New Pygmy are egg-bound and laying...what do I do?

[EvilLost]

Hey all,

I apologize for the double post but I just wanted to make sure this grabbed someone's attention quickly. I picked up 4 pygmy chams at the show yesterday and my 2 females are both gravid.

I put them in their tank last night and woke up to find my female laying!! I (just) read about others who COVER UP the tank during this time?? Should I not have watched her laying?

She laid 3 eggs, covered them up, and moved away from the location. However, just now I went and looked again, and she has DUG UP HER EGGS (I'm not sure if she is laying more or what?). I walked away just in case...but now I'm worried I was stressing her out earlier.

Here is a link to my original post: https://www.chameleonforums.com/got...ams-show-she-laid-morning-what-do-i-do-61513/


Any advice/info is appreciated. I have never dealt with eggs before, not entirely sure what to do!?

Also, here is a link to their pics/setup: https://picasaweb.google.com/Mani.Arabi/10GallonTestBuild?authkey=Gv1sRgCKu8j-qO3ditMg#


EDIT: I have not FED them since I brought them home yesterday (but I gave them water last night and they were THIRSTY!!)....should I NOT feed/water them for awhile until my female is completely done laying??

 

[brandychams]

hello, youve got there some bearded pygmy leaf chameleons appears 2 males and 2 females they like to eat small crickets roaches meal worms silkworms and hornworms anything a big cham would eat just small and dont worry about the eggs as long as the soil is moist they should hatch with no speciaal attention in about 90 days theyll need pin heads and fruit flies to start because theyll be soooo tiny! good luck and enjoy

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Yes, all brevs. I agree looks like 2 males, 2 females. The yellow turrets on the one is very unusual! How big is that tank? It looks really nice, but maybe a bit small for 4 brevs. If you have more than one male then it's definitely too small. There should only be one male in the group unless the tank is really, really big. I would add more foliage (something bushy) for them to be able to hide in so you don't have so much stress and aggression from them always being able to see each other regardless but you should really separate one of the males out. It's nicely designed and looks very rainforesty!

They are no doubt wild caught and as such should be left alone as much as possible for the first few months while they acclimate to captivity. Eventually they won't mind if you watch them all the time, but at the beginning I would give them as much privacy as possible, especially when they're laying.

Definitely feed and water them! Who knows what kind of conditions they were in prior to you getting them, and they're wc so they've had a long journey regardless. And a cham that's just laid eggs is going to need nourishment! Give them water several times a day for at least a week to rehydrate them. I'd feed every other day.

As for the eggs, you can either leave them buried where they are and they'll probably hatch just fine (beware, sometimes the adults see them as a snack), or you can pull them out and put them in a closet incubator (a closed Tupperware with moist vermiculite). They'll need to be in the 65-75F range. Your tank itself should be in the mid 70's or lower range as well as the adults will not tolerate temps over 80.

This is a great caresheet for pygs, specifically brevs.

Good luck with them, they're a cute little bunch. I love pygs! Feel free to ask more questions if you have them.

 

[EvilLost]

Thx ferret!

Yes they are 2.2 for sure, but the guy I got them from (at the SD Super Show) claimed that he had captive bred them...yet he couldn't name the species so I'm pretty sure they are WC.


I spent (literally) all day driving to 5 different REPTILE stores before I found fruit flies....only to come home and just "test" giving them a tiny cricket to find that they were far more interested in the cricket....what a waste of time getting the fruit flies! Well I needed some for my frogs anyway but I wasn't in a rush
Should I not bother with the FF's at all?


The tank is a 10gal. I had originally planned it for a 1.2 setup, but I just came across the 2.2 deal so I took it. I am planning on moving them to a very large 55-gallon or an 24"x24"x24" cube exo-terra tank within a week or two (I'm in the process of setting it up...just have to decide where in my house its going and which tank it will be ) In either case, I feel comfortable both of those tanks are more than large enough for a 2.2 set especially once its planted.


I have also not seen any aggression between my males at all; they pretty much ignore eachother. I'm not sure what "competitive" colors are, but neither one has been dark, both ate promptly, and are generally light grey-ish....the one that has the yellow dots on his eyes really stands out, but today I saw the other one having the same coloration, although not as strongly (He absolutely didn't have it yesterday!)




