviewed December 2024 (PDF)
  • Royal Veterinary College, Axolotl care sheet, 2024 (PDF)
  • Royal Veterinary College, Tarantula care, reviewed December 2024 (PDF)
  • VCA Animal Hospitals, Leopard geckos: care
  • VCA Animal Hospitals, Bearded dragons: housing
  • VCA Animal Hospitals, Aquatic turtles: housing
  • NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, Code of Practice for the Private Keeping of Reptiles (PDF)
  • RSPCA Australia knowledgebase, How should I care for my bearded dragon?
  • British Chelonia Group, Caresheet for Mediterranean tortoises
  • The Unusual Pet Vets (vet clinic, Australia), Axolotl care sheet (PDF)
  • The Unusual Pet Vets (vet clinic, Australia), Australian land hermit crab care sheet, Coenobita variabilis (PDF)
  • Yarmouth Veterinary Center (vet clinic, US), Pacman frog care sheet
  • Aliso Beach Animal Clinic (vet clinic, California), Hermit Crab Care Guide, medically reviewed by Bryan Hayter, DVM (last reviewed October 2026)
  • Zubair Khalid, DVM, MS, PhD (a vet's personal website), Hermit Crab Tank Setup: Substrate, Temperature, and Humidity Essentials (owner-supplied text, October 25, 2026)

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General care guidance from animal welfare charities, vets and makers' published sizes. It isn't veterinary advice: if your pet seems unwell or has eaten something it shouldn't, call your vet.