Cristatus Are Here

[Brad Ramsey]

My T. cristatus pair arrived about an hour ago and they look great.
The picture of the female is terrible but I didn't want to spend any more time trying to get pictures ... I needed to get them into their new enclosure.
They have both been drinking and have eaten.
The female is a bit thin (Mike had already warned me of this) but I think she will acclimate fine and I am encouraged by the fact that she is eating.
She is also gravid
The male is in beautiful condition.
They are WC.

-Brad

edit: Mike found these for me in about a week, totally came through for me on this request and I am extremely appreciative!

 

[eisentrauti]

Amazing, Brad. But please seperate her as fast as possible from the male when sh's gravid

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

Congratulations, Brad. I love the looks of that species. You generally are very good about posting updates so I hope we'll be seeing a lot of these guys!

 

[Sancho]

Nice! I've never seen those before. That male has some nice colors on his head can't wait to see more pictures once they settle in.

 

[Cainschams]

They are a beautiful species!!! I hope that gravid girl does well for you and male definatly looks good. One thing I noticed was one of my females would vibrate really fast before she would shoot at a feeder. Definatly an awesome site to see!! Im sure you will do great with them

 

[chams1]

Excellent!! Thanks for sharing the pics, Brad. I wish you all the best of luck with these guys! Do share more of their progress...... and babies!

 

[haleybobl]

Fantastic! Can't wait to hear how they do.

 

[chamelisa]

Awesome chameleons. I love them. I'll post another thread so I don't hijack this one with my own photos.

 

[Syn]

Can I preorder 20? Good luck with these!

 

[eisentrauti]

Too much money ?

 

[chameleonneeds]

Congrats Brad they are very beautiful

 

[warpdrive]

congrats Brad.
keep us updated on them please.

Harry

 

[DylanN]

Amazing, Brad. But please seperate her as fast as possible from the male when sh's gravid

OMG seriously, i think he knows what hes doing.

 

[eisentrauti]

And I think that I know what I'm writing

 

[Pure]

Very nice! Love the colors on the male.

 

[bigcappa]

Wow Brad they are both amazing animals keep us updated on how they are doing and yes that male is gorgeous...
-Dave

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Update:

So far so good, it's only been a couple of days but the female is looking better all the time!
They seem to have no fear of people at all and are readily hand feeding.
Benny, I am keeping them together but I am watching things closely. There appears to be no stress or aggression from either animal. They keep to themselves and rarely cross paths.
Neils Pedersen reports in his article on the e-zine that he was unaware that his female was gravid and kept his together. His female was aggressive toward the male ... so far mine is not.
I will separate them if I sense that they are stressed or would otherwise benefit from being alone.
The enclosure is heavily planted and most of the time they cannot even see each other.
I am not going to worry about treating for parasites until after the female has laid. You can see the shape of eggs through her skin so it shouldn't be too much longer ... I do not know what the gestation period is between mating and laying for this species and obviously do not know how long since she mated.
No new pictures at this point, but they will come soon!

-Brad

 

[chamelisa]

I really think you should house them separately. The males are not as aggressive as the females in my experience.

I rarely keep chameleons in pairs or trios. Right now, only babies share cages. You can still put them together for breeding. You will actually know right away if it's going to happen. And I really feel that the less they see of each other, the better the chances are at breeding them.

Just my two cents.

Elisa

Update:

So far so good, it's only been a couple of days but the female is looking better all the time!
They seem to have no fear of people at all and are readily hand feeding.
Benny, I am keeping them together but I am watching things closely. There appears to be no stress or aggression from either animal. They keep to themselves and rarely cross paths.
Neils Pedersen reports in his article on the e-zine that he was unaware that his female was gravid and kept his together. His female was aggressive toward the male ... so far mine is not.
I will separate them if I sense that they are stressed or would otherwise benefit from being alone.
The enclosure is heavily planted and most of the time they cannot even see each other.
I am not going to worry about treating for parasites until after the female has laid. You can see the shape of eggs through her skin so it shouldn't be too much longer ... I do not know what the gestation period is between mating and laying for this species and obviously do not know how long since she mated.
No new pictures at this point, but they will come soon!

-Brad

 

[chamelisa]

OMG seriously, i think he knows what hes doing.

It is important that we can all share our experiences and opinions. First thing I thought of is "oh no, he doesn't realize how that female could go after him." On another note, you have to understand that these animals need to acclimate and if you reduce ALL stressors, you have a much better chance. If you don't give them enough time to truly acclimate, you could lose one or both.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

It is important to share information and help each other out.
That is really what the forums are for.
I have not kept this species and I am definitely soliciting help/advice.
I did post a thread before I got them with a picture of the enclosure and my plan to house them together ... seemed to be okay with everyone then.
I don't think it is a new idea to keep this species as a pair, however, a couple of things have made a lot of sense to me ... the reducing of as much stress as possible during the acclimation period, and the fact that she is gravid.
After some conversation with Trace last night, I have decided that the smartest way to address this is by creating a densely planted rubbermaid tub for the female. This will make it easy for me to collect the eggs as well as giving her a secure, private environment.
I do intend to keep them together after a period of acclimation and after the eggs are laid. Again, I watch my animals closely and if that does end up creating problems I will separate them.
I appreciate everyone's help and advice.

-Brad