Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[Tea]

This post is merely a way of me letting off a bit of steam really...

Having taken on a male Yemen last week in the hopes that I can mate him to my female I was a little disturbed by the set-up he was in as, to be fair, it was far from ideal. I had been warned by the guy I was collecting him from that the set-up was a mess but he was holding onto him for someone else so it wasn't really his place to be changing it and what have you. It was a tall wood/glass vivarium with nice branches and stuff in it but his basking spot was less than adequate to say the least and, I'm not convinced it had even been used in the last year, maybe more. He has obvious burns on his veil and back no doubt as a result of this bulb that was a mere 4 inches away from the only branch he had to sit on beneath it. Anyway, I noticed his appetite was abnormally weak and he was extremely skinny so I concluded that what was really needed here was complete overhaul...

So, today, off I went to Ameyzoo to get him a few bits... came out with a flexarium, new lighting for his basking spot and leaves for him to feel a bit more secure as he had no leaf cover at all in his last viv. I've decided that there's no way he'll be breeding with my female until he's in tip top condition and has regained his normal, typical Yemen persona. I want him to be able to impress her properly

She seems receptive to him so far as I have shown him to her a couple of times and the initial reaction on her part was curiosity and nice, green colouration. Here's hoping he'll make a speedy recovery and be back to his normal, healthy self soon so I can see if I get any eggs out of the pairing
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http://www.iherp.com/tea

0.1.1 Elaphe guttata guttata
1.0 Python regius
1.0 Xenopus laevis
4.0 Hyla cinerea
0.0.4 Litoria cearulea
0.0.1 Varanus exanthematicus
1.1 Chameleo calyptratus

[kroakykaren]

Well done you for taking him on, give him plenty to drink and his appetite will come back and i am sure he will be tip top in no time
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[Tea]

Thank you

That's another thing actually... the drip system he had in his old viv. Innovative, for sure, but I don't think I want to keep it. I think I'll get him a little dripper like I've got for my other Yemen. This thing he has at the mo is basically a water pump system that cycles continuously and is really noisy. Also, the motor inside the pump warms the water up quite a bit and the tap that's attached to it doesn't drip so much as it does flow. He's chewed on the tap cuz he couldn't figure it out initially, or so I was told, so it's a bit mangled from that too...

He's already looking happier! He was always so skinny and shrivelled looking before. Since I've put him in this flexarium with his new basking spot he's already looking a lot bigger, happier and proud like a male Yemen should and that's just in the last few hours!
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http://www.iherp.com/tea

0.1.1 Elaphe guttata guttata
1.0 Python regius
1.0 Xenopus laevis
4.0 Hyla cinerea
0.0.4 Litoria cearulea
0.0.1 Varanus exanthematicus
1.1 Chameleo calyptratus

[ClactonJoe]

Yeah.. Well done Tea...

Are you planning on keeping this male or is all this care just so you can mate him? I hope he doesn't go back the the person who left him in that last state.

I do hope you get a good mate from him and we all get to see those lovely little off-spring.
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Joey (From Sunny Clacton-on-Sea)

Go-on Have a Look...
http://www.mycampage.com/chameleon

[Brew]

Well done for rescuing him. Just a word of caution, have you had him tested for parasites? If he has been kept in squallow conditions he may well have them, I'd be a bit cautious letting him even close to your female until it's been checked.

[Tea]

Joe, thank you I am hoping to keep hold of him. Sctually... how's best to say this... I will be keping hold of him. He's happy as anything in his new set-up and is already an asset to my (albeit modest) collection. Hopefully he and my girl will get on well and produce some good eggs for me!

Brew, no, I haven't had him tested for parasites though I will take him to see a vet to be on the safe side before I allow him near my female. I'm 99% sure he's not got any but all the same, you're right, can't be too careful. I say I'm 99% sure as, although I haven't been present in his life up until now, I do know his husbandry was clean and sanitary, he just wasn't provided with the necessary lighting/heating he needed. His tank was a little less than ideal, especially for a chameleon, but overall his owners weren't entirely irresponsible, I think just inexperienced with these animals. If I understood correctly, it wasn't all that long ago he was checked for parasites anyway. But, as I value peace of mind, I'll get him checked asap.
_________________
http://www.iherp.com/tea

0.1.1 Elaphe guttata guttata
1.0 Python regius
1.0 Xenopus laevis
4.0 Hyla cinerea
0.0.4 Litoria cearulea
0.0.1 Varanus exanthematicus
1.1 Chameleo calyptratus