Out on the common

Just a very quick one but today myself and Chris Johnson headed over to Ideford common to try and find some of our native herps. The weather was a little against us and although quite well populated with Adders and Grass Snakes and such we only really managed a few glimpses at the back ends of some common lizards.  Its been a busy weekend here what with a BBQ for my birthday and a meal with the family tonight but just to let you all know that the poorly frog is still doing well and our gravid female cham is going to drop very soon. I'll post a bigger update over the next couple of days.

Gravid chameleon

It looks like the female chameleon I picked up from Kidderminster is already gravid, she eats like a pig and although not bursting at the seams, does this to warn off Pharaoh when she see's him:

P.S. We have decided to call her Nyx after the goddess of the night from Greek mythology.

Poorly azzie update

Well he's still with us and does not seem to be reacting badly to being in quarantine. The swelling did seemingly burst and looked very much like an ulcer, all grey and horrible. In himself he's still more or less doing what a frog should be although I am yet to witness him have any interest in food.
We are treating him in a bath containing Tiacil which is an opthalmic solution for dogs cats and rabbits. We have diluted 0.25ml into 1ltr of cooled, boiled tap water and are going to bathe him in it for 1 hour everyday for 7 days.
Ill post another update on his progress in a couple of days or as anything happens.

Poorly azzie

Unfortunately while rearranging the azureus tank yesterday I noticed this had come up on one of the male azureus:

It is a rather large swelling on his throat where his vocal sack is. it has what looks to be red spots and an abscess on the underside of it. I have taken to see a vet and we have between us come to the conclusion that a baytril/saline solution applied topically to the back of the frog will be the best and safest course of action at this time. 

I hope he gets sorted soon as he has spent a lot of time sitting in water (an obvious indicator there is something wrong with a dart frog) and has gone off his food

EDIT*** ok the treatment has been changed and I have to wait till tomorrow  to get it but it will be a solution that I can bath it in. Apparently the opinion between the vet and another colleague from another practise was that the alcohol in baytril would be an irritant so they have changed to the bath method. I cant remember what is in it but will update.

Re-design of the azureus tank

The vivarium that has housed our Tinctorius Azureus has been bugging me for a while now. As I didn't use coco fibre matting on the sides of this the plants have been growing well... too well. The ficus has been growing out of control and because of the humid environment algae has been growing on the plants and on the glass... yuk.
I decided enough was enough and to have it all out and give it a quick reshuffle and replant using some of the new plants I bought at the Kidderminster show.
Here's what I started with:

Retail Guzmania bromeliads have done their job but quiet frankly I dont like them and would prefer not to use them any more. The creeping fig has got out of control and I cant keep up with hacking it back, plus I knew there was a big ugly spider living amongst it. If you are wondering, the fruit fly culture is sitting there to let the last few fruit flies out so I can ditch the culture and start again.

     So I stripped the worst out and here's the result of the unforgiving hacking followed by gluing cocofiber matting to each side wall:

And on the plus side I got the little (well pretty big really) spider, it was yet another Steatoda nobilis http://www.uksafari.com/falsewidows.htm.

so a little jiggery pokery with some of the wood i removed from the floor:

Oh and I added the waterfall back to the left corner. I then took the larger piece of wood that had several Guzmania pups growing on it and removed the plants, replaced them with a couple of the new plants and placed it in the tank:

I thought the nice burst of red in the centre would draw the eye to the vivarium as a bit of a focal point.











I added small offcuts of creeping fig to the bottom edges hoping that they will grow up and cover the walls. Hopefully I will be able to keep on top of it this time. a couple more bromeliads later and here we go:

The frogs are back in and looking around and I cant wait to see what it looks like after a couple of months growing in.

Bath time!!!!!!!!... well ok shower time...

Took the new girlie out into the morning sun and gave her a good soaking this morning she didn't think much of it mind.

