Rhampholeon temporalis husbandry

[Rickky]

Hi was was considering getting a group of the Temps...My mom is wanting to get a colony going...I have found a couple sites that kind of give a overview of how to care forthese guys but if anyone could throw in some more input to further my sucess with them i would highly appreciate it... Rickky

 

[nick barta]

Welcome to the forum! You should get some replies from those members who work with the smaller species.

 

[Zen Reptiles]

A high-calcium clay substrate covered in leaf litter will help with microfauna production. The clay will make them have a very high calcium content. You can buy tropical woodlice, ask around on www.dendroboard.com for some. You can aslo get some tropical springtails and other critters that will live in this substrate.

You WILL need to have 1/4 of the tank normal soil, however, because the pygmies need a nice soft substrate to lay their eggs in. Although, if you have a dense enough layer of leaf litter, they will lay their eggs in that instead.

Here's a thread on how to make it:

http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/ge...clay-based-substrate-thread-7.html#post212407

Additionally, you will want some airflow that won't bring down the humidity. These aren't my pics, they're from another thread (I can't find it, sorry, just have the pics saved)

You can ask how to rig up the computer fans at the store you buy them from, or look it up online. You can cover the pipes with black silicone and some coconut fiber or something, some spanish moss hanging down would be a good idea too. Cover them with some window screen or something so the chameleons don't shoot their tongue into the fan!!!

A great plant to use is Ficus pumila - creeping fig. This will go up your background (if you're making one) so they can climb securely.

Other than that, they're pretty simple. Because they are so small, you don't need to dust very heavily for them to get their nutrients they require.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

temporalis are discussed in this article:

http://www.chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=50

-Brad