pygmy enclosure and species advice

[roguekiller23231]

i have a large fish tank that i'm going to be emptying and making a home for 2 pygmy's, unsure of which as i'm torn between 2 (advice on which would be nice!) Rhampholeon Kerstenii/Kenya Pygmy or Rhampholeon Brevicaudatus/Bearded Pygmy, and will be a breeding pair.

the fish tank i have is just over 1 meter long, and quite deep, so what should i do? do they like to be 'lost' in the enclosure with lots and lots of stuff, or can i just put a few things in there to make them comfortable, but still be able to find them!

should i make the plants and other things in the enclosure as high as possible? or would they prefer a more ground cover??

i'm getting clay balls to put at the bottom of the tank, but not sure how deep i should make it, then i'm going to be putting a plastic membrane and some coco fiber as a substrate, since they are going to be a breeding pair, how deep should i make the coco fiber?

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

I'll save you the struggle on the species. Nobody has captive kerstenii. Someone over thinks they do and sells them as such, but they're actually brevs. I've never seen or heard of kerstenii in captivity. So go with brevs.

The clay balls only need to be 1-2 inches deep. And I usually add 3-5 inches of coco soil. They like lots of stuff! If they feel like they can get lost easily they will actually come out more where you can see them because they feel protected. So lots of plants and sticks and such!

 

[roguekiller23231]

i'm getting them online and is a reliable site.

am i right in thinking that you are saying they are just selling the same species by by a diffrent name?

are they harder to breed? because the reason i'm torn between the 2 species is because they are the exact same price.

thanks for the advice though!!

 

[dragongoddess]

Again in the UK. I can never find pygmies in the US anymore.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

i'm getting them online and is a reliable site.

am i right in thinking that you are saying they are just selling the same species by by a diffrent name?

are they harder to breed? because the reason i'm torn between the 2 species is because they are the exact same price.

thanks for the advice though!!

Do they have pictures posted on the site? And yes, someone in the UK breeds and sells pygmies labeled as kerstenii, but they're actually just brevs. I don't think they do this intentionally, I think they actually think they have kerstenii. Several people from the UK have posted pics of their new kerstenii from this person and they've all been brevs.

I don't know if anyone knows the answer to the last question because no one I know of has ever had them. So I would be tempted to say brevs are easier, if nothing else because people have experience with them and can offer advice about them. No one can do that if you have kerstenii (that is it they are actually kerstenii).

 

[roguekiller23231]

i'm getting them from pygmychameleonshop

i'm also waiting for a local pet shop that is getting some in to email me, but i dont know which species they are getting just yet, been waiting for an email from them for a few days so might be getting some from a pet shop rather than online.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

The pygmies pictured under R. kerstenii on their site are 100% R. brevicaudatus.

 

[dragongoddess]

Only non-copy right image I could find.

Kerstenii have a different head and body shape.

Chris Anderson has some great pics on his site.
http://www.chamaeleonidae.com
Chamaeleonidae pics- page 4

 

[Shawntea]

I agree with Ferret the Kenya pygmies on that website are brevs. Brevs are super fun to keep though so buy those properly labeled brevs and save yourself some frustration at receiving incorrectly labeled animals. I had this problem when I bought my first pair they were labeled as brevs and ended up being temporalis.

 

[pssh]

I believe first choice reptiles imported some verified kerstenii, but I don't know if anyone/who got them. That was a few months ago if I remember correctly.

 

[Chameleon88]

Hi I am looking to purchase chameleons from the same site and wondered if you had purchased from there, and if so how the chameleons were doing?
Thanks