New Pygmy Arrival

[pufferpuggirl]

Kilofey - It's good to hear that you see this situation logically. Some people would punish the dog, when really, as you've stated, the dog is only doing what she felt was right. Most dogs crave human interaction, and as you say, this poor baby didn't have any for a while, so when she was to get some, she wanted to hold onto it. And I don't blame her. Being alone is no fun. Being loved is everything!

Jose -- your photos are top-notch!! I wish I could get such nice clear close-ups of my pygmies. I love watching them eating. Speaking of which, how are yours doing with eating? What are you feeding them? I'm just curious, as you're the only other person I know that's got these.

[kilofey]

well, my mom was at a garage sale today and she found a doggy gate that is taller than the play pen i have now and it was only 5 dollars, usually theyre about 150. she shouldnt be able to jump over it, however, she will have free range of the whole kitchen. this doggy gate goes inbetween 2 walls instead of a fully enclosed "play pen". it gives her more room, which will make it considerably more difficult to litter box train her, but for now, i suppose it will take care of one problem (jumping out and tearing up the carpet). she will be on linoleum floor in the kitchen, so if she has an accident while im at work, i guess its no big deal. nothing a mop cant handle. gotta handle one issue at a time i suppose.

O O O, she added another trick to her list yesterday ive already taught her to sit, lay down, take a bow, and give high 5 (one paw)... last night she learned to give high 10 (with 2 paws), and shes learning to target (touch whatever you want her to touch with either her nose or her paw, not a very useful trick, but its still pretty cute lol). it blows me away with just how intelligent she is. its really cool to see such a young dog be able to absorb information and actually retain it like she is doing. a lot of the dogs i train learn it for the day, then completely forget after training is over and you have to reteach it with the next session. some times she will get a little confused because im going so fast with her training, but i think she can handle it. im going to stick with these tricks until she gets them down completely, then add more.

[JoseDepacos]

My big girl isnt shy in the least when it comes to eating. She took a cricket right out of my fingers yesterday. When I drop crickets in the terra in front of her, they are gone in no time. The little guy, on the other hand, I havent seen eat yet. I have seen him stalk them but I havent seen a kill yet. Kinda worries me. They both readily drink from the leaves when I mist. I got my combo thermo/hygro unit a couple days ago and it works great. It has a switch on the back for f/c too, by the way. $23 well spent. Terra stays between 69f and 73f (cooler and warmer depending where they are in the terra)and the humidity stays around 76% up to 99% at night. If you are still having any humidity issues I highly recommend using that plantation soil. I'm sold on the stuff and will always be using it from now on. Though crickets should be the staple of their diet, I want to find some medium to small superworms to try. I feed the crickets the calcium fortified Flukers gel water and carrots and apples. No real issues so far, though I would feel better actually seeing the little guy eat.

[pufferpuggirl]

Just a bit of an update.

I moved the terrarium from the front room, which can be quite warm, to the back room which I believe is the coolest room in the house. I think the pygmies will be happier back there and actually it's easier for me to work on the tank, feeding and misting them, and also for observing them. The previous location was in a corner and it wasn't easy to get to, so I always had to strain to see them. But the main reason for moving them was to keep them cool, as I would be devastated if they were to pass due to being over-heated, and it's been quite warm here in the UK recently.

The other bit of news is that I've ordered another female, but this time I've ordered from a different website, and the actual distribution center isn't far from me, so instead of wasting money on shipping costs, I can just go and pick her up. I mean, the female is £25, and the shipping was £19, so it makes sense to go and pick her up instead of blowing nearly as much money as what it cost for the chameleon. They are not a retail shop, so I have to wait until they give me an "appointment" to go and get the new girl. This time this pygmy will be a wild caught chameleon, whereas my other 2 were captive bred, and I'm hoping that she will adjust and fit right in with the other 2, she's the same species. I'm very excited about it and can't wait to get her. I hope to get an email from them tomorrow to let me know when I can go.

Jose - have you seen your little guy eat yet? Thankfully I know both of mine are eating, and that made me feel much better because the man I got mine from said that you want to see them eating, otherwise there could be problems. Of course, your guy could be eating when you're not watching. So fingers crossed that he is eating and all will be well. Please let us know how it's going.

[JoseDepacos]

I just tried to feed the little guy again. No luck. He seems to have a problem shooting out his tongue. It doesnt seem to come out but about an inch and he pulls it back. I watched him stalk a cricket for about 25 minutes and try to shoot it like four times. Still didnt get to eat. Eventually he gave up and just closed his eyes and sat there. I feel so bad for him. I think he is starving to death. He is way too small to force feed. So small that I am certain I would hurt him if I tried to pull his tiny mouth open. Let alone try to hold him so that I could. I dont know what to do. I've held them right in front of him and he just ignores them. Kiri will eat them even if they are dead. I shook a couple up in a small bowl to stun them and one never recovered. I set it on a leaf in front of her and she ate it anyway. He looks healthy, just small and skinny. He obviously wants to eat but his tongue appears broken somehow. I need to see if I can find any info on this.

[pufferpuggirl]

Awwww.... that is heart-breaking!! The poor boy. I'm really sorry your little guy is having a problem. I read that you should not try to force feed them because you can damage them. But you might try getting some of that probiotic liquid so that when he drinks he will get nourishment, at least that's what I would do.

