2 Elliot's died

[Chameleonmaster]

My Elliot's are 2 weeks from being 3 months old. They have had problems with there eyes when they were about 1 1/2 months old which was a humidity problem which has been resolved. I have been supplementing with plain calcium once a week.
I've had 2 die in the past 2 days. They have been closing they're eyes again and not looking so good!
I'm headed home and will post pics when I get there.

 

[ataraxia]

I will start off saying i dont have any experience with Ellioti. Neonate/baby care is relatively universal though.

What type of lighting?
What are your temps?
Are you keeping the cage floor and vines clean?
What are you feeding them and how often?
Humidity and what are you doing to keep it at good levels?
How are you watering and how often?

You will want to dust more often than once a week with plain calcium.

 

[Chameleonmaster]

I will start off saying i dont have any experience with Ellioti. Neonate/baby care is relatively universal though.

What type of lighting?
What are your temps?
Are you keeping the cage floor and vines clean?
What are you feeding them and how often?
Humidity and what are you doing to keep it at good levels?
How are you watering and how often?

You will want to dust more often than once a week with plain calcium.

Ok lighting is a zilla tropical series 25 t8 fluorescent bulb and a 40w bulb
Basking is 77 and 73 at bottom
The vines get cleaned 2 times a week and floor gets cleaned daily
I have pin heads and fruit flies I feed them twice a day
I have a exo terra fogger that goes off once a hour for 5 mins it get up to 85 and drops down to 40 before it goes off again
I use spring water and I mist about 5 times a day
About how much would I dust cause I def don't want to over supplement.

 

[Chameleonmaster]

I just turned there lights back in to get some pics

 

[Cainschams]

Im not really sure what to suggest. Hopefully Trace will chime in. She would be the best person for suggestions on live bearers, especially the bitaeniatus complex.

 

[Cainschams]

What are gutloading with? Looks like they have a touch of edema. Could be caused from a certain "nutrient" or possibly an infection if the air is too stagnant in the enclosure.

 

[ataraxia]

Everything looks good. How are you monitoring temps? What color are the urates? It is vital to keep the cage floor and vines clean...

Over supplementing is very hard to do with plain phos free calcium.

Truth is at this point the ones with their eyes closed will more than likely perish. Learn from the possible mistakes.

 

[Chameleonmaster]

What are gutloading with? Looks like they have a touch of edema. Could be caused from a certain "nutrient" or possibly an infection if the air is too stagnant in the enclosure.

I buy the fruit fly cultures with what ever gutload is smeared on the inside and crickets I have some try of gutload I bought at the pet store its a wet gutload for the crickets then I put in a fruit or veggy in every once in awhile. I also have fluckers crap too but don't really use it. It could be stagnant air from the glass since that's the only thing that can keep humidity in.

 

[Chameleonmaster]

Everything looks good. How are you monitoring temps? What color are the urates? It is vital to keep the cage floor and vines clean...

Over supplementing is very hard to do with plain phos free calcium.

Truth is at this point the ones with their eyes closed will more than likely perish. Learn from the possible mistakes.

The urates are white and sometimes a little orange when I don't mist more than 3 times a day. I monitor with a exo terra hydrometer and a regular outside thermometer. Oh forgot to say I spot clean the vines a about 2 times during the week.

 

[Cainschams]

I buy the fruit fly cultures with what ever gutload is smeared on the inside and crickets I have some try of gutload I bought at the pet store its a wet gutload for the crickets then I put in a fruit or veggy in every once in awhile. I also have fluckers crap too but don't really use it. It could be stagnant air from the glass since that's the only thing that can keep humidity in.

It is a terrarium but..... Maybe try a screen cage. Even with montanes I still think a little less than perfect humidity with good air flow is better than perfect humidity that is stagnant.

Its really hard to say.

 

[Chameleonmaster]

I am thinking about going and buying one. I don't know if you can see it in the photos but the back of the eye lid there is a little bump.

 

[Godzillakeeper101]

Is this plant ok it's the umbrella plant with yellow and green leafs its for my veiled

 

[Chameleonmaster]

Make a thread don't post it on mine
And yes u can make sure u wash them

 

[Godzillakeeper101]

Sorry but thanks I'm new and really not shur how to

 

[Chameleonmaster]

Sorry I didn't mean for it sound that way I'm just frustrated my babies are dying after all I've put into them.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

Sorry I didn't mean for it sound that way I'm just frustrated my babies are dying after all I've put into them.

I was told about your topic.


I never had any issues breeding the Elliot's however I had the same problem with my Rudis back in the day. That issue was due to stagnant air. In problem shooting that I simply put half having the problem in a screen cage and the others I left in the glass tank I had been using. Since they were all being fed the same diet, nutrition was not the issue nor lighting and since they were still in the same room the temp was the same as well. The only thing I tried different was the air flow. The majority of the Rudis in the screen cage came around over a little more than a week (I wanna say like 10 days) and I ended up putting them all in it. I still did lose some however. Learn as much from this litter as you can, then apply that to the next one.


Experimentation thru careful observation is key in this hobby, that idea was passed on to me by a nice old guy some 20+ years ago. I pass it on to you.

 

[Chameleonmaster]

I was told about your topic.


I never had any issues breeding the Elliot's however I had the same problem with my Rudis back in the day. That issue was due to stagnant air. In problem shooting that I simply put half having the problem in a screen cage and the others I left in the glass tank I had been using. Since they were all being fed the same diet, nutrition was not the issue nor lighting and since they were still in the same room the temp was the same as well. The only thing I tried different was the air flow. The majority of the Rudis in the screen cage came around over a little more than a week (I wanna say like 10 days) and I ended up putting them all in it. I still did lose some however. Learn as much from this litter as you can, then apply that to the next one.


Experimentation thru careful observation is key in this hobby, that idea was passed on to me by a nice old guy some 20+ years ago. I pass it on to you.

Thanks for the information I am going up to the store and getting a cage. But won't the same problem occur when I put them in the screen cage if I don't have the humidity up high?

 

[OldChamKeeper]

Back when I was working with them I did not need the humidity at the levels you have it, they didn't make humidifiers back then. Mine got by with a nice long hand misting in the morning and another towards the late afternoon. Also I'd give them a dripper which just dripped onto their ficus and into the plants pot. I'd drain that when I got home from work. While I didn't measure the humidity I could tell I had it. Keep in mind the humidity fluxes in the wild. Don't baby them too much

Lotta work 20 yrs ago, had less in the way of products to choose from.

 

[Chameleonmaster]

Back when I was working with them I did not need the humidity at the levels you have it, they didn't make humidifiers back then. Mine got by with a nice long hand misting in the morning and another towards the late afternoon. Also I'd give them a dripper which just dripped onto their ficus and into the plants pot. I'd drain that when I got home from work. While I didn't measure the humidity I could tell I had it. Keep in mind the humidity fluxes in the wild. Don't baby them too much

Lotta work 20 yrs ago, had less in the way of products to choose from.

it fluctuates from 40-80ish. when the fogger goes off it jumps to 80 then when it turns off it will slowly start dropping down to about 40% before it kicks back on again. my fogger goes off every hour for 5 mins.

 

[Chameleonmaster]

I just bought a 18•18•36 earlier I have new vines and everything setup except the fogger I will get more PVC to get it to the cage. I'll post pics tomorrow when they're awake.