Pygmy habitats

ferretinmyshoes

Veterinarian
Staff member
I have a handful of pygmy vivs now that I have babies coming out my ears! Just thought I'd post a few pics for anyone looking for inspiration. :)

The original viv that houses the parents:
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The little viv for Meena, my only girl baby:
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Littler viv for my brother's baby boy:
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And pygs allow a little bit of creativity sometimes with their minimal needs! Here's the newest viv for Meelo, the oldest boy baby so he doesn't get any ideas about his sister...
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The leaves and sticks at the top aren't near the edges so he can't reach the edge of the bowl to escape. People think it's just a neat little centerpiece, but if they're lucky they'll see a tiny little tongue zap his lunch. :)

Stay tuned...the creativity bug is making me think of more outside the box vivs. ;)

Just a few pics of some of the inhabitants:
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Very Nice!! It reminds me of me a couple years back when I had like 8 colonies and like 4 neonate vivs. It was crazy. Guaranteed eggs almost every month.
 
I love that you have them heavily planted; they are really well done. The bowl is a cool idea. Not for me though, as I have cats.
 
Thanks everyone! I was really pleased with the way the bowel viv turned out. I just went and checked on and he's sleeping perched at the tip of one of the sticks that actually stick out the top. It's so cute! He only thinks he's free. ;) Now whenever I see big vases I start plotting...think I'll try one of those big cylinder vases next!
 
@ferret: how long have you had that vase setup? it looks like you have very little drainage on the bottom with no air access (though it could just be concealed by the pic)?

I know you know what you are doing, but it just seems like that vase would either bog down or be very difficult to predict the water level....please tell me I'm wrong :)
 
@ferret: how long have you had that vase setup? it looks like you have very little drainage on the bottom with no air access (though it could just be concealed by the pic)?

I know you know what you are doing, but it just seems like that vase would either bog down or be very difficult to predict the water level....please tell me I'm wrong :)

It's true, the bowl viv is an experiment and I wasn't sure how well it would work to be honest! But so far it's working well! I picked those plants because they don't need a lot of water so there's fewer drainage concerns. I mist daily and only have too add a little water to dump in every other week or so. The soil stays dry enough and there's no mold building up in the soil layers. So it seems to be working well enough so far, I'll let you know if it doesn't work over time!
 
Figured I'd update this thread as I've updated a few enclosures. I redid the adult viv with some new plants, which they seem to appreciate as they staked out their new favorite places immediately.

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I also have a bigger exoterra that is now a pyg habitat! I did the infamous Great Stuff & Silicone method used by froggers to make those awesome backgrounds and even though it's mostly obscured by the plants I have to say I'm very happy with it! All the plants need to grow out a little and the pothos is still really leggy. I'm going to put some creeping fig in the back top planter since the current plant died while the hubby was in charge of watering when I was out of town...hopefully it will utilize the background and spread across it.

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I am actually hoping to get a new species of pyg but for now my brev baby boy Batu is living in there. He's cb so I know he's not contaminating it with anything. If I happen to visit a show and see some temporalis or spectrals he will be evicted. ;)
 
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Figured I'd update this thread as I've updated a few enclosures. I redid the adult viv with some new plants, which they seem to appreciate as they staked out their new favorite places immediately.

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I also have a bigger exoterra that is now a pyg habitat! I did the infamous Great Stuff & Silicone method used by froggers to make those awesome backgrounds and even though it's mostly obscured by the plants I have to say I'm very happy with it! All the plants need to grow out a little and the pothos is still really leggy. I'm going to put some creeping fig in the back top planter since the current plant died while the hubby was in charge of watering when I was out of town...hopefully it will utilize the background and spread across it.

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I am actually hoping to get a new species of pyg but for now my brev baby boy Batu is living in there. He's cb so I know he's not contaminating it with anything. If I happen to visit a show and see some temporalis or spectrals he will be evicted. ;)


looks gr8 ^^ i plan on getting pygmys in 6+ weeks or so. trying to take my time with buying everything becuz im still spoiling my other 2.(plus xmas is soon so i gatta buy presents! YAY!) I really like your set ups!
 
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beautiful chams and perfect setups :) quick question how are you lighting your bowl idea? i didnt see lights. still very healthy looking animals you have. :D
 
Nope, no lights on the bowl. Pygs don't need UVB interestingly (no proof that they do) and they like cooler temps so no basking light needed. I still prefer to use UVB but it's not necessary with pygmies. It's on the table in the kitchen so in a high natural light area.
 
This is my blog about building a pygmy habitat.

I keep my pygs (bearded) in a terrarium. I have 2 aquariums with adults, 1 male and 2 females, and 3 regular nano terrariums where I keep hatchlings. At 2 months they are still pretty small and should definately NOT be handled. In fact, pygs shouldn't be handled at all unless absolutely necessary.

They live on the floor of the forrest among the leaves, sticks and the weeds and very small plants. They never get very far off the ground so they don't get much light or heat. I use an old 5.0 UVB bulb from my veilds and that has always been sufficient. They produce about 8 - 10 uvb. They like it humid so I plant lots of little terrarium plants and have dried leaves and sticks on the dirt. It looks just like you would expect the forest floor would look. I don't believe you can successfully keep pygmys in a screen cage.

When setting up my terrariums I get hydro balls from Home Depot for the bottom layer. This will absorb any water that gets in the bottom of your terrarium. Put at least 2 balls high, about 3/4". I cover them with nylon screen. My second layer is activated charcoal which I get from a pet store which sells fish supplies. Again,put in about 3/4" and cover with screen. Make sure your screen always comes out to the glass and maybe a bit to tuck up so the layers are separated. Last I put dirt. I only use dirt that has no fertilizer and has been sterilized against bugs, etc. Put down just a little because you will have to plant your plants in it. I have better luck getting little plants from Lowes, but if you can find small plants that are no bigger then about 3" tall from a nursery, use those. Sometimes I get fern types and cut them down so they can have room to grow. I wash them well, even removing the dirt from the roots. You might even have to trim the roots a little also. Plant the back of the terrarium first. You can make the dirt the highest back there. Anything small would go towards the front along with sticks. Babies really like to climb on sticks.

Don't go nuts spraying, just moisten the plants or you can literally blow the little guys right off their perches. Hopefully you can buy pinhead crickets to feed them. If you have a reptile store by you get the large pins. 1/4's are about the biggest they handle well.
 
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