New Pygmy Arrival

[JoseDepacos]

Given the chance, this is the book you want to read....Stump- tailed Chameleons: Miniature Dragons of the Rainforest. By Petr Necas & Wolfgang Schmidt. They have it on Amazon. Its a hardback and not cheap. Might try the library.

[pufferpuggirl]

Yeah I actually found that one and heard that's the only one that directly speaks about pygmy chameleons, however, it's extremely pricey over here and I'm not prepared to pay that kind of money for a book right now. I think I will continue to stumble along, everything seems to be going fine so far.

[kilofey]

glad i could help guys! especially for you brent... sounds like i gave you the little push you needed to get you a few little pygmys WOOOOO! chameleons dont have to be as hard as some people make them out to be, just have to outs-mart their sometimes very demanding needs lol. thats, hold on let me count.... 3 people ive gotten to get some pygmys hahaha i can safely say ive started a trend XD haha nah im kidding... just glad to help.

PPG- i dont know what kind of crickets i buy but its an old scar from when the other owner had him. i email her all the time cause she likes to know how hes doing. she recently told me what the scar was from... from then on, i started cup feeding, though he still wont eat on his own so i have to force feed still, but they are there if he wants them... also, if you have stray crickets... GET A CAT! lol my kitty is an amazing cricket finder. every time she finds one for me i give her a treat so she loves finding them for me... she gets to eat a cricket and she gets a yummy treat, double whammy XD

[Brent]

Yep. I think you did!

I called Pets Unlimited today, but the guy I talked to yesterday wasn't there and was much less friendly or helpful. All he said was basically "no," and shunned me off the line.

I'm going to call again tomorrow and hope for a better employee.

Kilo- AND she gets extra nutrition from those yummy crickets.

[pufferpuggirl]

Good news everyone!

I got my 2nd female today. Haven't come up with a name for her yet, will have to give it some thought. This one is smaller and a bit younger than the other one I've got. At one point Karen (the woman that I get them from) had 4 of them on her hand and they were so funny looking all just sitting there on her fingers as she was talking. Karen's great because she lets me pick which one I want, and I can handle them first and all. Really nice people and I prefer doing business this way rather than ordering and having just anything sent to me, or going to a shop and having to pick from one or two. I didn't go through their website this time, I just phoned them and went over there. In fact, she told me I am welcome to do it that way any time in the future. The best part about it is that she told me she would give me a discount for paying cash and not going through the website (I'm sure they must have to pay something and therefore money is deducted from what they charge, etc.). Normally I would pay £25.90, and that's what I paid for Kitty2, and so I guessed that she might let me have the chameleon for £20, which would have been good to me, but then she said £15!! My jaw nearly dropped on the floor. I thought that was a fantastic price, and I was quite happy with that.

So I fed the new one when I got her home, because Karen said they hadn't been fed yet today. I had just fed my other two yesterday, but as this new one is smaller, I thought it might be a good idea to give her some food. And Kitty2 was right there hunting with the new girly anyway, so she didn't seem to mind eating again tonight.

I took some photos, but haven't uploaded them to the computer yet. I will get that done tomorrow, and maybe by then I will have thought of a name for my newest cham.

It's officially a menage a trois!!

[JoseDepacos]

Very cool. Now you're at capacity unless you get another terra. Keep us updated on how they all get along. Should be fine I'm guessing. I myself am having second thoughts about adding two or even one more. I having been hunting down more info on my species of pygmy and have found one article saying they are best kept solo and one saying best kept in pairs. One thing is for sure, she seems quite happy in her solitude and gets all the crickets to herself. Reptile show is next sunday. I know if I go up there I'll end up with something. I want a bearded dragon soooo bad. Problem is.....I have enough already. Its so difficult to avoid temptation. I have also found in my research that uvb lighting is not needed for my pygmy species (and most others) because they are always under the forest canopy and the sun rarely, if ever, gets to them. They say even breeders simply use full spectrum flourescents. Nothing more is needed. This is not to say that I will be changing my lighting, but those setting up for new purchases (Brent for example) can save a little money by not buying specialized lighting. Grats PPG. Enjoy your trio of little ones. I know I adore Miss Piglet.

[Brent]

Awesome Suzanne! You (along with your pygmies) must be very happy about the new friend (or friends in the new'un's case).

Bearded dragon = yes.

What would you suggest I get then, Jose? I was going to go with a Reptisun 2.0 or the like. Hm... More changes.

[pufferpuggirl]

Yep, full capacity. I will be getting another Exo-Terra at some point though. Karen's got these really beautiful green pygmies, but they are the expensive ones (not sure which species they are), so that's something I will have to save up for, but definitely think more are in the cards for the future. They are just too cool and so easy to take care of.

