REPTIZOO Large Reptile Terrarium 120 Gallon, Tall & Wide Tempered Glass Reptile Tank 48" x 24" x 24" with Sliding Door Top Screen Ventilation & Anti Escape Lid, Full View

Why it's worth it

A 48-by-24-by-24-inch tempered glass terrarium with all-glass sides, front sliding doors and a fully removable screen top. It hits the 120-gallon adult target with more vertical room than most, and the wide-woven screen lets more UVB through than a fine mesh would.

Glass earns its place when you actually want to watch the animal. The side panels here are glass rather than mesh, so the enclosure reads as a window instead of a cage, and owners keeping dragons and snakes keep coming back to the clarity and the smooth sliding doors. If this thing is living in your living room, that matters more than any spec on the box.

The extra six inches of height buy you more than decorating room. At 24 inches tall you can mount a T5 HO tube above the screen and still land in the distance range ReptiFiles recommends for a basking-surface UVI around 4 to 6. You also get room to stack a basking platform, which is how you build a proper hot spot without parking the bulb right on top of your dragon.

From our review of 3 bearded dragon terrariums, by James Bennett, Associate Editor

What we like

• +Glass earns its place when you actually want to watch the animal
• +The extra six inches of height buy you more than decorating room
• +The trade-off is heat
• +Assembly is the recurring complaint

What to know

• –It's heavy, and once it's built you're not moving it by yourself
• –Running costs go the other way from the sticker