New Pygmy Arrival

[JoseDepacos]

They say that misting really only needs to be done twice a day. I think that the thing you have to watch is that the terra is holding humidity. I still spray just a tiny bit directly on them once or twice in addition to misting the whole terra twice or more a day.

[pufferpuggirl]

Yes, I know that's what "they say" and that's what I was doing, and look what happened. The thing is, I've also read that you should not let them dry out, so if the misting is evaporating too quick, then I need to mist again. What kind of temperatures are you having right now, and is your house air conditioned? Because it's been very hot here in the UK and we do not have a/c ... so I want to make sure my cham is going to stay moist, afterall, if they were in their natural habitat, the rainforest, it would be very moist all the time with frequent rain -- so I'm just recreating that, or trying to.

[JoseDepacos]

My temps stay around 69f at night and 70-73f during the day. We have ac and I never turn off my substrate heater. Like I said though, my terra is in a finished basement too. It always stays cooler down here. My humidity stays high too. 99%-95% most of the night with no light on and 76%-90%+ during the day depending on my misting. Is your terra holding humidity well? I really think the plantation soil is the key to mine staying so humid. I highly doubt water was the problem your little girl was having. You shouldnt automatically blame yourself considering that you have had them such a short time. She could have had any number of issues at the time you recieved her. I have also read if they cant get out their eggs they will cause death as well. And considering she only pushed out one that you know of, that could have been one of many things wrong. Miss piglett was very meticulous and took all afternoon to prep and lay hers. Just a thought. Dont blame yourself dear. I am quite certain you were doing what you should have been.

[kilofey]

ok, i got a few things for u guys, hope it helps:

-first, here is a VERY good probiotic. http://www.reptileuv.com/nutribac-df-pr ... ptiles.php you can not overdose it, whatever is not used, gets poo'd out

-second, IF you ever have to force feed (its better than them starving to death), get a piece of paper or a buisness card (i use a plastic credit card for my veiled, but you will need something thinner) have one person hold the cham, and the other person insert the paper/business card and put a feeder in its mouth. sometimes, they will go on hunger strikes and it may take doing this for them to remember how much they love food. just remember, they are so tiny they cant survive very long without food, so you may have to even though its risky. him not eating is even more risky.

-third, you may also want to keep some reptaid on hand. it is said to be very effective for just about every ailment in a chameleon, including loss of appetite http://www.reptaid.com/ check out how to administer and click on chameleons and similar smaller lizards, it will tell you what it can help with, also click ingredients... it would be really good for new chams, especially PPG's new wild caught one since it could have some ickies that could pass to the other cham. everyone on chameleon forums swears by the stuff. its all herbal, so its safe

-fourth- (wow i had alot more to say than i thought lol) check out automatic misters. they arent cheap around $50 USD, but it could take away some of your stress PPG. heres one i found, just quickly googled it, but there are lots out there http://www.google.com/products/catalog? ... 8gIwADgA#p you can program how much and how often it will spray


well, guys, hope this helped a little. good luck with your babies. oh, did i mention picasso is SOL with meds, there is nothing else the vet can give him because he has taken it all. so im now having to explore other options to help his eye get better wish us luck!

[Rusty]

Kilo good advice!!!!
Kilo and picasso good luck. What is wrong with his eye? if you have a thread about i could see i would appreciate it. what meds has he received?.not trying to be nosy just brainstorming

I was just about to suggest an auto mister, keep in mind that i think most them require a fish tank heater in the water reservoir to get it the right temp. so if you dont have a spare add that to your cost. Its worth the money. jose +1 a million things could have happen, none of which anyone could have controlled. She really could have been eggbound. Careful on the size of the crickets, i dont know about chams, but BD's can get impacted if the prey is too large. Jose give the akron zoo a call or visit. im sure they would be willing to help you out( the very least give you some info).

[kilofey]

PPG- if youre worried about hydration, a good way to tell is to look at their eyes. do they look sunk in? to they look flat? do they look rounder and more buggy at times and less other times? thei eyes should be like little balls almost. if they look at all flat, its time to boost the humidity. they may also enjoy some humid showers. for your little ones, the sink would do nicely. put them in a house plant or let them hold on to a flower in a vase or something. turn the water on fairly warm, almost hot (remember the air will cool it to a good temp if you turn it on hot). let the water bounce off something and hit the cham. if you use a flower and vase, try to get a tall flower so they can get away if the water is too much for them or if they just arent in the mood... most chams love humidity showers, very good way to keep them hydrated as well. GOOD LUCK! and im sorry for your loss btw, please check me on this. i read about giving humid showers to the bigger species, ive never needed to check into it for pygmys. anyway, the basic info is there, just check it before you do it.

rusty- picasso has truely had a hard life. before i got him, his previous owner had his basking temp around 62F, should be close to 100F! she misted... kind of, her idea of misting was more like spraying the cage until she got bored of doing so which was never enough. he was shedding HORRIBLY, very patchy. he was very very skinny, his UVB lights were just about as old as him, about a year. he only had one plant and one vine to climb on for his whole cage, which was a large cage so it was very very open... i think the only thing she actually did right was have an adequate size cage.

