The Pygs new Home

[Ryan Jarosek]

-Here is the new setup my wife and I put together for our pygmies. Everything needs to grow and what not, but here it is. Entire setup $210 - not including pygs

There is a water portion to it but we covered it with rocks. There are some ghost shrimp living down there to eat the junk that they eat. No pygmy access.

I am also going to dig out some of the insert to put a laying area for them. So its a bit of a work in progress.

+Thanks Brad and Juli for the constructive criticism. -

+Others are only attacking so I removed the pictures etc.

 

[opihiman]

Nice set up...and the chams look happy....

OPI

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

-

 

[FooL111394]

Awesome setup Ryan!! How's it going?

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

Awesome setup Ryan!! How's it going?

its going good! Where in the heck have you been? Good to see you around.

 

[FooL111394]

its going good! Where in the heck have you been? Good to see you around.

That's good!! I have been busy. I got back from vacation a week or two ago.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Okay, I don't even have any pygs (yet) and I'm gonna jump all over Ryan
I think it looks fantastic but I am questioning two elements.

1. wouldn't they prefer more "highways" above the forest floor?

and

2. Is the water feature a good idea?

I am still in the process of tweaking our first brev enclosure and have been doing a copious amount of reading.
The two points above have been addressed in most of the available articles/books.

I'm also curious to know which UVB you chose to use and what your day and night time temperatures are.

-Brad

 

[Julirs]

I am finding that way too "tropical" and not enough "forest floor". I am thinking it is not natural for them to be up so high on that "rock" thing.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

Okay, I don't even have any pygs (yet) and I'm gonna jump all over Ryan
I think it looks fantastic but I am questioning two elements.

1. wouldn't they prefer more "highways" above the forest floor?

and

2. Is the water feature a good idea?

I am still in the process of tweaking our first brev enclosure and have been doing a copious amount of reading.
The two points above have been addressed in most of the available articles/books.

I'm also curious to know which UVB you chose to use and what your day and night time temperatures are.

-Brad

Hey Brad , I would agree with the "highways" its a work in progress and more stuff will be added (especially near the bottom). It was close enough and a lot nicer than our precious setup so we decided to move them in.

The water feature is really no more than a trickle down the backdrop. The backdrop is a foam type of sponge that acts a a giant filter. (basically the same function as the charcoal and pebbles. The pump is placed within the sponge. The water is pumped up and down the front via the two little pathways. This also helps to keep the humidity at a constant 60+ and more when sprayed. We took every step to be sure the pygs could not get into the water at the bottom of the tank. it is covered with stones and fake plants. The water is constantly cycled through the filter.

I am interested in what your reading says about the water. Is it the usual bacteria issue or more of a safety issue?

As far as the temps , I try to maintain daytime temps in the range of 72-78 with a drop into the high 60's at night. If it gets up in the 80's they do not look happy. I am currently using a reptisun 2.0 for uvb but have used a reptiglow 2.0 as well. I have a fan blow over the screen top (not into) to provide a little air flow.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

The water concern is the bacteria issue.
There is also recommendation to let the environment dry completely between mistings.
I have found so far that a mist in the morning lasts all day, drops of water are still on some of the leaves in the evening, at the current temps.
I am keeping my temps lower (70 to 72 daytime, down to 60 @ night)

-Brad

 

[Brad Ramsey]

I am finding that way too "tropical" and not enough "forest floor". I am thinking it is not natural for them to be up so high on that "rock" thing.

Much of the documented keeping suggests that they prefer to be over the forest floor (if even by just a few inches)
Tom (Roo) also talks about finding his pygs basking on the top screen under the UVB light (after a particularly cold night)
I agree that they need to be able to navigate their way through an environment, not to mention finding feeders, laying eggs, etc.
But it is also recommended to plant a pretty dense environment when housing a group, so that they can separate themselves from each other.
Hildenhagen actually recommends keeping individuals in separate enclosures (1 pyg per enclosure) except for mating, as we do with most true chameleons.

-Brad

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

The water concern is the bacteria issue.
There is also recommendation to let the environment dry completely between mistings.
I have found so far that a mist in the morning lasts all day, drops of water are still on some of the leaves in the evening, at the current temps.
I am planning to keep my temps lower (70 to 72 daytime, down to 60 @ night)

-Brad

Brad, That raises a question for me.

What if they decide to lay? Do pygs dig like other chams. Is your substrate going to be dry? I would fear collapse. I have tried to think of everything but you know thats never possible.

The top part of the viv (Probably 50%) does dry out completely. It is the bottom half that stays wet. I thought about the bacteria issue and hoped I addressed it with not having the water standing and is cycled constantly through the filter and the backdrop in itself being a giant filter. I hope this will help the bacteria to not be an issue. It is filtered non stop and has thus far been crystal clear. the little shrimp in the bottom eat any organic matter that finds it way into the covered pond and we clean it daily. I will have to monitor to make sure its not becoming a problem.

I know of a few with a setup very similar to mine and their pygs have been thriving and breeding.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

I am finding that way too "tropical" and not enough "forest floor". I am thinking it is not natural for them to be up so high on that "rock" thing.

Its natural for them , they climed right up there and like to hunt the crictes from the vines near the top.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Substrate depth recommendation is 3 inches.
They dig out a pit and lay and then bury them.
They do not tunnel.

-Brad

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

Substrate depth recommendation is 3 inches.
They dig out a pit and lay and then bury them.
They do not tunnel.

-Brad

Cool, that helps me alot. Thanks!

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

you can see in this pic its a lot flatter than it appears in some of the pics

 

[casperpetersen]

Hi
I am sorry... I just can´t stand it!
To me it looks more like a saltwarter aquarium than a rainforest terrarium.

I would recommend you to do some reseach about rainforests and what kind of plants are usefull to recreate the lower parts of the african rainforsts...



better luck next time...

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

Tired of hearing it

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

It back , I like the viv so

 

[RachelRiot]

Nevermind nevermind

I think it looks great. It does look a lot flatter in this image. The angle of the first pics make it look more like a hill. A few vine highways and I think it looks awesome!