Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[Paul D]

Hi,

I'm looking to get a Yemen Cham in the near future and will be making a custom viv that will measure 3tf x 2ft x 4ft. However I've read that it is better to keep them in smaller quarters until they are a more suitable size for the bigger viv.
I wondered if the Exo Terra glass terrarium 18" x 18" x 24" would be suitable for this.
Does anyone use these to rear young Yemens or do they provide insufficient ventilation or cause problems with too high humidity?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Paul
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Paul D

If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?

[kroakykaren]

hi Paul the exo's are excellent for young chams, depending on the age when you get it, a 12 X 12 X 18 is great for young ones i find the ventilation in them is fine too
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[Elliott]

exoterras only let 40% of the UV through, trust me! i got to mine in the nick of time!
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[lol93]

I have UV in one of my exo terras, and the tube is hung inside the viv.
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[Elliott]

Sorry, was unclear, It only lets 40% UV through when the tube is laid across the top of the exo-terra (above the mesh).
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[kroakykaren]

I have raised babies in exo terras with the UV outside the mesh with no problems, i use 10% UV for better penetration, i believe rickeezee uses the same method with no problems
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[kinyonga]

Here are some sites that you might find of interest if you haven't already seen them...
http://adcham.com/html/husbandry/babycare.html
http://www.chameleonnews.com/year2002/nov2002/horgan/first_weeks.html
http://www.chameleonnews.com/year2003/oct2003/baby_caging/baby_caging.html

[Rickeezee]

I do use exos for the larger babies with 10% uv zoo med tubes to ensure good levels of uv get through. So probably getting the equivalent of 5% through the mesh.

For newborns I use faunariums 3 chams per tank for the first month, then one per tank, laid out in rows with a four foot uv tube across the top in a warm room no other heating required else they will dehydrate and cook. I ditch the plastic tops and use a cut to size mesh over the top secured with elastic bands. I tend to vary baby raising methods to see what has the best results.

Thus far the things that I have found to be of most import are:

Good hydration: mist up to x6 per day

Regular supply of suitable well gutloaded food

Do not over heat the baby chams

Hygiene: clean them out every other day

Correct supplementation routine

Even from a young age baby chams can dominate each other so all depending how many per clutch I never house any of them together for more than one month after they are born. After about 4-6 weeks the babies then get housed individually in the 30x30x45 cm exos.

I like the exos for young chams as they tend to hold humidity reasonably well. A cross flow of ventilation is achievable, hot air out of the mesh top cool air drawn in via door grill. Ditch the fake rock background crickets etc can hide behind it. When you have a few clutches on the go if housed like this you need a lot of space, time and exos

Each cham breeder will have a variety of methods that work for them the methodology described above is just how I do things, does not mean to say its the only way or is finite.

I am not afraid to admit that at times I have lost baby chams, they may have been runts, I may not have got the husbandry right, who knows. Baby chams can be delicate and at times hard to raise.

An important note I think is; its not just about how you raise the babies but goes all the way back to how the Mother female chameleons are looked after, even from a young age, as this will obviously influence the outcome and success of clutches. There are quite a few things that can be done to increase the chances of viability of baby chams just by how the adult females are looked after such as good calcium supplementation, feeding nice fat juicy egg laden crickets, put new UV tubes in when the female is gravid, minimise stress within the environment for her etc.

I try to learn from what goes wrong as inevitably at times it will, hence trying various methods for raising baby chams. Its a learning curve every day. Where would the fun be if it was all easy going?


Would be very helpful if others would post how they raise their babies and what they have found works and what does not work.
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www.rickslivefood.co.uk

[mcfluffin]

Really good advice there. Hydration seems to be a real key. If you don't have loads of vivs with misting systems etc. then get a pump-style mister. Got one and it saves me serious wrist-ache! (no jokes please gents) Sounds like the exo-terra will work out well whilst the cham is growing, and hey, you can use it to put some pygmy chams in once the yemen is adult ! That's defo what I'd do!

[Paul D]

Thanks a lot for all the info/links and thanks for the in depth run down Rick, that is most helpful.

I will most likely go ahead and get one of the Exo Terra Vivs then. I will be running it for about a month anyway before I get the Cham to ensure everything is OK.

And yes the reason that I was considering the Exo Terra ones is that I will be able to house something else in there once the Yemen is in the bigger viv, sneaky plan that my girlfriend is yet unaware of

Thanks again.
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Paul D

If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?