R. Brevicaudatus and eggs?

[TobiasP]

Hi!

Im new to this forum! Feels great to be able to ask knowledgeable people about my chameleons instead of only guessing or reading on my own.

So to the question, i have a pair 1.1 Rieppeleon Brevicaudatus. They have not reached sexual maturity yet though. How long does it take? And when they do, will my female start laying unfertilized eggs now and then, like many other chameleons do? If so, i will prepare a secluded corner for her

Thanks!

 

[NHenn]

Hello Tobias,

Welcome to the forums and congrats on your new pygmies. R. Brev will reach sexual maturity at a very young age so if I had to guess, yours are already sexually mature. As for laying, if you are keeping them together in one vivarium then your female will indeed be laying eggs but 99% sure they will not be infertile as R. Brevs are breeding machines and she will continue to lay fertile eggs until she no longer can.

For laying, yes, I would leave a corner or a few spots open to the dirt that she can dig down and lay her eggs.

Best of luck with them!

 

[TobiasP]

Okey! Thanks for all the info! Im
Really excited about them. They seem to be friendly towards each other too so.

Would you leave the eggs in there or take them out? I have a quite large terrarium so it might be hard for me to find them if she lays behind one of the logs. See the terrarium below:

 

[kdc5019]

That is an absolutley beautiful terrarium.

As far as finding the eggs. Yes it can be a chore. I look once a week for eggs. I will have the bottom covered in moss except a few designated area where they can actually dig. And 90% of the time they are right there.

Sometimes you will find the eggs just laying on the surface as well.

The only critique/comment/suggestion i have is to remove the standing water from the vivarium. That is an accident waiting to happen especially with brevs.

If your not familiar with them their self defense mechanism is to "faint" and fall to the ground like a leaf. If something spooks them and they go to faint and they fall into the standing water, it will not be a good situation.

Other than that the vivarium is beautiful!

What are your temps and lighting setup like?

 

[TobiasP]

Okey! Thank you for the tips! The water part is a hard part for me. It works so well with fishes in as well as a little stream running. I have made the edges extra low now since the chameleons came as well as addes branches down into the water to avoid steep edges. I really hope it won't be a problem... But Veiled chameleons can swim somewhat right? Would really brevs sink like a rock? It would be sad to renovera such a vital part of the tank.

Im using three big LED lamps on 18 W to dish out most of the light. I also have an old UVB tube along with one just for yellow "daylight" to get a warmer colour. The tank is also shared with three happy Phyllobates Terribilis mint.

Temperature are mainly room temperature which is 25-27 most year around. Now during the winter i have a heater under the tank, running on a thermostat.

 

[Kiwiflage]

Gorgeous viv! Welcome to the forums!

 

[reptoman]

Welcome to the forums! Nice looking vivarium. I would agree 100% with the suggestion to remove the pool of water. See the video link for an example of what the fainting looks like. Its pretty hilarious but I am not sure how they would handle falling into a pool of water.

http://youtu.be/Jy-4MgMEfB0?list=UUtu8tDvAQGIvchoqYAjRM0w