First chameleon -bearded pygmy

[k2power]

I picked up an adult male bearded pygmy last week off Craigslist. The previous owner had it for about 6 months so I know it has eaten at some point and it was and still is kept in a 12x12x18 ExoTerra. It gets misted once or twice daily and has a drip system dripping very slowly at all times after I acquired it. It does drink but I have yet to see it eat and it is being kept between 67 (night) and 68-69 (daytime). It is in our main room by a window and gets little if any dirct sun from it. I was wondering if the temps are OK. I saw on care sheets they seem good but wondered if kept slightly too cool or the lack of change had any bearing on feeding. It appears in good health but has a dark coloration most of the time. Is it stressed from seeing out the window possibly. It likes that side of the cage best. The cage has been reorganized but is the same with only a few adornments added. The spider room is kept around 75-80 degrees and is very dry so that is my only other option as far as temps but seems too high. I have not seen it eat yet and wondered how often other owners observe theirs eating. It is certainly not like my eye-lidded geckos that tear their cage up chasing crickets. I have the smallest crickets available at stores running around in the chameleon cage.

 

[davthevieled]

http://www.repticzone.com/caresheets/1934.html

Welcome to the world of chams and glad to see you around!

When it comes to pygmies... this is what I found on the net as a care sheet. It states as follows...

"The temperatures should range from around 82 - 86 degrees Fahrenheit in the evenings, and drop to a MINIMUM of 68 - 72 at night. The humidity needs to be around 45 - 55 during the evenings, generally there needs to be a low humidity seeing as this breed of chameleon is found in mid Africa around Tanzania." - Reptizone

It might be that the temps you listed are a bit low, I wouldn't know 100% about them because I myself never have had any pygmies before but this should be correct.

 

[k2power]

That seems high compared to what I have seen on a few other sites...FLChams and others. What do some pygmy keepers think I should do? I don't know its age so it could just be getting old.

 

[cosmic charlie]

thats a really high temp for pygmies. It should never really go above 80. Nighttime drops in the upper 60's is fine. At least my pygmies seem to do well in it.

 

[k2power]

How about 68-70 for highs and 67 or 66 as a nightime low. That is our room temp in the non-tarantula room and I could bump to 70-71 or so maybe and a drop to 67 or 66. Would my current temps of 68-70 as highs be contributing to its not eating? It seems almost right and id does drink regularly. It could also be shy and not let me observe it eat. Being new to chameleons I want to get as many variables out of the question as possible.

 

[Trace]

There's a reason we call it SepticZone

Here's a few excellent articles on all things stump tail:

http://chameleonnews.com/05DecRouthouska.html

http://chameleonnews.com/07FebHildenhagen.html

http://chameleonnews.com/05JunRouthouska.html

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

"The temperatures should range from around 82 - 86 degrees Fahrenheit in the evenings, and drop to a MINIMUM of 68 - 72 at night. The humidity needs to be around 45 - 55 during the evenings, generally there needs to be a low humidity seeing as this breed of chameleon is found in mid Africa around Tanzania." - Reptizone

Whoa, whoa, whoa! I'm not sure where you found that info but you should not look at it again because all of that is wrong! They are indeed found in that area, but in the mountainous rainforests where it is cool and very humid. Temps should be no higher than 80 ever and my pygs enjoy upper 60s/low 70s the best. Humidity should remain around 70% and not drop below 50%. So your current temps sound perfect!

For the first few months I never saw my pygs eat. Just watch for feces and loose crickets to judge their activity. If you don't see the crickets you've given them then they are probably being eaten. I don't use a dripper on mine because they eagerly drink dew droplets from misting. But if you see him using the dripper then it can't hurt. I just worry about drainage because if there is too much water in the substrate it will mold.

The links that Trace posted are excellent resources. I like the first one especially. Could you pose some pictures of your setup? Sometimes the way the cage is arranged can make them stressed. They like thick plants and lots of little sticks for highways. And we can tell you if it's male or female.

 

[Shawntea]

Whoa, whoa, whoa! I'm not sure where you found that info but you should not look at it again because all of that is wrong! They are indeed found in that area, but in the mountainous rainforests where it is cool and very humid. Temps should be no higher than 80 ever and my pygs enjoy upper 60s/low 70s the best. Humidity should remain around 70% and not drop below 50%. So your current temps sound perfect!

For the first few months I never saw my pygs eat. Just watch for feces and loose crickets to judge their activity. If you don't see the crickets you've given them then they are probably being eaten. I don't use a dripper on mine because they eagerly drink dew droplets from misting. But if you see him using the dripper then it can't hurt. I just worry about drainage because if there is too much water in the substrate it will mold.

The links that Trace posted are excellent resources. I like the first one especially. Could you pose some pictures of your setup? Sometimes the way the cage is arranged can make them stressed. They like thick plants and lots of little sticks for highways. And we can tell you if it's male or female.

ferret has the temps and humidity correct. Mine took about 3 weeks until they ate from my hand, but I keep them in a quiet room away from activity. do you have hydroballs in the bottom of the viv to help with excess water from dripper?

 

[davthevieled]

Whoa, whoa, whoa! I'm not sure where you found that info but you should not look at it again because all of that is wrong! They are indeed found in that area, but in the mountainous rainforests where it is cool and very humid. Temps should be no higher than 80 ever and my pygs enjoy upper 60s/low 70s the best. Humidity should remain around 70% and not drop below 50%. So your current temps sound perfect!

For the first few months I never saw my pygs eat. Just watch for feces and loose crickets to judge their activity. If you don't see the crickets you've given them then they are probably being eaten. I don't use a dripper on mine because they eagerly drink dew droplets from misting. But if you see him using the dripper then it can't hurt. I just worry about drainage because if there is too much water in the substrate it will mold.

The links that Trace posted are excellent resources. I like the first one especially. Could you pose some pictures of your setup? Sometimes the way the cage is arranged can make them stressed. They like thick plants and lots of little sticks for highways. And we can tell you if it's male or female.

The link I posted is where I found the info and I also posted saying I didn't know if it was correct or not as I do not own pygmies myself. I saw it and posted it because of the differences between one and another just in case to be helpful.

 

[k2power]

Here is the cage. I can't get a good close-up of the animal. It is male I am almost certain. It has a slightly scallop-ridged back and narrower less round body and a longer narrower tail than female photos I have seen.

The dripper drips about 1 drop per minute. Very little water has left the reservoir since i started it. So far it doesn't seem that water build up will be a problem yet.

 

[Shawntea]

almost looks like a temporalis from that picture.

 

[brandychams]

temps are great as stated but i would add a lot more foliage and lots of sticks that they can get around on that may make him more comfortable

 

[k2power]

Will do on the additional foliage and add some sticks. As for the species. It has a small tubercle on its chin. Is a R. brevicaudatus the only one with a turbercle?