C.R.E.A.K.S Kidderminster

Well yesterday was a bit up and down unfortunately, the day had plenty of traders with some fabulous stock and yet sadly it never really took off. The doors opened at 10:30am and at a very rough estimate I'd say we had around 200ish people through the door. Selling was slow but I did manage to sell 5 of the 6 leopard gecko's my brother had sent me with. At around 2pm the day started to dry up even more with lots of the public leaving. I think we departed at 3pm and the doors were supposed to be open till 4!!.
All in all though I had a great day as it was the first show like this I had attended, it was fascinating to see other collections and some truly unbelievable royal python morphs. Also available were just about every type of tarantula and praying mantis you could think of. Unfortunately there were no poison dart frog sellers at this show so I came home without the few frogs I had hoped to get, but I did get to meet Richie from Rain forest vivs (http://www.rainforestvivs.co.uk/index.php). To make up for the lack of frogs I did buy myself another female chameleon who has already started showing a lot of interest in Phaoroh. I think the highlight for the day was finally getting to see one of Chris Johnsons (http://www.chrisjohnsonreptiles.co.uk/) Aru green tree python babies, these are truly stunning animals from high white parents... I wish I could get one just to see what they are going to look like as adults in the flesh =).

Fruit fly culturing

Its taken a few days but I've managed to throw together a basic tutorial video on how I make my fruit fly cultures. Any questions just drop me an email or leave a comment and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

a couple more arrivals

Since the death of our last Dendrobates Leucomelas or bumblebee poison dart frog last year I have missed their presence and the males rather loud call. So today, after a brisk drive we went and picked up these little guys (guy and girl hopefully fingers crossed). I have added generic jungle sounds to the video so you don't have to listen to the microphone hiss or to my stupid voice... let me know what you think.

He's soooo cute

Since taking Pharaoh in we have been overjoyed with how tame he can be at times. As well as taking food from your hand he also came with a special cup that he seems to love drinking from here's a quick vid for the non believers:

Newest additions

Today Kelly and I went to visit my younger brother Matt, who like me has a bit of a passion for anything scaly. He has been breeding Leopard Geckos for a couple of years now and has produced some stunning examples. His incubator is full to the brim and he was starting to run out of room so I thought we could help out by taking a couple of the cutest babies off his hands.

This one will hopefully be a Tremper Chocolate albino, Fingers crossed!!!

This one is going to be either a high yellow or possibly a tangerine hypo morph.

     Leopard gecko's have been bred in captivity for around 30 years and is one of the most commonly kept lizards today.They come in a variety of colours with varying patterns or even no pattern at all. They can make noises that resemble growls and squeaks when frightened.Hatchling geckos can measure 3 to 4 inches in length whereas adults can reach 7 or 8 inches. There is also a giant bloodline that can reach 10-12 inches!!!. The average lifespan for a leopard gecko can be anywhere from 6 to 10 years but some males can live as long as 10 to 20.

     A 10 to 20 gallon aquarium can be used to house one or two gecko's for their entire lives. Larger tanks tend to cause problems with heating. Most people nowadays, including Matt, are using plastic storage boxes, the type with the securely locking lid. These are easier to store and the larger sizes are good for housing breeding groups or the bigger males in. A hide box filled with some moist moss or vermiculite is also a good idea, it will help you gecko shed properly and will also provide a secure place for egg laying should you plan on breeding gecko's. Here is an example of the basic setup used for the two new babies here at the rural jungle

They are basic but practical and we just use kitchen towel for substrate as this easy to clean and is not going to cause impaction (which sand could do). There are several hides in there on Matt's advice so that the babies are unlikely to fight and should they kick off, there are plenty of hiding places.
     Feeding geckos is relatively easy, they do not eat plants or veg. The best foods are mealworms or crickets but as a treat they can have waxworms or the occasional morio worm. There is really no point in feeding pinkies as they don't do a lot for them nutritionally.
You can dust the food items once or twice a week with pure calcium and a multivitamin once a week if you feel the need. We also include a milk bottle lid full of vitamin-mineral powder as the geckos know how much their own bodies need and they will consume what they need in order to get it. Water should be provided in the form of a stable shallow dish that cannot be spilled but can be climbed out of easily. Again there is no point in adding vitamin drops to the water, either use cooled, boiled tap water or a reptile safe de-chlorinator to condition the water.
      Regular handling is a good idea and allowing a gecko to run through loose fingers for 20 mins a day will help your gecko get used to your touch, try not to grab a gecko by the tail as they can and will drop them if they feel threatened. tails do regenerate but they never look as nice as the original tail.

