BASIC HOUSING
on this page, you will find care information that has worked successfully for me.
first, i will start off with the terrarium itself.
A 10 gallon tank will house 2 specimens. never 2 males however. the combinations that work are:
one male, one female
one female, one female
2 juvenile's of the same clutch
aggression was observed in a tank that housed 2 males. the most aggressive one, would seek out the weaker individual and intimidate him with flashy displays of color and patterns, as well as frequent tail grabbing. this was observed for a period of one week. with the weaker specimen being removed into a separate enclosure.
( this picture shows the intimidation factor one male has over another.)
a densely planted tank is preferred by this species. whilst making many changes to my terrariums in hopes of finding a suitable design that the animals would like, i had found that a tank that is planted densely on either side, and left open in the middle with branches and wood pieces to climb on worked best. a small 25 watt infrared heat lamp was placed above the open area to create a basking spot. at which, that site was frequently used.
i had read that there is no need for a basking area for this species, as they are mainly a ground dweller, where little light reaches the forest floor . i have found, however, that is was not the case. they quite preferred a warm basking spot to any where else in the enclosure. the basking spot kept a constant temperature of around 75-80 F degrees. this was adequate enough to allow for them to regulate their body temps. at opposite ends of the terrarium, away from the basking spot, the temps were in the mid 70's F range.
(this picture illustrates an older setup that has since gone out of commission.)
as for lighting, i use one 25 watt UVB bulb. this is on for approximately 8 hours a day. and 2 regular day light bulbs for artificial sunlight, on for the same length of time.
while the pygmies do not need strong lighting to be comfortable, if you plan on maintaining a live terrarium, you will need enough light to allow the plants to grow.
a typical live terrarium setup will consist of the following:
1-2 inch layer of gravel, ( pea gravel or larger), use as a drainage layer
2-3 inches of COCO FIBER, a pesticide and perlite free all natural material. (found at Petco & Petsmart) other options would be organic potting soil or peat moss.
plants of your choosing. ( research toxicity levels on the internet before placing in cage.)
small water dish
branches (fake or live)
maple and oak leaves ( or hardy, thick leaves)
**NOTE**
if you plan on using branches/rocks/leaves collected from outside. make sure that you either freeze them for 48 hours or bake them at 350 F degrees for 15 minutes in a conventional oven to rid them of parasites.
( can you spot her? Brev's love to hide amongst leaf litter and plant roots. )
**NOTE**
before plants can be placed inside the enclosure, they must first be washed completely of the soil that they were packaged in. washing them outside will get rid of all of the soil. wash the leaves and stems with warm water. wash the container they were packaged in (if you plan to keep it). then, either plant in the coco fiber, or replant in the pot using the coco fiber soil.
( photo provided by a User on thefrog.org )
a few plants that i have found to work well are:
Abelia
African Daisy
Sweet Alysum
Asperagus Fern
Baby's Tears
Bird's Nest Fern
Boston Fern
Bottle Bush
Bouganville
Bridal Veil
Bromeliads
Caladium
Camellia
Chamomile
Corn Plant
COrn Flower
Draceana
Dwarf Banana Plant
Emerald Ripple
Eugenia
Fuschia
Geranuim
Hawaiian Schefflera/Brassaia Arboricola (Beautiful plant, grows upwards, gets very full, Solid Leaves.)
Hen and Chicks Succulent
Hibiscus
Hoya
Iceplant
Impatients
Japenes Aralia
Jade
Jasmine
Lavender
Mother of Pearl
Natal Plum
Painted Nettle
Palms
Pampas Grass
Parlor Palm
Perperomia
Phoenix
Purple Velvet
Pelia
Pink Polka Dot
Ponytail Plant
Pothos (#1 Choice, easy to maintain & Hard to kill. Grows well!!)
Spider Plant (Do not do well with high humidity..)
Staghorn Fern
Swedish Ivy
Tree Mallow
Umbrella Plant
Wandering Jew
Warneckii
Wax Plant
Zebra Plant
Zinnias
**NOTE**
this is a small list of non toxic plants taken from the internet. i have placed many on this list into my terrariums with great success.
( A setup that is currently in use.)
