Some pygtures

hallenhe

Avid Member
Here we have Dal, slightly blurry because of the anti-camera rays she emits, but that's about as good a shot as I can get:
DSCN0896.jpg

She (and her colleagues) were out that day for me to do some cage maintenance. Here is the somewhat refurbished EcoTerra after I put them back in:
DSCN0900.jpg

The leaves in the foreground are peony; they were temporary, for clambering about on. I've had very good luck with orchids in the pygmy terrarium, and ivy has done okay. Our yard and house are being devoured by an ivy that seems delighted to put down attachments and thrive in the pyg pen.
Here's Channa, about a week old. The peculiar thing he's(?) perching on is a shallow dish of tea leaves; I add them shortly after steeping, under the eccentric theory that they might contribute to keeping moisture levels up.
DSCN1021.jpg

Finally, here's the habitat of the two baby pygs, Channa and Falafel (Falafel's on one of the leaves near the front), with a ghostly image of me reflected on the cage. I put them here for the lighting for these pictures; I do not keep them in this room, in the sun where they'd bake.
DSCN1026.jpg
 
But I'd be really afraid of breeding such small fragile ones :)
I was almost scared of them to begin with, they're so tiny; I begin to think of my adult brevs as big, sturdy things. Now they've been out and about for a week, and I don't worry about them constantly any more.
 
For the babies enclosure, what are you housing them in, looks like on of the plastic cricket keepers, but what size, and also, what are those white cup things on the ground, one of your pygmies are in them.
 
By the way, isn't ivy toxic?
I haven't really worried about it, because neither parent, offspring nor feeder insect has a strong enough bite to take a chunk out of it (these are some pretty tough leaves and vines). English ivy toxins are mostly saponins, GI irritants that can cause severe symptoms in cases of massive ingestion (i.e. housecats); I have never seen a pygmy show the least interest in a plant save as an object to clamber over, and I cannot imagine the massive ingestion scenario. However, it is something I should keep an eye on and maybe reconsider my planting; for a botanist, I have been a bit cavalier about it.
 
For the babies enclosure, what are you housing them in, looks like on of the plastic cricket keepers, but what size, and also, what are those white cup things on the ground, one of your pygmies are in them.
It is a cricket keeper. I don't have it in front of me; would say about 12"x6"x6". The white cups are the (cleaned) lids from prescription bottles; I use them as feeder cups. One holds the damp tea leaves (for humidity) that Channa is perching on; the other, nearer one holds a small piece of fruit (replaced daily) for crickets and fruit flies. I've seen the babies staking out the fruit and catching the attracted insects. The cricket keeper is temporary housing, but seems to be working okay for now.
 
Oh ok, what are you planning on housing them in, if this crickt keeper is just temporary?
I'm considering sticking with the "plastic box" theme, as it seems to work (see this thread) (I'll have to keep an eye on the humidity and see whether I can maintain appropriate levels). Ultimately, as they reach adult size, I may invest in another EcoTerra.
 
very cute! you are also very knowledgable about them, thats good to know. I get so freaked out about pygmy's cuz they are so small. IDK if this is true but i heard that even handling them gently you can easily break their limbs?!?!?! :eek: scary!
 
I'm considering sticking with the "plastic box" theme, as it seems to work (see this thread) (I'll have to keep an eye on the humidity and see whether I can maintain appropriate levels). Ultimately, as they reach adult size, I may invest in another EcoTerra.

I was going to maybe house them in a ten gallon, or just a twelve by twelve by twelve exo terra, but I thought that might even be too big.
 
My adults wander about throughout my 18x18x24 EcoTerra, and seem to utilize the space and find enough to eat; they do not need that much room, but it's certainly not hurting them. If it weren't for the fear of rogue crickets hurting them, I would have been tempted to leave the babies in the EcoTerra; the substrate is colonized by springtails and various other small goodies, and they seemed to have been out for a day or two before I found them (based on the size). I'm thinking the big EcoTerra will probably be the "display" cage, with more compact, less decorative (but fully functional) alternatives for the growing ones.

RE breaking limbs (GooglezNVincent) - I hadn't heard that, but their limbs are very thin and tiny. The babies have always been on plants or branches when I've had to move them, and I've taken the whole plant/branch/leaf. I had almost finished moving one of them - leaf and all - to his new home when he ditched the leaf for my arm; then I had to sit patiently with this tiny animal on me until I could coax him back onto a branch and put him back where he belonged.
 
Back
Top Bottom