I am concerned about one of my females though. She laid at least 4 eggs this morning, but ever since then has been pretty much BLACK and staying on a twig near where she laid (she laid 3 eggs originally and covered it up, then I later saw her go back dig it up and lay at least one more egg, possibly more...but I didn't wait and watch her). She has covered her hole, and I saw her drinking a tiny bit earlier...but she hasn't eaten and both her eyes are mostly closed (or at times they are JUST barely open)....

She also has a tiny brown patch on her front left lip, I'm not sure if its a bruise or not (couldn't get a good pic)...but if it doesn't go away real real soon I may have to get that looked at...

 

[EvilLost]

You were right about the size....I saw the two of them actually get in a fight the other night....first they puffed and gaped, then one actually swung at the other!! it was kinda funny given their size but I promptly removed him.

I'm setting up a separate 10-gal and I will just have 1.1 pair in each. Besides my other nightstand is empty

 

[hbskeet]

yeah the two males together isn't the best idea. one of my set ups is a 18x18x24" exoterra terrarium in which I have a 1.4 colony of brevs. some people might disagree but they are doing fine. lots of room for them to climb and explore. Breeding regularly. Never had any problems. The females get along fine and sometimes sleep together. Rango, the male in that colony is happier than ever. His large colony ensures none of the girls get overly stressed especially when gravid as he is always trying to mate.

 

[Shawntea]

For your female who just laid are you giving her calcium supplements? Laying can take a lot out of the girls, so be sure to get her extra calcium and vits. I have heard of people on this forum using liquid calcium if the female isn't eating well so you can ensure calcium without dusting.

 

[Shawntea]

also where are you located? I'm in ca and tried to get a reptile store to buy me some pygs at the sd show, but claimed they couldn't find any

 

[robmd1]

also where are you located? I'm in ca and tried to get a reptile store to buy me some pygs at the sd show, but claimed they couldn't find any

I dont remember seein any pygs at the sand diego show if there was any i didnt see em.

 

[Shawntea]

I dont remember seein any pygs at the sand diego show if there was any i didnt see em.

I ended up just ordering some today from reptmart they overnight ups ship and guarantee proper sexing and breed. This was after driving an hour from my house to pick up 2 female brevs, and they turned out to be 1 male pitted and 1 female pitted shipped from Florida.

 

[hbskeet]

I ended up just ordering some today from reptmart they overnight ups ship and guarantee proper sexing and breed. This was after driving an hour from my house to pick up 2 female brevs, and they turned out to be 1 male pitted and 1 female pitted shipped from Florida.

That f-ing sucks!!! It tends to happen alot. My original importer use to get tell me he got a bunch of brevs and of course not all of them turn out to be brevs. But it's fun seeing other types of pygmies when I go over there.

 

[Shawntea]

Reptmart sent me temps instead of brevs, I ordered 1 from reptlecity last night, and went back to a local store and repurchased a female brev with a broken leg.

 

[hbskeet]

It's sad that people sell animals they know nothing about. That's like selling you a Doberman and getting a Pug. They are called bearded pygmies for a reason. Temps are just as cool to have. Pretty much the same except they have a more diamond shaped head and are slightly longer in my eyes.

 

[chameleoman]

can you house pygmys together i might get a few

 

[Shawntea]

right now I have a bearded male and a gravid temporalis female(temporarily) housed together. From all the research I've done they can house together if same variety of pyg. Temp female is moving soon, but didn't want to stress her out so she doesn't lay. She stays on the low branches and he cruises to high ones, so for now it works.

 

[Shawntea]

My 3's Company crew.
Jack, Janet, and Chrissy.

 

[Shawntea]

can you house pygmys together i might get a few

see above, sorry forgot to quote first ;0

 

[hbskeet]

they'll be fine housed together as long as there is adequate room

 

[lisa h]

can you house pygmys together i might get a few

Only one male per enclosure, as males will fight. You can put females together, and toss in a male if you want babies. The male shouldn't fight with the girls. 1:3 or 1:2 is nice if you have enough space.

 

[EvilLost]

Yea I actually witnessed my males in a physical fight....as bad as it sounds it was hilarious! They are so friggin cute


As for the pygmies, I literally went to every single booth and asked....one guy just happened to have his own pygmies there (I don't recall what booth I was at). The guy who sold them to me (I think "Randy"?) said he bred them himself and the other people at the booth didn't even know the pygmies were there (I had to tell them where they were located in their own booth).


But ya, I did get them at the SD show. He had probably 2-4 other males but I bought all his females.



@Shawntea: where/how much did you get those temps for?

and how can you tell the difference? They look distinctly different from my brevs, but I just can't pinpoint it...