Advice for breeding brookesia ebenaui?

[animateash]

Seeking advice for creating optimal breeding conditions, since there isn't a lot out there on the greater internet and sometimes there's conflicting info on this species. I recently acquired a pair, ages unknown. Female looks mature size, male is a bit smaller than she is. He is definitely interested in her! Both are eating and seem to be doing great-- seemingly unstressed and casually moving about the enclosure.
I'm an experienced gecko keeper of 20 years but pygmy chams are new for me. While I'm totally fine with them being pets only, I'd love to get them to breed simply because these are so difficult to come by. Any hot tips to encourage them?
Current set up:
10 gallon with screen top
Nano basking light.
T5 5.0 UVB strip.
Hydro balls/AGB layered substrate
Natural plants with a few artificial fillers to create more hiding spots while the real things grow.
Feeding dusted Hydei and few day old crickets.
Misting once in the morning, once at 8pm before lights out.

 

[BleuSaphir]

I don’t keep ebenaui. I have it sister relative-therezieni.

I use this video and another article to keep with my approach of care.

 

[MissSkittles]

@Mendez has a busy life and isn’t around often anymore, but he also breeds the tiny chams.

 

[BleuSaphir]

@Mendez has a busy life and isn’t around often anymore, but he also breeds the tiny chams.

Michael Nash too.

 

[Beman]

Michael Nash too.

@javadi in the forum.

 

[animateash]

I don’t keep ebenaui. I have it sister relative-therezieni.

I use this video and another article to keep with my approach of care.

Great video-lots of excellent info. How long (weeks or months) are you creating the dry season and rainy season for? The importance of cycling is clear, but I haven't read any outright recommendations for the timing of it.

 

[javadi]

Great video-lots of excellent info. How long (weeks or months) are you creating the dry season and rainy season for? The importance of cycling is clear, but I haven't read any outright recommendations for the timing of it.

Below is a section of text reproduced from an article I wrote on B. thieli, but this can be applied to B. ebenaui as well. Dry season is usually 3-4 months in my hands, with a 3-4 week "ramp up period" wherein temperature and humidity/misting increases, then the rest is essentially rainy season. Ebenaui is perhaps my favorite brookesia species, but I need more males, as is almost always the case with this species.

As mentioned above, I believe simulating a wet, warm season and a cooler, drier season, is very helpful for promoting breeding in B. thieli and ensuring longevity. In the cooler, drier season, temperatures reach the low 70s F (+20 - +23 °С) during the day, and may drop to as low as 55 F (12,7 °С) at night. B. thieli seem to be slightly less active and consume fewer prey items during this time, but overall tolerate this range of temperatures quite well. During the wetter warmer season, daytime temperatures reach about 80 degrees, and nighttime temperatures reach about 67-70 F (+19,4 - +21,1 °С). During the warmer season, I try to make sure there are regions on the soil that maintain a temperature in 70-73 F (+21,1 - +22,7 °С). To accomplish this, usually no supplemental heating is needed but in some circumstances, I have also added a low-power heating pad to the bottom of the enclosure. There are always temperature gradients present in the enclosures, and typically they span about 8 degrees. For example, if the warmest part of the enclosure has an ambient temperature of 75 F (+23,89 °С), there should be cooler parts of the enclosure going as low as 68 F (+20 °С). Within a few weeks of warming the enclosure for the season, breeding tends to be triggered. I speculate that elevations in nighttime temperatures and humidity elevation are the most important triggers for breeding and signaling to B. thieli that the warmer season is arriving.

 

[javadi]

Seeking advice for creating optimal breeding conditions, since there isn't a lot out there on the greater internet and sometimes there's conflicting info on this species. I recently acquired a pair, ages unknown. Female looks mature size, male is a bit smaller than she is. He is definitely interested in her! Both are eating and seem to be doing great-- seemingly unstressed and casually moving about the enclosure.
I'm an experienced gecko keeper of 20 years but pygmy chams are new for me. While I'm totally fine with them being pets only, I'd love to get them to breed simply because these are so difficult to come by. Any hot tips to encourage them?
Current set up:
10 gallon with screen top
Nano basking light.
T5 5.0 UVB strip.
Hydro balls/AGB layered substrate
Natural plants with a few artificial fillers to create more hiding spots while the real things grow.
Feeding dusted Hydei and few day old crickets.
Misting once in the morning, once at 8pm before lights out.

I can share the full b. thieli guide if you like, as it will cover many additional elements of husbandry applicable to ebenaui. I would suggest increasing the size of feeders though-they can easily take 1/4" crickets and this seems to work best for keeping the weight on them and maintaining a healthy feeding response.

 

[animateash]

Below is a section of text reproduced from an article I wrote on B. thieli, but this can be applied to B. ebenaui as well. Dry season is usually 3-4 months in my hands, with a 3-4 week "ramp up period" wherein temperature and humidity/misting increases, then the rest is essentially rainy season. Ebenaui is perhaps my favorite brookesia species, but I need more males, as is almost always the case with this species.

As mentioned above, I believe simulating a wet, warm season and a cooler, drier season, is very helpful for promoting breeding in B. thieli and ensuring longevity. In the cooler, drier season, temperatures reach the low 70s F (+20 - +23 °С) during the day, and may drop to as low as 55 F (12,7 °С) at night. B. thieli seem to be slightly less active and consume fewer prey items during this time, but overall tolerate this range of temperatures quite well. During the wetter warmer season, daytime temperatures reach about 80 degrees, and nighttime temperatures reach about 67-70 F (+19,4 - +21,1 °С). During the warmer season, I try to make sure there are regions on the soil that maintain a temperature in 70-73 F (+21,1 - +22,7 °С). To accomplish this, usually no supplemental heating is needed but in some circumstances, I have also added a low-power heating pad to the bottom of the enclosure. There are always temperature gradients present in the enclosures, and typically they span about 8 degrees. For example, if the warmest part of the enclosure has an ambient temperature of 75 F (+23,89 °С), there should be cooler parts of the enclosure going as low as 68 F (+20 °С). Within a few weeks of warming the enclosure for the season, breeding tends to be triggered. I speculate that elevations in nighttime temperatures and humidity elevation are the most important triggers for breeding and signaling to B. thieli that the warmer season is arriving.

Excellent info--thanks so much! My pair is doing well so far and I look forward to observing them more. The male has been less pesky to the female lately and I wonder if that means a mating has already happened when i wasn't home, but I suppose that's very optimistic!