Pygmy Cham Exo Terra 12" X 12" X 18"

[hydrophyte]

Hi there!

I just started work on an Exo Terra 12" X 12" X 18" setup for a pygmy cham. I want to develop a nice planting inside and use some less common plants.

I don't have the animal(s) yet and it sounds as though it might be difficult to find them. It will take me a while to put this together little by little, so that is OK.

I need to figure out details such as lighting and ventilation, so I will have some questions to post.

Does anybody have any suggestions for species and sources? How many individuals do you think I can keep in this enclosure?

 

[hydrophyte]

I might have some pictures later tonight. I had to fix the enclosure; the rear glass pane was busted.

I am definitely setting up this Exo Terra, but I might also decide to put something else in it. I had this other 30 X High fish tank setup that looked like it could be good for pygmy chams...

I have since torn that one down, but it would be easy to put it back together. That one could be nice because I could probably house three individuals in it instead of just two.

 

[hydrophyte]

I got the Forest Floor false bottom plate cut. This is a prototype plate, not the regular manufactured part, but this is the design that it will use.

 

[hydrophyte]

Here are a couple more shots of the false bottom plate.

 

[hydrophyte]

...back to work on this thing this afternoon.

I hope to have some pictures with the enclosure and everything later on.

 

[hydrophyte]

It's a tight fit under that plastic door frame, but I got the false bottom plate into the enclosure.

 

[JonRich]

nicee.. But what are you going to do about a nest site? ( unless you getting a single male)

 

[hydrophyte]

I am going to set it up as a planted display first and if it looks like I have female pygmies then I'll put a two or three net pots or Tupperware containers in there with media and hopefully the female will find a good spot for egg-laying.

The Exo Terra might be kind of tight for this. I might opt for the 30 X High with the broader footprint instead and put some other kind of livestock in the Exo.

For right now I am just going to work on getting a nice planting into there.

 

[JonRich]

I am going to set it up as a planted display first and if it looks like I have female pygmies then I'll put a two or three net pots or Tupperware containers in there with media and hopefully the female will find a good spot for egg-laying.

The Exo Terra might be kind of tight for this. I might opt for the 30 X High with the broader footprint instead and put some other kind of livestock in the Exo.

For right now I am just going to work on getting a nice planting into there.

I think a ExoTerra is good for this, just not the 12" x 12" x 18".. I really like the 18" x 18" footprint. But the Medium ExoTerra with the 18" x 24" footprint would be great for Pygmys.

Natural Terrarium Medium/Tall
60 x 45 x 60 cm / 24” x 18” x 24” (WxDxH)

I think you'd have a good bit of room for planting and can make a decent 5" x8" area for substrate as a nesting bin.

 

[hydrophyte]

Yeah the 12" X 12" is probably just too small for pygmy chams. It might be OK for just a single individual. A pair of Ranitomeya dart frogs might be a good alternative choice.

I don't think I have the space for any more Exo Terras. What do you think about the 30 X High fish tank for two or three pygmy chams?

 

[hydrophyte]

I have a design like this already for adding water features, but I don't know how well it will work for nesting sites. I would worry about a sunken container like that becoming too wet. It might work so long as you water very carefully. It won't look as natural, but for egg-laying sites it might often be better to just a loose container resting on top of the false bottom.

 

[JonRich]

I have a design like this already for adding water features, but I don't know how well it will work for nesting sites. I would worry about a sunken container like that becoming too wet. It might work so long as you water very carefully. It won't look as natural, but for egg-laying sites it might often be better to just a loose container resting on top of the false bottom.

Well you need the sand/soil to stay damp to hold a tunnel. I think with it covered with a layer of leaf litter it will keep it from getting too saturated.(some of my plants dont get enough water to the roots because the leaf litter catches 90% of the water i mist. And i mist heavyy)

The female will move the leaves when ready to lay. I assume they move leaves in the wild looking for a nest site in areas with heavyy leaf litter.

 

[hydrophyte]

Yeah that might work so long as it doesn't get too wet. One could also drill a number of small holes in the molded plastic tray so that it will drain and ventilate better.

I hope to have pictures of the pond feature insert pretty soon. It is a vacuum-molded piece with a nice kidney bean shape.

What do you think about using the 30 X High for pygmy chams instead?

 

[JonRich]

Yeah that might work so long as it doesn't get too wet. One could also drill a number of small holes in the molded plastic tray so that it will drain and ventilate better.

I hope to have pictures of the pond feature insert pretty soon. It is a vacuum-molded piece with a nice kidney bean shape.

What do you think about using the 30 X High for pygmy chams instead?

I have seen it done.
I think the running of the airline (or 2) would help a lott with ventilation. Along with if you could get a good place to drill that tank and put 2-3 holes ( i got a few AGA tanks drilled for bulkheads before) low on the tank and neatly hotglue some screen over them. This would be perfect with a screen top!!

 

[hydrophyte]

I don't think I want to drill the fish tank, but I could add a CPU fan and that would keep the air moving really well. Plants love fan air circulation with humid air.

You can see in the picture below the fan in the upper rear corner of the enclosure. If I use something like that with chams it will need to have a housing around it so they don't walk into the fan blades and hurt themselves.

I would set up the 30 X High as a peninsula and that could make a real nice visual effect with viewing of the pygmy chams and planting around three sides.

 

[hydrophyte]

This is what I have in that 30 X High right now. I'm just using it as growout for some taller plants. It is too stuffed full of stuff to look like much, but there is some nice foliage in there.

 

[millsamus]

looks good! Cant w8 to c the exo terra one done

 

[ataraxia]

very nice set up.

 

[hydrophyte]

Hey thanks!

Like I mentioned, I think that the Exo will be a little too small for pygmy chams. I will more likely put a couple of Ranitomeya dart frogs in that one and then use the 30G for pygmy chams.

But I'll keep posting updates as I set it up.

 

[DanSB]

I think this is going to be awesome.

Ranitomeya would look awesome in there and it is about perfect for them.

I would also think the Bumble Bee walking toads would do fantastic in there. The reason I would choose them over the ranitomeya is the little dart frogs really want more vertical space that would be hard to achieve without a built up background you could mount broms and such on which doesn't look to be what you're gong for.