Mt. Meru Husbandry

[jrath]

I've noticed lately that there are a lot of members out there having success with Mt. Meru's, and even lots of babies!! I just wanted to try to get some group input from all of those members on your husbandry and keys to your success so that I can offer mine the best possible care. So... I have a few questions if you don't mind.

What temps do you stick to, basking and ambient?
What is your supplement schedule, for both adults and juveniles?
How much of a night time temp drop do you allow?

Any other pointers or tips you might have would be greatly appreciated too!
Hopefully with all of these groups that everyone has we will be able to get a good CB population started here in the states and if everyone shares some of there knowledge of them we might all have a better chance of that.

Thanks,
Justin

 

[Psychobunny]

I have used the same care instructions for jackson's.
I dont have the link, but just find the jackson's care sheet on the forum and use that.
The only difference is, they are small, and do not need as large a cage as
a jacksons.
Supplimenting, temps, humidity, etc. are all the same as for jax.

 

[kameleons jvo]

They prefer cooler temperatures than other jacksonii species and a sharp drop at night.

 

[Saldarya]

To mirror the above statements, basic husbandry about the same except for temps.

They do like to bask, especially my female, but at night, I get them into the 50's from a ambient room temp of mid 70's during the day.

So, a 15-20 degree drop at night. I do think this is key for breeding and such. Maybe not necessary to keep them as 'pets', but for breeding, i think it is important.

 

[kameleons jvo]

Xanto and jack jack lives in lower areas as merus.
When my trappers collect merumontanus for me on Mount Meru they told me at night its almost freezing to give you an idea how it cools down.

 

[nick barta]

Bobby,

I would be interested in how you get that much of a swing in temps every night, year round. I would guess you would have to move the chams to a different room than the room you keep all the other species that do not need a drop?

Nick

 

[Saldarya]

Bobby,

I would be interested in how you get that much of a swing in temps every night, year round. I would guess you would have to move the chams to a different room than the room you keep all the other species that do not need a drop?

Nick

Pretty close Nick. I currently have all of the Chams in a large shop. I do have that divided however with the cooler needs species in one area and panthers in the other. There is about a 5 degree differential in the two areas.

I have a large AC unit on the room. In the winter, I can open the vents and with all the insulation, can get it to the the mid 50's at night. Once all the lights and such come on in the day, the AC hols the room at 72.

In the summer, I move the day time temps up to 76. The AC can then get the room down to about 59 at night.

Again, it seems that the differential is the key here.

Moving forward, I wil probably build a seperate building for the panthers as their numbers grow. This will help with placement of cages and having to divide the current room.

HTH,

 

[jrath]

Thanks for the input Bobby and Jurgen.
The night time temp drop info is very helpful, I knew they liked it cooler at night but didn't realize how much!
Do you guys vary your suplemention any from a xanth or do you stick to the same schedule?
Any other info is greatly appreciated.