Yes I read before I got mine about not needing UVB. I think I've got a regular light.

As for keeping more than one, I can't say for your species Jose, but when I go over to Karen's and I see how they are edged up next to each other, that tells me that they are somewhat social. She even moved a female to show me, and she put her down in a different spot and the little girl walked all the way over to where she originally was, which was beside another female. They seemed to be enjoying each other's company in my opinion when looking at them in such big groups.

But I will let you know how they get on together. Still thinking on a name .... maybe by tomorrow I will have one.

[kilofey]

ive personally never heard that a uv bulb is not needed... they arent too expensive, especially for such a small terra. i would look into getting one just to be safe. (as im sure you know) they help them to absorb important vitamins and such, in my opinion its better than dusting their food with calcium w/d3 every feeding. i let my uv bulb take care of most of the vitamin absorbsion and only dust with d3 every other week... this is just my opinion though and what ive read on different sites. im sure that light does get through the leaves in the wild, so they are getting some uv... maybe not a whole lot but some... maybe go for one that has a lower rating... like the reptisun 2.0 you refered to brent... im sure that would be wonderful for them. its not as strong as the 5.0 which my boy needs. since my boy is a bigger species, im sure they spend more time basking in the sun, which means he gets more sunlight... your little ones probably do spend more time under the leaves, but they do get some uv absorbsion. i figure they arent super expensive... why deprive them of something that would only benefit them? just my thoughts

PPG- congrats on your new little girl!!!!!!! yes, we definately need pix

[Brent]

You wrote out my thoughts exactly Karen.

I did mention the Reptisun 2.0 for that very reason- to offer a lower light like that in which they would recieve in the dappled sunlight of the rainforest canopy. (:

[e]

Yes, pictures!

[JoseDepacos]

ive personally never heard that a uv bulb is not needed... they arent too expensive, especially for such a small terra. i would look into getting one just to be safe. (as im sure you know) they help them to absorb important vitamins and such, in my opinion its better than dusting their food with calcium w/d3 every feeding. i let my uv bulb take care of most of the vitamin absorbsion and only dust with d3 every other week... this is just my opinion though and what ive read on different sites. im sure that light does get through the leaves in the wild, so they are getting some uv... maybe not a whole lot but some... maybe go for one that has a lower rating... like the reptisun 2.0 you refered to brent... im sure that would be wonderful for them. its not as strong as the 5.0 which my boy needs. since my boy is a bigger species, im sure they spend more time basking in the sun, which means he gets more sunlight... your little ones probably do spend more time under the leaves, but they do get some uv absorbsion. i figure they arent super expensive... why deprive them of something that would only benefit them? just my thoughts

PPG- congrats on your new little girl!!!!!!! yes, we definately need pix

When I say "other species" I am referring to other pygmies species (just so theres no confusion). And once again, I am merely telling you what I have recently read. Believe what you will. Most people writing articles on the leaf chams dont know all the facts themselves. All you can do is take all of the info you find and try to use it to take the best care of your pet. Am I not clear in my posts? Often I feel as though what I typed was misunderstood or is taken out of context. This is new to me as it is many of you and I am merely passing info that we all had a common interest in.

[kilofey]

lol its okay jose. keep in mind, chameleon keepers ALWAYS have different opinions on things weather it be lighting, dusting, gutloading, plants, habitats... chameleon keepers seem to be the worst, even more so than puffer keepers just remember, opinions are like a** holes, everyones got one! lol anyway, i wasnt trying to say you arent right or trying to denounce what you said, cause obviously if theres lots of articles out there it must be true... i have only never read it because i have the bigger species which do need it. i was just saying i dont really see the harm in having one because it would benefit more than hurt them. but again, thats just my opinion. i didnt mean to make you feel like you dont know what youre talking about cause you know way more about the little ones than i do, i just meant it couldnt hurt if he had one.. like if he had the extra money laying around, might as well get it ya kno?

ps- i also didnt realize you were talking about just pygmys, my mistake

[pufferpuggirl]

Just to add to all this confusion -- on both of the websites that sell pygmy chameleons here in the UK, it states that UV lighting is not needed. Generally pygmies do not bask like other chameleons. When you think about it, other than sharing the same name and looking similar, the big ones and the little ones are very different. The big ones can handle higher temperatures, but the little ones cannot. The bigger ones tend to bask, but the little ones do not. Everything I read said it was basically a waste to buy a UV bulb for the pygmies.

Jose - often things can be misconstrued on a computer, I often have problems with even my friends understanding how they meant something. Please understand we all appreciate any and all information that you, or anyone else, contributes.

[lesleyanndunn]

congrats on your new arrival suzanne!
waitin on the pics

[Brent]

just remember, opinions are like a** holes, everyones got one!

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