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Posted by brad wilson on March 24, 2003 at 10:36:18:
In Reply to: need help with emerald swift habitat........ posted by cilenez on March 24, 2003 at 05:36:18:
:can someone please tell me what the emerald swifts natural habitat is like
Ingo usually has the details for these things, but in general emerald swifts live in mountain forests and rocky areas. Hot during the day (basking up to around 100F) and cooler at night.
There was a speaker at our herp club who mentioned they lived in his yard in an area of Costa Rica that was no more than 3000 ft in elevation. Temps were quite moderate year round, with daytime highs in the 80s and overnight lows around 60, IIRC.
My son has a captive-hatched pair of emeralds. They live in a 29-gallon tank (about 36long, 24high, 13 deep - something like that). It has cork bark tubes, branches, bromeliads, pothos, other plants. Lots of places to hide, climb and bask, with dry areas and damp areas.
There is a hot basking area (100F +, sometimes the swifts hang from the screening just below the bulb.) Also two low-UV fluorescent bulbs (again they hang just below the tubes - so we just use GE Sunshine bulbs which put out a little UVA and UVB).
They have about a 12-14 hour light cycle. Misted twice a day.
Basking about 100-110, ambient in the 70s. Nightime in the 60s and 70s. They eat lots of mealworms, crickets, dusted with calcium/d3 and sometimes vitamins. They are very active and thriving, although they are close to two years old and have not reproduced. Being brother & sister, maybe they have moral reservations :->
