Ziggy the Chameleon
Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2010 5:06 pm
So, after having the pygmy chameleons for a few months .... I've got a bit of reptile fever, well more specifically, chameleon fever. We went to get some crickets for my pygmies and seen the cutest little baby chameleons, and I fell in love. After seeing them I was determined I was going to get one, and so I started getting all the necessary accessories in preparation for getting a bigger species of chameleon. And on Thursday we went down there and I picked out a nice healthy looking male Yemen (aka Veiled) Chameleon, and I've named him "Ziggy" (as in Ziggy Stardust). He's so small, I think he's even smaller than my pygmy chams, and so fragile. At first I thought we could use the spare fish tank we had laying around, it's a 3-foot tank and I even bought some special wire mesh for the top and sides. But after giving it some thought, I decided it would be better to get him a proper vivarium and so that's we we did. Now he's in a 36" tall by 24" wide and 24" deep viv. Makes viewing him much easier as well as seeing what's going on. 
I was very worried about him because he did not eat Thursday night, but I put that down to the fact that he was still in the fish tank and the crickets were able to hide under the newspaper. Then last night I got the bright idea to put the crickets into a plastic container and put that container directly under the Ficus tree that Ziggy hangs out in. The crickets don't have the common sense to jump out, so they don't. I put some carrots in for the crickets to feed on too, to keep them happy. But when I got up this morning I was very disappointed to see that all the crickets were still alive and well. Ziggy hadn't touched them. I know from keeping the pygmy chams that it's very important for these little guys to eat, and eat often. So I phoned the shop we got him from. I do wonder about people sometimes. First she tells me that I shouldn't have given him food at all, that I should have given him time to settle in. Well the guy that sold me Ziggy never said a word about with-holding food, and if that was an issue, he should have said something. So then I asked when should I offer Ziggy food again, and she tells me "maybe Monday or Tuesday"!! That would make it 5 or 6 days that the poor wee cham had gone with no food. That didn't sound right to me. And all I could think was that Ziggy wasn't going to make it, and I was sad.
So I went back upstairs to check on Ziggy and to my surprise, he had eaten 2 of the crickets, was hanging over the container and looked quite happy with himself. I was ecstatic! I went back a little bit later and all the crickets were gone!! So it seems that Ziggy might have needed a little time to settle, but I don't think it would have been a good thing if I had not left the food there, as he was clearly hungry. When I went up to have a look a little while ago he was curled up on a leaf, with a fat belly, sleeping. I am just very happy to know that he's eating.
I haven't gotten any photos of him yet, mainly because I've not wanted to bother him .... but I am going to try to get some of him tomorrow, so you can see just how cute he is. I can't wait until he grows a bit and doesn't feel quite so fragile. And to think, when full grown, Ziggy will be nearly 24" long!!! That's going to be awesome.
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As to my other new arrivals that came this week: The 2 Vampire crabs, they are doing really well too. They are so cute, but very small. I will have to work on getting a photo of them, but it won't be easy, they are shy. I had 2 baby crablettes in the shipping container with them, and I know that one made it into the tank, the other one might have been damaged, but it would be very cool if they live and grow. So it seems that at least one of my crabs is a female, not sure what the other one is. I haven't tried to handle them (don't really fancy being bitten).
I also received 3 dwarf puffers with the Vampire crabs ... and although it's hard to tell which ones are which, all my DP's seem to be doing well. In fact, I've got a pair that have been courting one another and I would not be surprised at all if eggs appeared. Doubtful that the eggs would live and hatch .... but exciting all the same.
And finally, the last thing to mention are the sulawesi snails that came with the Vampire crabs and DP's. They are quite big, about 2" long and black, unlike the other ones I have which are yellow. These are certainly some interesting snails and I would encourage anyone that enjoys keeping snails (for other than puffer food I might add) to get some of these and give them a go. I love to watch them moving about in the tank. You will see their trails as they move along. Mine mostly seem to suck onto the glass vertically, along the back of the tank.
So there you have it, The Menagerie. Now I've got puffers, a Fire eel (along with many different types of fish), 3 mudskippers, 3 crayfish, 2 different types of aquatic crabs, the Vampire crabs (they are terrestrial), 3 pygmy chameleons and now Ziggy my soon-to-be large Yemen chameleon -- oh and let's not forget the crickets (just kidding!
).
I was very worried about him because he did not eat Thursday night, but I put that down to the fact that he was still in the fish tank and the crickets were able to hide under the newspaper. Then last night I got the bright idea to put the crickets into a plastic container and put that container directly under the Ficus tree that Ziggy hangs out in. The crickets don't have the common sense to jump out, so they don't. I put some carrots in for the crickets to feed on too, to keep them happy. But when I got up this morning I was very disappointed to see that all the crickets were still alive and well. Ziggy hadn't touched them. I know from keeping the pygmy chams that it's very important for these little guys to eat, and eat often. So I phoned the shop we got him from. I do wonder about people sometimes. First she tells me that I shouldn't have given him food at all, that I should have given him time to settle in. Well the guy that sold me Ziggy never said a word about with-holding food, and if that was an issue, he should have said something. So then I asked when should I offer Ziggy food again, and she tells me "maybe Monday or Tuesday"!! That would make it 5 or 6 days that the poor wee cham had gone with no food. That didn't sound right to me. And all I could think was that Ziggy wasn't going to make it, and I was sad.
So I went back upstairs to check on Ziggy and to my surprise, he had eaten 2 of the crickets, was hanging over the container and looked quite happy with himself. I was ecstatic! I went back a little bit later and all the crickets were gone!! So it seems that Ziggy might have needed a little time to settle, but I don't think it would have been a good thing if I had not left the food there, as he was clearly hungry. When I went up to have a look a little while ago he was curled up on a leaf, with a fat belly, sleeping. I am just very happy to know that he's eating.
I haven't gotten any photos of him yet, mainly because I've not wanted to bother him .... but I am going to try to get some of him tomorrow, so you can see just how cute he is. I can't wait until he grows a bit and doesn't feel quite so fragile. And to think, when full grown, Ziggy will be nearly 24" long!!! That's going to be awesome.
****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
As to my other new arrivals that came this week: The 2 Vampire crabs, they are doing really well too. They are so cute, but very small. I will have to work on getting a photo of them, but it won't be easy, they are shy. I had 2 baby crablettes in the shipping container with them, and I know that one made it into the tank, the other one might have been damaged, but it would be very cool if they live and grow. So it seems that at least one of my crabs is a female, not sure what the other one is. I haven't tried to handle them (don't really fancy being bitten).
I also received 3 dwarf puffers with the Vampire crabs ... and although it's hard to tell which ones are which, all my DP's seem to be doing well. In fact, I've got a pair that have been courting one another and I would not be surprised at all if eggs appeared. Doubtful that the eggs would live and hatch .... but exciting all the same.
And finally, the last thing to mention are the sulawesi snails that came with the Vampire crabs and DP's. They are quite big, about 2" long and black, unlike the other ones I have which are yellow. These are certainly some interesting snails and I would encourage anyone that enjoys keeping snails (for other than puffer food I might add) to get some of these and give them a go. I love to watch them moving about in the tank. You will see their trails as they move along. Mine mostly seem to suck onto the glass vertically, along the back of the tank.
So there you have it, The Menagerie. Now I've got puffers, a Fire eel (along with many different types of fish), 3 mudskippers, 3 crayfish, 2 different types of aquatic crabs, the Vampire crabs (they are terrestrial), 3 pygmy chameleons and now Ziggy my soon-to-be large Yemen chameleon -- oh and let's not forget the crickets (just kidding!
).
