Kinyongia Tavetana

[Lizardlover]

Hi all, I have eying a male theyve had at the local reptile store for months now. He is a w/c but Ive seen him eat, drink, and if he had something wrong with him hed be gone by now, I have not found much good information on their care, besides reading their adcham profile, any tips on keeping them for those who have them. I know they like it relatively cool with a high humidity, but they seem pretty resilient, in this guys time at the pet shop he has changed between 3 cages, for a while he was in a glass cage, he seems to have a hot heat lamp, I dont know how much longer he can do that for. He has been dewormed.

Lately he has had his eyes closed under the heat lamp, but quickly opens them when he feels someone presence, is this just from being in the poor husbandry for too long, is it a sign of something more severe, I hope to pick him up if things go as planned.

thanks in advance.

 

[CNorton]

Hi all, I have eying a male theyve had at the local reptile store for months now. He is a w/c but Ive seen him eat, drink, and if he had something wrong with him hed be gone by now, I have not found much good information on their care, besides reading their adcham profile, any tips on keeping them for those who have them. I know they like it relatively cool with a high humidity, but they seem pretty resilient, in this guys time at the pet shop he has changed between 3 cages, for a while he was in a glass cage, he seems to have a hot heat lamp, I dont know how much longer he can do that for. He has been dewormed.

Lately he has had his eyes closed under the heat lamp, but quickly opens them when he feels someone presence, is this just from being in the poor husbandry for too long, is it a sign of something more severe, I hope to pick him up if things go as planned.

thanks in advance.

I would think that it is a sign of something more severe. Chams that are healthy don't close their eyes during the day. I would be very skeptical of a pet store that says they deworm. I'm not saying that they do not, I'm just saying beware. Many animals taken from the wild don't do well in captivity and even more...to be medicated is an added stress.

If you're committed to buying the cham, you might as well schedule a vet appt and go straight there from the pet store. You are correct, lower temps will be one of the first changes you'll need to make. I would think a backing of 80 F would be ideal and the ambients 60-75 F depending on who you talk to. Jared (Cainschams) keeps Tavetana and he uses a fan to constantly move the air and keep things fresh for them. This is just my two cents...hopefully others will chime in.

 

[Lizardlover]

He was treated with panacur, they sell it at the store and they are reputable, I am weary now that I see him with his eyes closed, he is very well hydrated and fed, he still eats and drinks, Ill have to see how hes doing when I go in again this week.

the fan thing wont be a problem, I run one all day.

 

[Chase]

And, he is selling some of his CH Tevetana, so you know they have a better chance than a WC

 

[Lizardlover]

And, he is selling some of his CH Tevetana, so you know they have a better chance than a WC

yeah, but my point is, this guy has been doing so good and looks really healthy, I wanna take him up before things go downhill. Hes been in the store doing well for about 4 months now.

 

[Chase]

But what if he is starting to go downhill now? You already said you were weary about buying it just in case, why not just buy the CH, and know you may not have problems that you may have with a WC? I'm not trying to stray you from getting it, but, maybe watch it for another week or two, or longer, make sure you can take care of him properly, then if he still is alive, and looks to be in good health, I say get him.

 

[Cainschams]

Honestly, your best bet was to have picked him up 3 months ago! Sounds like a pretty healthy specimen to have been there that long. The sitting under the basking lamp eyes closed is not a good sign though. I have had them come in and look decent but sit under the basking lamp all day and decline quickly. Is he sitting there every time you go in? Ive noticed they do like to bask quite a bit but not real long periods. More here and there through out the day.

I keep mine with temps at the bottom of the cage at 70 degrees with it raising to around 77 at top and 82 to 85 basking. Usually on the lower side. humidity is usually around 70 in day and over 90 at night. In their habitat it does get below 50% mid day but I noticed they stay hydrated much better with higher humidity.

The CH do seem pretty resilient so far. The longest I have kept a WC was 6 months. This was 1 out of 11 I think This girl was by far the nicest and youngest one I have received. She laid 2 clutches. After the second one she died 2 weeks to a month afterward. She seemed fine. Eating, drinking and bulking back up after she laid. I found her dead with no warning signs of her health declining.

This species is so underrated. Females are complete biatches and they will stand their ground. They will not hesitate to bite either but its not bad at all

 

[Lizardlover]

that is the first time I saw him doing that. I have been doing some thinking and I think I may have to consider a CH He does move around alot, and I always see him eating.

 

[Cainschams]

Wow!!! I type slow.....or maybe think slow

Chad is right about the fan. As humid as my room gets I do not want it to get stagnant in their. I think its good for any species as long as its not blowing right on the cages.

CH is definitely the way to go!! But you may have luck also with the one in the shop. Its hard to tell As I said though I do not like the idea of him closing the eyes under the basking spot. The WC I had and the CH ones seem to have pretty good skills when it comes to knowing when its too hot. I usually find they use the spot lamp in the mornings and the uvb/plant tubes away from the basking spot when ambient temps warm up. This leads me to believe that its not closing its eyes due to heat.

I also forgot to mention I give them a temp drop of around 55 at night. I have not reset the highs and lows on my thermometer for some time and the low is 53 degrees