I have 4 Balkan Green Lizards (Lacerta trilineata trilineata) in two terrariums - one couple in each terrarium. I had a few of our Central European Green Lizards (Lacerta bilineata) in one of my first terrariums when I was a teenager, and they have been my favourites since then. My Balkan Green Lizards originate from Greece, to be more concrete, their grandparents came from the Feneos area in Peleponnes.

adult male (click to enlarge)

adult female (click to enlarge)

habitate in Greece (click to enlarge)

adult female (click to enlarge)

Terrarium 1 / 2

Terrarium 1  is a glass terrarium with the dimensions of  47 x 24 x 24 inches (120 x 60 x 60 cm, L x W x H). It is connected with  a smaller terrarium (40 x 11 x 18 inches) by a flexible plastic tube. This way the lizards can change from one terrarium into the other whenever they feel to, e.g. for sunbathing (the smaller terrarium is located directly at the window), or to hunt, or simply to be for themselves for a while.

terrarium 1 (click to enlarge)

rerrarium 2 (click to enlarge)

terrarium 1, at a previous time (click to enlarge)

terrariums 1 und 2 (click to enlarge)

Plants and decoration

My aim is to set up my terrariums as close to nature as possible. I am not a fan of plastic stones from the pet shop, neither of sterile sand, or whatsoever. In the natural habitats in south-east Europe, the Balkan Green Lizard prefers grassland that is rich of bushes or undergrowth, with lots of hides and place for sunbathing, like  planks, cut trees, or stones. Their green colour is a clear indication for their love of dense plant growth.

For this reason I have a lot of plants in my terrariums, but I put these into flowerpots that are sank into the soil. This way it is easy to replace a plant or to put it out to the garden to recover. Since the light intensity in a terrarium even with high quality lighting is far below  the values in the real sunlight, most plants that blossom in the natural habitat cannot survive in the terrarium. Good are undemanding plants like Benjamin's fig, ivy or some small conifers. Delicate plants like flowers or herbs can easily be crushed by the lizards, so I put in a few artificial flowers to add some colour. 

Lighting

The larger terrarium is equipped with a 70 watts HQI light (NDL) and a 150 watts HQI (NDL). In addition, three bulb sockets host an Arcadia UV lamp and two 50 watts halogen spots. All lamps are controlled by timers to have different lighting combinations for different times of the day.

Temperaturs in the beam of these halogen spots are about  105° F, while the tempereature is about 70 - 90° elsewhere.

The second terrarium is on the window sill so there is no need for much artificial lighting, with the exception of a halogen spot for sunbathing.

Terrarium 3

This terraium has the dimensions 47 x 24 x 30 inches. The biggest part of the back is covered with a cork oak board on which the lizards can climb. Some rocks are used to separate from the 'plant area'  under a strong HQI lamp. The  left part holds a little water basin (8 x 11"). A little pump behind a flat stone pumps once every day for a few minutes water through a hose and back through a bamboo into the basin. The hose leads along the plants,  and some holes in the hose help to water the plants. Just like in terraium 1, there are additionally some artificial plants as delicate plants like flowers or herbs can easily be crushed by the lizards.

terrarium 3 (click to enlarge)

The meadow area (click to enlarge)

water basin  (click to enlarge)

male left, female right (click to enlarge)

Lighting

This terrarium features a 70 watts HQI lamp (NDL), a 150 watts HQI lamp (NDL) and a 150 watts halogen lamp. All lamps are controlled by timers to realize different light at different day time.