I got a 50gal tank for my giant plated lizard. I am want to set it up near as possible to his natural habitat. If anyone has any ideas or even pictures I would gratefully appreciate it.

You could do something similar to a naturalistic leopard gecko habitat, only on a much larger scale. Plated lizards are usually found in hot, dry, rocky habitats. Slate is a great type of rock for this, but other rocks can be used too. You could use crushed slate as the substrate, but I would make sure none of the pieces are small enough to be swallowed.

Zoo Med recently came out with a new substrate available that I believe is clay based, and allows you to form burrows. This would be excellent for a plated lizard. It's called Zoo Med Excavator. Be sure that if you use this, do not stack large rocks over burrows, but rather leave that space open or bury the base of the rock so it's already touching the floor bottom.

Driftwood and other sturdy branches can be used for climbing on as well, and provide a water bowl. Do not use gravel, as a substrate, as this can be easily swallowed, and you'll get mixed views on sand, but the first two substrates I listed would be safer. Be sure to provide hides too, in the form of rock caves, plants, and burrows, but don't overcrowd the tank either.

A basking spot should be provided, and the temperature should reach around 100 degrees F. The gradient for the rest of the tank, I've gotten a few different opinions on that, but could probably be kept around 80-90 degrees, and at night it could fall to the mid 70's. Personally, my yellow-throated plated lizard's habitat was never quite that hot, yet she was quite healthy. Make sure you provide UVB lighting as well. In your case, you may wish to go with a mercury vapor bulb rather than a fluorescent.

I also moved your thread to the habitats section. You may get more suggestions there.

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Ty
. Furryscaly I will check on getting the zoo med excavator. And think you for moving my post to the correct forum. I am still new here.

No problem There's nothing wrong with posting it in the forum you did, since it is about plated lizards. But more specifically this thread is about setting up a natural habitat, so it might get more views from people who have good habitat ideas if it's in this forum.

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I used the excavator clay for my schneider skink, it is real cool, and gives a great effect, but it can get a bit pricey.
If I get a plated lizard, (which I may because once I bump my boa into a bigger tank i'll have a empty 55 gallon tank and lid and I think there really cool lizards) i'll probaly go with excavator clay on the bottom, with pieces of slate and large rock stuck in it haphazardly, giving a rocky habitat while still having something underneath, and lots of hides and things to climb over.
It would be tricky, but the effect would be rather cool, and from what i've read on them theyed love it.

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