Adult and Neonate Pygmy vivs (Description)&(Pics)

[kdc5019]

Hey so with all the talk about pygmy vivs and enclosures, i thought i would share a few of mine. I've had great success with this type of setup over the years. Plenty of leaf litter, twigs, vines, live vegetation and Shady spots.

The first picture I have one male and one female housed in. (I have a bunch of them all very similar) It is an 18x18x24 exoterra. Perfect for keeping the humidity up and still having enough height to get a temperature gradient. The top of my tank never reaches more than 76 and the bottom of my tanks are closer to 67. I have a dual light fixture on top with t5ho 6% arcadia, and a 6500k.

The second picture is of a grow out tank for baby brevs. It is an exoterra nano vivarium that is 8x8x12. They work perfect for baby pygmys as they get lost very easily in a larger viv. They can find and hunt food very easily, and you can put a few hatchlings/neonates in one as long as its heavily planted. Once they get to old enough, they graduate into larger vivs.


The third picture is of one of my female brevs who is on day 26 of her gestation. She will be ready to lay any day now. You can really see in this pic, how large their stomach distend with just a few eggs in their bellys.

Hope you enjoy!

 

[MelissaB]

Thank you for posting pics of your setups. Mama is huge!

 

[kdc5019]

Yes little mama is huge!

 

[Hakai]

Awesome enclosures! I really like how you have the cork on three sides in the first one. And thank you for posting the bulging female. I'm planning on breeding brevs in the future and one of my concerns was being able to tell when she lays. This pic makes me waaay less concerned as its quite obvious that she's eating for more than just herself

EDIT: lol i just realized its you... of course you already know I'm planning on breeding, I keep running into you random places, kyle...

 

[kdc5019]

Awesome enclosures! I really like how you have the cork on three sides in the first one. And thank you for posting the bulging female. I'm planning on breeding brevs in the future and one of my concerns was being able to tell when she lays. This pic makes me waaay less concerned as its quite obvious that she's eating for more than just herself

EDIT: lol i just realized its you... of course you already know I'm planning on breeding, I keep running into you random places, kyle...

haha yes Ben, the phanton Pygmy man lol.

I really like the Cork Background as well, it provides a more "secure" environement for them. They like to feel safe and with a wide open glass cage that wont happen.

And you can easily tell about half way through gestation they will start to "bloat" as it appears. Their colors also change. There is a HUGE difference in size after the little ladies lay, you can visably tell, as long as your paying attention to the detail.

Just a word of caution, when i first started i had moss covering the bottom of my cage, and all the dirt mixes and stuff were under it, so there was no place for my girls to dig. Make sure you leave a corner of your viv with dirt exposed, 1) so that its easy to find the eggs, and you dont need to rip apart your entire viv to find the little tic tacs, and two so that they have a place to lay.

I have tried before to provide a laying bin, but they never seem interested they always dig right next to base of a plant for some reason.

 

[MelissaB]

Do you leave the front corner exposed for ease of retrieval, or do the girls prefer the back of the enclosure for privacy?

 

[kdc5019]

Do you leave the front corner exposed for ease of retrieval, or do the girls prefer the back of the enclosure for privacy?

This is tricky question because I contemplated both and I did both.

The best results ive had are with an area about the size of your hand(ish) not covered by moss, right next to the base of a rooting plant. Mine are about half way back in depth in my vivs and right next to side of the corkboard. I usually try to put alittle extra leaf litter around that area with smaller twigs providing them paths to get into the dirt, and this method has worked the best for me so far. Im sure there are other ways to do it, but this is what works for me.

 

[MelissaB]

Thank you.

 

[Hakai]

Where are the cork tiles from? Are they a local hardware store type deal or a pet store thing. Just don't wanna get anything toxic.

 

[kdc5019]

I got mine off of amazon they were cheaper than the local arts and craft stores like AC Moore and Michaels.

