My Bradypodion Transvaalense Adventure

[Saldarya]

Evening All,

I am starting this thread as a means to share details of keeping these animals in the hope that any that are involved can point out issues and opportunities that they see as well as track their progress.

Call it a log of sorts and I will try and update weekly.

I will start with the basic Set ups:

Cage Size: 36"x18" screen cages.
Planted with live plants as can see in the pictures.
Lighting: 6% Arcadia T5 with reflector, 6500K T5 Plant bulb
Watering: Mist King set up to mist 2X a day. 45 seconds 30 minutes after lights come on and then 30 sec 6 hours later allowing then 6 more hours to completely dry out prior to lights out.
Temps. Ambient Room temp is 73 during the day and drops to 62ish at night. RH in the room itself ranges from 68-88% depending on time of day and various misting. That is the RH outside as well BTW. The humidity in the cages is less due to temps in the cage. Basking Spot is 81-82 deg with a gradient in the cage from there down to room temp of 73 at the bottom of cage.
Air Flow: There is a 9" fan at floor level that runs on low pointed up and behind the cages. This provides some air flow that ensures cages dry out quickly. There does not appear or feel like there is any draft in the cage itself. The Room AC brings in and recycles fresh air as well as other fans in the room that move air around for even room temps.

The animals themselves came from Paul who has had them for while and are stable and by all accounts are healthy and in good shape. I am hoping that because they have been in captivity for a while and not recent imports that this will provide an edge.

Feeding: I have FF, various sizes of crickets, flour beetles, small P Worms, sm RR and dubia roaches. Also have silks hatching atm. They appear to be eating FF and the 1/8 crix pretty well and I will continue to offer new foods to them. Thus far they are only interested in hunting free range, but I have added small feeding cups in the enclosures in the hope that they will learn to eat from them so I can track their feeding progress.

Please ask questions of anything I may have missed or that you have questions about. I will get pics of the actual animals later this week.

Here are some pics of the set ups.

 

[SaintJimmy]

Wow, those setups are beyond amazing.

I wish you best luck with your new chams!

I'll be following this thread for updates too.

 

[Saldarya]

Weekly Update:

A couple of minor changes:

1. Reduced watering to once a day, 30 minutes after lights on for 30 sec. THe foliage gets plenty wet. Urates appear to have lighten some over the past week. They were slightly off white and appear to be moving closer to solid white. The poop/urate is small, so it dries our very quickly before I find it normally. Note that my ambient humidity is high and this may be adjusted as fall/winter comes closer.

2. Limited the fan to only run for 2 hours after the misting session. Do not want any issues with RI and drafts.


In general they appear to be doing well. They eat FF with ease and appear to have begun to hesitantly cup feed 1/8 crickets. I free range the crickets and then also add some to cup. They are also hesitantly eating small silkworms. Thus far no interest in Dubias or Isopods.

They are both quick to bask first thing in the AM at a basking temp of about 83 degrees. After having warmed they move to the mid level of enclosure which is about 75 degrees at the peak of the day.

That's it for this week. I'll continue to update.

 

[John K]

nice setup

 

[JonRich]

Curious if there are any updates.

~Jon

 

[African Bush]

A couple of minor changes:

1. Reduced watering to once a day, 30 minutes after lights on for 30 sec. THe foliage gets plenty wet. Urates appear to have lighten some over the past week. They were slightly off white and appear to be moving closer to solid white. The poop/urate is small, so it dries our very quickly before I find it normally. Note that my ambient humidity is high and this may be adjusted as fall/winter comes closer.

Well done on the awesome Chams. Im no professional but I can give advice on personal observations, seeing as though I am based in the middle of where these gems orriginate. I see them on a daily basis and can give some info on how they go about on their daily tasks and also where we see them most often.
I see many of these criters crossing the roads at the hottest times of the day moving toward the marshy areas. the area where we live is extremely hot during summer months and reach temperatures of up to 38 degrees centegrade.
I have caught and relocated over 30 of them in the last month or so.While driving around on the game farm you have to keep your eyes on the road at all times as we find many of them as well as tortoises walking around. So I simply stop, pick them up and move tem further into the bush for their own safety.
Early mornings you find them on the rocks, waiting for the day to warm up. once warm they move on to their normal activities.
Night time temperatures vary from 10 to 20 degrees celsius. I have even spotted one of them in a bush at the lodge in the evening catching moths. the bush is right next to a light bulb, so a instant food source, and the bulb is hot, so he gets his heat from being close to it.
I by accident found this forum, so now that I have, If you would like, I will take photos of these wonderful little creatures in their natural habitat.
Take care and keep up the good work.

2. Limited the fan to only run for 2 hours after the misting session. Do not want any issues with RI and drafts.


In general they appear to be doing well. They eat FF with ease and appear to have begun to hesitantly cup feed 1/8 crickets. I free range the crickets and then also add some to cup. They are also hesitantly eating small silkworms. Thus far no interest in Dubias or Isopods.

They are both quick to bask first thing in the AM at a basking temp of about 83 degrees. After having warmed they move to the mid level of enclosure which is about 75 degrees at the peak of the day.

That's it for this week. I'll continue to update.[/QUOTE]

 

[DeremensisBlue]

The answer would be YES PLEASE! Would love photos and your observations as to their living conditions. When we get temperature data off the internet it tells us nothing about what microclimate they choose during these times or whether that temperature takes them to the limit of their comfort or if they just go about their business.
Thanks for sharing your observations!
Bill