What am I missing?

[farrahsc]

SO I went and got some things to set up a pygmay inclosure and I just wanted to know what else I will need. After reading everything about on them on here I am totally hooked and hoping to get some at the reptile show in Jan in OH.
I have:

Zoo Med Naturalistic Terrarium- 12x12x18
Zoo Med Natural Tile Background Cork
A Vine that I didn't save the packing from lol, it's a bendable one but isn't very thick
Repti Glo 2.0
Compact Top
Hydro Balls
Tropical Soil (The brick kind)
Thermometer
Hydrometer

I'm also going to pick up a few live plants from Lowe's, is there anything else I need?
I do have a bag of coconut bark too if needed and a heat pad.

 

[lisa h]

You'll need a piece of landscape fabric to go between the soil and the hydro balls. Then, some live plants, like you said, and some sticks and twigs from outside (they like little "highways"). If you have leaves on the ground outside, you can put those on the bottom. Before someone says there are leaves everywhere, I don't know what your weather is like, so that may or may not be an option. Oh, and you won't need the heat pad. You'll need something to mist them with -- a plant mister works just fine.

 

[farrahsc]

Yes I totally forgot the landscape fabric! Thank you!
It's winter here, I'm in WV so I should be able to find some leaves and sticks, is there a certain size stick I should try to get, as far as the diameter?
I have a spray bottle and a little dripper on my Veiled cage, should I just use the sprayer and no dripper on this one?

 

[lisa h]

Little twigs and sticks are fine. Just pick up a handful of something off the ground. Do you have willow trees/bushes? I usually cut the thinner end branches off of those. I like to get different diameters for variety. Don't worry too much, as you can always tweak the enclosure once you have your pygmy. I wouldn't bother with a dripper. Spraying a few times a day (depending on your humidity) should be fine. They are by far my favourite chameleons!

 

[farrahsc]

Awesome thank you so much for your help!
I've never seen one in person so I'm super excited! I really hope they have them at the reptile show! If not I'm thinking of ordering them from FL Chams.

 

[lisa h]

That's the only kind of chameleon they ever have at our small reptile shows here. I was actually looking at getting a carpet chameleon, but that fell through. I saw 2 pygmies at the reptile show soon after, and that's how it started -- all by accident. Oh, btw, try to get cb if you can. These guys don't live very long, and if you get wc you don't know how old they are. Mine are always wc, so their length of life has varied.

 

[farrahsc]

Do you remember what they usually go for at the shows?

 

[lisa h]

About $35 at the shows here. Maybe cheaper in the US? Cb might be a bit more than wc. I'll look at the FL chams site.

Ok, I see their wc ones are a bit cheaper at $25 vs $40 for the six week olds. Sounds reasonable to me. I assume you're talking about the Bearded pygmies, and not some of the more rare species?

 

[farrahsc]

Yes I am and I totally agree about going with CB instead of WC.
Thank you so much for all your help!

 

[lisa h]

You're very welcome! Be sure to post pics when your enclosure is done, and when you get your little chams. Are you planning on one, or a pair?

 

[farrahsc]

I was thinking of 2 females and a male.
And I sure will, I want to make sure everything looks right.
I won't be getting them until mid Jan so I have time for everything to grow in.

 

[farrahsc]

Ok so I setup everything I had today, and let me tell you, I loved making this lol!
It's snowing here right now so I can't go outside to get more branches and leaves but how does it look so far?
I have:

2 inches of Hydroballs
Screened mesh
about 4 inches of Tropical Soil
3 plants which are: Lemon Lime, Lemon Button and Sanderiana all have been washed and replanted with the tropical soil
I also used a bit of moss to cover the top of the pots and added some coconut bark
Everything was washed in hot water before adding it.
My temps are running 70 and my humidity right now is at 90, is that too high? I'm sure it's because everything is still wet.