 

[NHenn]

Any cork will work but I recommend you get them from Acedepot. You can order them from Amazon too but the ones they ship are not the same as Acedepot's. I purchased both and quickly realized the ones from amazon will cup when they get wet and the double sided tap doesn't hold so they constantly fall off.

Here is the link: http://www.acedepot.com/board-dudes-12-x-12-dark-cork-tiles-4-pack-82va-4.html

 

[Hakai]

Awesome, I'll look into it. Thanks!

 

[kdc5019]

Yes I have the same ones that Nick is talking about! Thanks for providing a link!

 

[critterguy]

Do you pull and incubate the eggs I assume? It seems people are torn on leaving in the enclosure vs removing.

How many pygmys do you keep?

 

[kdc5019]

Do you pull and incubate the eggs I assume? It seems people are torn on leaving in the enclosure vs removing.

How many pygmys do you keep?

Yes I pull and incubate the eggs. With proper incubation temps you can get a quicker hatch time. But I pull them because I know where they lay since I only provide one spot for them. So they are easy to find.

I have 2.4 Pygmys and some eggs incubating from each.

 

[critterguy]

What temperatures do you incubate at?

What sex ratios are you getting from resultant offspring?

Also, what feeding/supplementing regime do you use for your adults?

Do you find females continue to lay fertile clutches without a male present?

 

[kdc5019]

What temperatures do you incubate at?

What sex ratios are you getting from resultant offspring?

Also, what feeding/supplementing regime do you use for your adults?

Do you find females continue to lay fertile clutches without a male present?

Incubation temps are something that ive played with based off of others recommendations and what I have read in literature. I get a quickest hatch times incubating at a straight 74-75. They typically hatch in 50-60 days. If the temp is lower like room temp 70-72ish they take a little longer to hatch in my experience, closer to 70-80ish days. Also if your temps get too high more thatn 76, ive had much lower hatch rates, so getting too high is risky. And there are always a few outliers, some just need those 90 days to finally emerge.

Sex ratios are all hit or miss for me, I havnt really kept track, but by memory I could have a clutch of 3 males and 1 female, or 1 female and 3 males, its all over the place. Ratios are hard to gauge when they only lay a few eggs at a time. Sometimes you may only get 2 eggs, so its not safe to assume a ratio.

Supplementation-I gutload all my crickets with Bug Burger. And then I use Repashy "All-in-One” Calcium Supplement with added Vitamins, Trace Minerals, and Carotenoids for Dusting Insects. No need for a Separate Vitamin Supplement, with every feeding.

UVB-Is a topic for discussion for Pygmys (you can consider this to be supplementation as well). Some literature says its not required, some say it is. I use Arcadia 6% T5ho's over top of my pygmy vivs along with a 6500k. And I do catch them "basking" under the UVB from time to time. Other times they go and hide in the shade. I have all my pygmy lights set on every other day timers. Meaning My 6500k light is always on during the day for "daylight" and plant growth. Where as my UVB I only have come on Everyother day.

I cant say if females will lay an infertile clutch when a male isnt present, as after they lay, I have them in a serpeate Viv for a 2 weeks and then I put them back in their large viv.

 

[MelissaB]

Lots of great information. Do you separate the female for two weeks, so she has an easier recovery from laying the eggs?

 

[Dooley1]

They look good! I use silocone sealant from Home Depot or Lowe's to fasten the cork tiles to the Exo Terras. If you get clear it will not be conspicuous & will provide a very secure long-term hold. Those cork tiles are great

 

[kdc5019]

Lots of great information. Do you separate the female for two weeks, so she has an easier recovery from laying the eggs?

Yes, as soon as she lays, a male will be right back on top of her. They need some alone time and extra TLC. It's very stressful for these little guys to lay eggs.

They look good! I use silocone sealant from Home Depot or Lowe's to fasten the cork tiles to the Exo Terras. If you get clear it will not be conspicuous & will provide a very secure long-term hold. Those cork tiles are great

Thanks for the tip Kevin! I just used the little sticky squares that came with them. And after they started to fall down after a few days I just proped them up with branches. Silicone sounds like a great idea. Thanks!