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Pet Environment

Pet enclosure & care guides

For 62 reptiles, fish, birds, small mammals and backyard chickens: the right enclosure size, temperatures, diet and a priced checklist, with the care sheets behind every number.

Plan a setupWhich pet fits me?
A bearded dragon enclosure set up correctly: basking platform under a heat lamp, UVB tube across the topThe reading · Bearded dragonPogona vitticeps105–115°Fbasking surface85–95°Fwarm side75–85°Fcool side30–40%humidity

Every number here comes from a care sheet you can open, and every page lists them.

Vet schools, VCA and Merck, ReptiFiles, the House Rabbit Society. Where sources disagree we give the bigger enclosure and the modern advice, and say so. How we make these guides.

The field guide

Reptiles

Pet reptiles compared →
An axolotl tank with sand, caves, sponge filters and a clip-on cooling fan, no heater
60–68°F waterThe axolotl's whole setup turns on keeping the water cool: a clip-on fan, sponge filters, sand or bare glass, and never a heater.

Low-maintenance pets, compared

Cost in the first year and every year after, floor space, daily care time, lifespan and how each one feels about being handled. Filter to what you can give.

Compare 62 pets
AnimalFirst yearLives
Betta fish$181–$3573–5 years
Leopard gecko$509–$92815–20 years
Budgie$457–$9858–12 years
Rabbit$648–$1,4388–12 years