Belly shot

One of the Auratus was stuck to the glass of his vivarium this morning and I managed to get a 'reasonable' belly shot through the slightly dirty glass.

Its nice to see the marking's on the belly are as interesting as the marking on his back. I don't often see these guys as they are still settling into their vivarium and can be quiet shy.

The new misting system

After much bother and a lot of tinkering I finally managed to get my second misting pump working again (I don't know why it ever stopped working and there appeared to be nothing wrong =). Well I've finaly got it all installed on Pharaoh's new vivarium and sorted out the plumbing for the sump. The misting system will draw from the sump and the water will be renewable as the drain leads back out into the sump.

Here's a quick video of the system in action

Shaldon zoo article

Our trip to Shaldon zoo featured in the Herald express yesterday. Here's Kelly and Soloman meeting some of the children that came down.

New look to the bedroom... errrr 'The Jungle"

I spent my entire day off yesterday preparing for the arrival of our new baby chameleon. It was a long day that started with me finally sorting Pharaohs tank out.

I've added mesh to the top and trimmed it with with 'L" section.
This then went up onto the new rack in the bedroom.

Basic décor was added to figure out how I wanted it to look and the branches are all cable tied together to hold them in place.

All the plants were added and the two smaller tanks were moved onto the rack.

And to give you an idea of how the bedroom is looking now here's a panoramic view from the bed =).

Bad Eggs

Unfortunately I've come home today and the Tricolor eggs haven't made it. They have all gone bad this time around so I am now looking at making changes in my husbandry hoping to improve results.
Ill keep you all posted.

Baby cham

managed a few shots of the female cham today she's a little shy hence the posture and colours

she's going to be gorgeous when she's older

Tricolor eggs day 9

This is how they look this evening

What a corking day we've had!!!!

Well today was a great success down at Shaldon zoo. We didn't quiet have the attendance as last time but none the less a very good day was had by all.

Kelly and I took along Soloman and Pharaoh. Soloman was an absolute stalwart and was incredible with everyone he even went for several walks in his harness. Keep an eye out on local papers as either myself or Kelly along with Soloman may be included in the press release for the event. Unfortunately Pharaoh was put off by all the activity and spent most of the day covered up. Chameleons as a rule don't like human contact at the best of times and the amount of noise and activity put him off quite a bit. Overall though he wasn't too stressed and we were able to give people a sneak peek throughout the day. Here he is when we first arrived looking a bit miffed by all the upheaval:

We had a lot of people through the doors and they met some great snakes from members collections including Denise's beautiful Mexican Black King snake and several corn snakes provided by Denise, Chris and Teresa. Teresa also provided some enormous cockroaches and a Tarantula plus a couple of royal pythons.

one of Teresa'a corns even tried to sneak out hiding in someone's hand bag......

Below is a picture of another of Chris's snake's a gorgeous little sand boa.

He entertained people by burrowing in and out of the sand eventually but he did seem to like climbing about.

I managed to get a quick tour of the zoo that, while although small, houses a variety of other animals. Here are just a few.

A great big Scarlet macaw

 A pair of Dusky Lory's

Also on display was a gorgeous Ocelot.

Shaldon zoo really is worth a visit if your in the area and it makes for a nice trip out.

Disclaimer: I have used pictures without permission from anyone that appears. If you are in one of these photo's and do not wish your likeness to appear in any picture then please contact me and I will take steps to remove your image.

Shaldon zoo

Tomorrow 3/07/2011 shaldon zoo plays host to the south west herptological society. Our members will be taking a selection of animals for the public to meet. Kelly and I will be there so come along and meet Pharoah and Soloman in the flesh. It should make for an interesting day for anyone interested in herptology. The doors open at 10am and close at 4pm. There is a small fee Of £1.50 on the door. Hope to see you there. Ben.

Thought you'd like this..

I have managed to get Pharaoh our Yemen's chameleon to take wax worms off my hand .... I'm chuffed to bits.

Tricolor eggs a week on

Here's the current state of the batch of tricolor eggs sitting in the incubator.

One or two of them don't look so fantastic at the moment, but hopefully I will be able to separate them if they do not work. If they keep this up I'm expecting free swimming tadpoles at around day 15 but we'll see.