New Pygmy Set up Help, Please

[tdadarwala]

I am setting up a habitat for a Pygmy.

Here is my set up:
1. Exo Terra 18"x18"x24" tank
2. Dual Top with (2) 5.0 Reptisun bulbs
3. 75w basking light
4. A 18" high Ficus (potted)
5. A 15" high Pothos (potted)
6. Exo Terra vines
7. Sticks and Branches for him/her to move around more
8. A Mist King Mister
9. Organic soil
10. Lights would be on a 12 hour cycle starting at 8am on - 8pm off.


I have two questions:

1. I am having issues on how to set up the substrate level. Should I keep it simple by just placing the two potted plants? Or should I have a set up like this?

:::::::::::::::::::::::: <-----Organic Soil/rocks for small low lying plants
------------------------ <-----Coconut Fiber Sheet or Screen
============= <----- Charcoal (filtration)
------------------------ <-----Coconut Fiber Sheet or Screen
000000000000000000 <-----Hydroton (water storage)

2. Misting schedule? what works the best with a Pygmy?

thank you...

 

[Tandra Lee]

i have a male pygmy and he is in a glass terrarium with a mesh top,i dont use heat lamp for him as he would get way too hot and fry in there..i used to have a male and female so i had substrate in the bottom,i used coconut fibre and planted real plants into the substrate..but my female died and so now i have removed the substrate and have a bare bottom with only a piece of paper towel on the cage floor,i have live plants and sticks of assorted sizes for him..he never was on e to cruise the bottom hunting,so for him this works well,and for me too as far as cleaning goes..i mist his cage thouroughly every morning then once again in the afternoon as the glass walls contain the moisture,i allow it to dry completely overnight..so all depends on if you have a female that is gravid or not whether you use subsrate or not,i dont so i dont use it

 

[mphelps]

As noted above, nix the basking light. Two Reptisun 5.0 bulbs should be more than sufficient to provide adequate light and heat for your pygmy enclosure.

I would advise building up the layers at the bottom of your enclosure as you describe, and make sure that you have a deep layer of top soil. Your local Home Depot will have a variety of small tropical plants with which you can create a densely planted and attractive display.

I'm surprised that the previous respondent considers a paper towel bottom easier to manage. Paper towel needs to be replaced regularly, and the bottom of the cage needs to be thoroughly cleaned each time you replace the paper towel. I have several densely planted ExoTerra cages in which I keep several species of pygmies. Every few days I reach in with a paper towel to pick up the largest and most obvious droppings. In my view, a paper towel substrate requires much more management.

On the misting schedule, some trial and error is required for each set up. Just make sure that the soil never becomes saturated, because pygmies will quickly develop infections if they live on a saturated substrate. Moist, but not saturated, is the rule.

I mist my cages 2x per day, sometimes 3x. Afterward, all surfaces in the cage are covered with water and high humidity is achieved, but the volume of water introduced into the cage is not so much that it saturates the soil.

 

[lisa h]

Wow, some interesting, if not worriesome responses to the original questions. Yikes! To the OP: Your substrate sounds fine. Some people use the charcoal, some do not. If you choose not to then you can get rid of one of the screens. I like to mix some coconut fiber in with the organic soil, and you can also find some leaf litter to put on top of that. Plant the plants directly in the soil -- they root nicely and the pothos will spread around to make additional "highways" for the pygs. I wouldn't use 2 5.0 reptisun bulbs! Some folks don't use any, or some use the 2.0 or a "used" 5.0. As for a heat source, that depends on your house temps, etc. Most folks don't use a bulb for heat, but I have to, due to my room temps. You need to measure the temps and humidity inside the enclosure, and do what you need to do to make them correct for your pyg(s). Misting 2 or 3x per day is about right. For the size of enclosure you have, hand misting is more than sufficient.
There is a thread here devoted soley to pygmy enclosures. Check it out! Lots of great pics and info. Good luck, and post pics when you have your set up done!

 

[tdadarwala]

thank you for the help...

I recently went to New England Herpetoculture in New Britain, CT. I talked the guy there. He had a whole set up on pygmys. Amazing. I learned alot from him. I bought some Hydroton and top soil, screen, from him. The prices were great. Not inflated at all. I will be setting everything up tonight and test everything out. I will mostly likely get the Pygmys from him. $40 each. Not bad considering some sites are the same price, but shipping is $30-$40. Save some money there...and put that aside for a larger tank in the future.

They also do setups for you. Prices range from $50-$2500. But their work is amazing.

I will post picts as soon as the set up is complete..and get some feed back. thanks again for the input.

 

[Shawntea]

I am setting up a habitat for a Pygmy.

Here is my set up:
1. Exo Terra 18"x18"x24" tank
2. Dual Top with (2) 5.0 Reptisun bulbs
3. 75w basking light
4. A 18" high Ficus (potted)
5. A 15" high Pothos (potted)
6. Exo Terra vines
7. Sticks and Branches for him/her to move around more
8. A Mist King Mister
9. Organic soil
10. Lights would be on a 12 hour cycle starting at 8am on - 8pm off.


I have two questions:

1. I am having issues on how to set up the substrate level. Should I keep it simple by just placing the two potted plants? Or should I have a set up like this?

:::::::::::::::::::::::: <-----Organic Soil/rocks for small low lying plants
------------------------ <-----Coconut Fiber Sheet or Screen
============= <----- Charcoal (filtration)
------------------------ <-----Coconut Fiber Sheet or Screen
000000000000000000 <-----Hydroton (water storage)

2. Misting schedule? what works the best with a Pygmy?

thank you...

I went with the layered bottom hydro, screen, charcoal, screen, sand+coconut fiber+organic potting soil. I also put my plants into the substrate, but first planted them in small biodegradable pots. Makes it easier for me to clean out substrate to be able to remove plant without digging it up every time. I mist my pygs by hand 2x daily until there are drops on all the leaves. I use a salon style bottle and filtered bottled water.
You may find the 5.0 too strong, so varieties of pygmies prefer more shady spots and a 25 watt 2.0 still works to grow plants. Most of the time a basking light is not necessary, but some owners have reported their pygs using it, but be sure there is a shady spot to escape from the heat too.

 

[hbskeet]

That set up should work fine. Please a warned that if you use a basking light its far enough away from the cage that it doesnt spike the temperature in the terrarium which can easily be done since it is enclosed. I just posted a post called Common Misconception about leaf litter. Take a look at it. If you have any other questions fel free to ask me. I currently breed brevs.