anyway, i bought him off craigslist cage, lights, lizard, feeder tank, everything for $350 i couldnt believe what a great deal i was getting. i had always wanted a cham, but never had the chance to have one because my dad would never let me and then my ex wouldnt let me either when we lived together... so when i kicked him out, there was nothing stopping me lol.

after i got picasso home, i noticed one eye was swollen. i took him to the vet... which basically did nothing for him so i took him elsewhere. nearly $1000 in vet visits, testing, medicines, fecal exams ect. later, his eye is still swollen and he is now out of all possible medicines that he can take. the vet says she can no longer help him. he has been on so many antibotics, which can really dehydrate a cham. he has been off all antibotics for 2 days now. i have a very hard time keeping him hydrated because of the antibiotics. i have to give him humid showers every day, he has no appetite from all the meds, which im hoping will come back along with the ability to stay hydrated. i have to force feed him by opening his mouth with a credit card and putting a feeder in one at a time.

to be honest, i dont remember all the meds he has been on. i kno there has been: vitamin A shot, vit C supp (which i wasnt convinced he needed bacuse i dust regularly), fortaz, baytril *latest med*.... gosh i dont remember the others lol, there were quite a few though. the vet thought he had a vitamin A defficientcy, an absess, a sinus infection, pnumonia i think was one, ummm oh debris caught in the eye... there was so much "well lets try this" going on i kinda just went along with it hoping we would stumble across the right cure... but no such luck. im going to try reptaid when i get the money for it... i honestly have like zero dollars to my name now that hes cost me so much, but when i come across some extra money, thats the first thing ill be trying.

anyway, thats picasso's story in a nut shell.

[pufferpuggirl]

Kilo- thank you for your information, and I really wish you all the best with Picasso. Isn't it funny how much we will do for these animals, and how much we care? I buried little Kitty yesterday and I cried whilst doing it. She was just a small lizard that I'd had for 2 weeks, yet there was so much emotion I felt for her. Silly I guess, but there you have it.

[Rusty]

Was he cheked for one of these causes.
http://chamworld.blogspot.com/2008/01/h ... ut_28.html it is a very interesting article. Im no expert, but from what i have read there seem to be a ton of possible causes, infections, abscess, cancer, parasites, even high blood pressure. i know beardies bulge their eyes, but i dont think the reason is known and it isn't for very long( maybe 30 seconds) im really sorry the whole thing sounds awful. I know ive said this a million times , try calling a local they might have more info or know someone who does. get well picasso!

PPg(suzanne?) Its not silly at all everyone deal with things differently. No way is any better than the other, but the good thing about taking it hard is that it makes us try to make sure it never happens again.

[pufferpuggirl]

Thank you Rusty

[lesleyanndunn]

aww just reading this 1st time now suzanne
thats sad about wee kitty rip <3
you did all you could, and look forward to getting the other wee one on friday

[pufferpuggirl]

Thank you Lesley ... here last week it was sweltering, and now this week I'm having a hard time keeping the temperatures up! Sure makes it difficult and keeps me a bit nervous, but Burt seems to be doing pretty good and is eating well, so all is not lost. And I am looking forward to getting the new pygmy on Friday.

[diverchic]

Hey PPG, just ready and am sorry to hear about Kitty

((hugs))

[pufferpuggirl]

Thank you Tara, I'm hoping to get a replacement for Kitty on Friday, although I ordered this other female when Kitty was still alive and well and just thought it would be nice to have a trio, but I will settle for a pair just as well. I would like the end result to be babies! But heck, if I can't keep an adult alive, maybe I don't have much chance of keeping any babies alive.

[kilofey]

Was he cheked for one of these causes.
http://chamworld.blogspot.com/2008/01/h ... ut_28.html it is a very interesting article. Im no expert, but from what i have read there seem to be a ton of possible causes, infections, abscess, cancer, parasites, even high blood pressure. i know beardies bulge their eyes, but i dont think the reason is known and it isn't for very long( maybe 30 seconds) im really sorry the whole thing sounds awful. I know ive said this a million times , try calling a local they might have more info or know someone who does. get well picasso!

PPg(suzanne?) Its not silly at all everyone deal with things differently. No way is any better than the other, but the good thing about taking it hard is that it makes us try to make sure it never happens again.

thanks rusty. we have looked into a good majority of those possibilities, but im hoping its not cancer! i guess we will just have to see what happens naturally, which i hate to do, but i really dont have much of a choice. as for the beardies bulging their eyes for 30 seconds, it could be that they are cleaning the inside of their eyes. i know chams do it and its perfectly normal. being desert animals, im sure beardies have to do it quite often because sand and debris could get in them. in the wild, where the wind blows stuff around, they have to have some way to keep the back of their eyes clean or stuff will accumulate there.

[kilofey]

watch this vid (srry bout the poor quality, i took it on my cell)
its my dog millie. when shes sleepy and you try to talk to her, she will cover her ears like a human so she doesnt have to listen hahahhahaa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGieaZZ2RP4