I am about to feed my two just now, but the crickets need to stay in the refrigerator just a bit longer so I can dust them with supplement powder. I'm not sure if mine will eat dead food or not. I don't think I've given them any dead food. I'm thinking of getting some of those flightless fruit flies, you can buy the cultures. I'd like to give my pair more than just crickets because every animal deserves a little variety in their food.

I am hoping to hear from the reptile place tomorrow and hope that they will give me an appointment to pick up my female pygmy this week, maybe even tomorrow afternoon, I don't know how it works. But I will let you know when I get her, and will try to get some photos before she goes into the enclosure.

I'm going to say a prayer tonight for your little boy pygmy Jose, just for good measure, as I do believe strongly in prayer. I hope things change ... but I do think you should get some of that probiotic so he will get some vitamins in him, otherwise he hasn't a chance. Maybe it's lack of vitamins in the first place that's causing him to be like he is. Best of luck.

[pufferpuggirl]

My goodness talk about heart-break! I just went to feed my pygmies and found my female on the ground, with the male over top her. At first I thought they were mating, but something just seemed wrong, so I picked her up, and as I held her she actually died in my hand!!!

I have been crying like a baby. My male seems fine, I watched him and he just scurried off and ate some crickets. If I thought any were at risk, I would have guessed the male, as the female seemed to eat nicely and drink and move around the tank. I am just at a complete and utter loss as to what happened.

[JoseDepacos]

Omg that sucks. Poor little thing. I wonder what was wrong? Maybe stress from something or difficulty with those eggs? R.i.p. little one. I really didnt forsee us having issues this early on.

[pufferpuggirl]

I've been thinking about it .... between crying, and the more I think about it, the more I think it was down to the heat. I thought I was misting the terrarium enough, but maybe I wasn't. So from here on, I shall be misting the terrarium regularly throughout the day while it's so warm. If that means staying home and keeping an eye on the terrarium, then so be it.
I just feel so horrible about all of this, I thought things were going so well. They are so tiny but I felt so sad seeing her dying and now dead.

[Rusty]

ppg ,I'm really sorry. I know how id feel if that happened to eggburt( my BD). I dont think there is anything you could do, as these are tiny complex and sensitive creatures . On a brighter note. Hows the egg?

Jose Awesome cat (" i love big cats and i can not lie") i have one myself though not quite as big as yours.Wonderful pics of your pygmies. Get your little guy to a good herp vet. I'm not sure of any in your area, but im sure if you checked some sites you'd find one. Hope all is well.

PS: Im not sure if these are suitable for pygmies but i have found silkworms to be much better(as crickets are much more likely carriers of pathogens) food for my dragon.

[JoseDepacos]

From all the info I have gathered, crickets should be a staple as most worm types are only suitable as treats because they are very high in fat and not very nutritious (other than superworms). I havent found superworms small enough yet. PPG are you certain your pygmy wasnt playing dead? It is quite common for them to do that but I assume you were aware. I seen one do it while I was at the show. It had a couple others crawling over it and it just fell over on its side and quit moving for a couple minutes. Then it got up and was fine. Again, I figure you knew that and gave ample time to see if she was ok. Hoping to find some vitamin supplements or better yet Zilla makes some caloric supplement & appetite stimulant. Problem is I will have to force feed it to him, which really worries me. I love the avatar of your bearded dragon Rus. He looks very cool. I have been researching them myself because I hope to have one someday.

[Rusty]

jose, thanks, the photo actually makes him look funny as i had to compress it to fit to the avatar( he isabout 22" long in that pic. check again for silkworms, i believe they are low in fat, good protein levels, and have an enzyme called serrapeptase, which can make calcium absorption more efficient, reduce inflammation, pain and break down arterial plaque. Many people feed these as staples to berdies. BD's are very easy and hardy if you do your research, and keep them properly( proper housing, food,) and very interactive(eggburt always climbs up to my tanks and tries to spear some fish with his tongue through the glass.) Fingers crossed to her just playing dead.

[pufferpuggirl]

Jose - I held my girl for about 30 minutes, and I could feel the life going out of her, and not only that, but as she was dying, her colouring changed from light to very dark and once she was fully dead she became almost black. Because I wasn't sure at first, I continued to hold her .... I just feel so guilty now, because I am wondering if I didn't spray the terrarium enough to keep her moist. He seems fine, and hopefully he will be alright.
If I were you Jose, I WOULD NOT force feed your pygmy. He's too small and from what I've read you chance hurting him permanently, as I read you can break their jaw very easily. I would shy away from doing that and get yourself a good probiotic liquid to let him drink. Obviously it's your chameleon, but I would not force feed any of mine.

As to the egg ... well I don't even know if it was fertilised. I buried it (since she laid it in the plant), but I wasn't sure how far down to bury it, so it might not even hatch. The only thing I have to look forward to is getting another female, and hopefully will be getting her this week.

[JoseDepacos]

Ok, Kiri my female pygmy, shall henceforth be known as Miss Piglet. Dead or alive she scarfs up crickets as fast as I can drop them in the terra with pinpoint accuracy. Her tongue is quite deadly.

[pufferpuggirl]

I found out today I shall be getting my other female on Friday. I could have had her on Thursday if I had paid the extra delivery charge, but since I want to go and pick her up, I have to wait till Friday.

I'm happy to say that my male seems okay, but I've also been misting him several times a day just in case because I'm a bit paranoid now.