Brevicaudatus Questions

[archerofthemoon]

So I picked up what I hope turns out to be a pair of brevicaudatus. I plan on adding to them once I get these two down pat on the husbandry and conditions. At the moment I have them in a bare bottom 12x12x18 Exo Terra with a Ficus Benjamins for them to crawl over. I plan to make the terrarium more naturalistic with a coco substrate and planting some other ficus species in the terrarium.

This is the second day I've had these little guys and I've noticed one strange thing about one of the chams (I believe to be the male), he likes to bum rush and or go towards the other cham. I don't see mouth open aggression, just he reaches out across the ficus trying to reach at the other (pressumed female) and then she starts to shake that branch like no tomorrow. After he backs down she occasionally moves away and this scenario stops. 20 minutes later it happened again. Thoughts?

I'm wondering if he's just trying to get a little lovin'...

These guys are pigs btw... I fed them for the first time today and jeeze... Little black holes of a stomach these chams have.

 

[hbskeet]

post some pictures and I can tell you what they are and their sex. It seems like you could possibly have two males.

 

[archerofthemoon]

I'll get some up tonight.

Side note:

Would it be safe for the chams if I put some carnivorous plants in to accent the flora? Plus they would help take care of the odd cricket that they don't eat

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Agree that so far sounds like you have two males, which can't be kept together if that is the case. Definitely give them more foliage in the meantime so they can escape each other, which will somewhat alleviate the aggression...until they see each other again.

 

[archerofthemoon]

Hrm, I just fed them and they are sitting on the same branch pecking off crickets.They seem content right now as they do notice each other but they don't seem to care now.

Prior to pictures here is a description of each.

Cham 1:
smooth body
has one beard barb
lighter brown complexion
stubby tail

Cham 2:
Rougher body (bumps)
3 beard barbs
darker complexion
longer tail

I was under the impression that cham 1 is female and cham 2 is male. But I will post pics tonight when I get back home.

 

[Shawntea]

the ridges in the spine area will also be more pronounced in males. Like dips and peaks. More plants will help them to feel more protected, and less likely to fight over space. However, if you do indeed have two males they will have to be separated or moved to a much bigger enclosure with a couple girlies.

 

[ChameleonsInMyHouse]

by your description you are right by their sex. it is very easy to tell apart bearded sexes, by the pronounced back ridges and longer tail you would have a male.

 

[archerofthemoon]

As promised photos!

The first pic is what I think is the female, and the second being the assumed male.

Thoughts? Got caught up assembling the new light fixture for them or I would have posted the pics sooner.

 

[hbskeet]

Picture 1: Looks like it could be either but maybe an older female.
Picture 2: Definetly a male.

The male should display stripes and spotting w/ yellow stripes on his eye turrets when searching for a mate. If the female is not receptive she will shake and chase him away or run away. It's always best to have at least two females just so the one doesn't get stressed constantly due to the male always making advances.

 

[adamkwas]

They look like a pair; the first being female and the second being male.

 

[archerofthemoon]

Good to know.

The one that seems to be in consensus to be female always is patternless. She does get a little darker when she see's food, but aside from that she looks like the pic. As for the other one, he started to show patterns this morning when I turned the lights on.

I noticed last night before putting them to bed they were squinting/had their eyes closed till they saw me moving around. Once I turned the lights off I saw them start to get more active and move around. I peeked in the enclosure through the glass and their eyes were wide open. Are two 28w t-5 bulbs too much for these guys? Little too bright? I'm going to pick up a UVB bulb for them today as the original one I was using is a little old. Hope I can find a 24" uvb 2.0 t-5...

Also, I've noticed that they don't seem to drink when I spray the enclosure. They eat like pigs when I feed them (a few times a day till they seem 100% settled in their new home.) I did notice some feces in the enclosure today so I guess that's good

 

[archerofthemoon]

Still no observed drinking from these guys. I've misted the enclosure a few more times lightly. But as soon as I drop in a cricket or two, they each snap them up.

 

[lisa h]

I've NEVER observed any of my chameleons drinking, but when I see white urates I know they must be. Those that have lived for weeks, months or years must be drinking. My point being that maybe they don't like being watched, so you need to look at other things to determine if they're drinking, rather than simply watching for them to do it. Are they showing signs of dehydration? What are their urates looking like? If all is well, then they're doing it behind your back.

 

[archerofthemoon]

The urates look just fine. Plus I did catch the female lapping away at some water droplets at last nights misting. It seems all is well and these little guys are settling in just fine

I scrapped the plan to completely viv out the exoterra they are in. They seem content with the two ficus in there and it seems more sanitary for them to just keep it bare bottom.