I need help, advice asap please!

Ok yall, I have been out of work for about 3 months. I got my chams a few weeks ago, & they have been great! BUT.. I start a new job Monday, that will demand most of my time! I have been hand misting them (spray bottle) about every 4 hours. But won't be able to after I start my job. I'm currently flat broke and don't have the money to buy an automatic mister. I'm worried about my chams, & what to do! Do I give them away? Do I keep them, and just mist them in the mornings and evenings!? I don't want them to get dehydrated. I'm in a very upsetting position, and need advice.. can I keep them and mist them in the mornings and evenings, or wil that not be enough? I don't have money for an automatic mister. & my lunchbreak will Only be 30 mins, and I can't drive all the way across town to mist them. I'm so upset, HELP!

faithxw said:

Ok yall, I have been out of work for about 3 months. I got my chams a few weeks ago, & they have been great! BUT.. I start a new job Monday, that will demand most of my time! I have been hand misting them (spray bottle) about every 4 hours. But won't be able to after I start my job. I'm currently flat broke and don't have the money to buy an automatic mister. I'm worried about my chams, & what to do! Do I give them away? Do I keep them, and just mist them in the mornings and evenings!? I don't want them to get dehydrated. I'm in a very upsetting position, and need advice.. can I keep them and mist them in the mornings and evenings, or wil that not be enough? I don't have money for an automatic mister. & my lunchbreak will Only be 30 mins, and I can't drive all the way across town to mist them. I'm so upset, HELP!

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get a dripper. you can make a homemade dripper w/ just about anything or buy the "big dripper" and you can have it drip all day. don't give up your animals!!!

here's a link for the big dripper. they're cheap and you can adjust how fast the water can drip.

http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-food-bowls/11442-510334/big-dripper.html

agreed with Rottsko!! mist in the morning, run the dripper and mist when you get home and you should be ok.

thanks guys! How can I make a homemade dripper? Will my chams be okay? I haven't had to leave them for more than a few hours these past few weeks, and I don't want them to die!

faithxw said:

Ok yall, I have been out of work for about 3 months. I got my chams a few weeks ago, & they have been great! BUT.. I start a new job Monday, that will demand most of my time! I have been hand misting them (spray bottle) about every 4 hours. But won't be able to after I start my job. I'm currently flat broke and don't have the money to buy an automatic mister. I'm worried about my chams, & what to do! Do I give them away? Do I keep them, and just mist them in the mornings and evenings!? I don't want them to get dehydrated. I'm in a very upsetting position, and need advice.. can I keep them and mist them in the mornings and evenings, or wil that not be enough? I don't have money for an automatic mister. & my lunchbreak will Only be 30 mins, and I can't drive all the way across town to mist them. I'm so upset, HELP!

Click to expand...

If you add an ultrasonic humidifier (a fogger) to your routine it may well keep the cage humidity high enough so that they only need to drink once or twice a day when you can do your hand misting. In humid conditions chams don't dehydrate nearly as fast. If you set up some on/off cycles for the humidifier with a plug in lamp timer you can create more and less humid periods throughout your work day. And, drape some sheet plastic on the cage sides to help hold it in. You can get a perfectly good humidifier at a large pharmacy or a big box home improvement store for about $30. Could you borrow the $40 (for the humidifier and the timer) from a friend to tide you over?

faithxw said:

thanks guys! How can I make a homemade dripper? Will my chams be okay? I haven't had to leave them for more than a few hours these past few weeks, and I don't want them to die!

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you can make it w/ almost anything that holds water. a gallon milk jug, oj bottle, etc. do a search on the forum and you'll find a ton of homemade examples. good luck!

I am only available to mist my cham in the morning and evening after work too. I set up a dripper using a large plastic cup that sits on top of the cage with a pinhole in the bottom. I fill it up in the morning before I leave for work. It drips for about 4 hours. My cham is fine and has not been dehydrated.

faithxw said:

thanks guys! How can I make a homemade dripper? Will my chams be okay? I haven't had to leave them for more than a few hours these past few weeks, and I don't want them to die!

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You can leave them with the right environmental conditions and they will be fine. You, however, may need to spend your first paycheck on a video monitoring system! I know how you feel. I don't want to stop watching Zaphod, EVER!

faithxw said:

thanks guys! How can I make a homemade dripper?

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It can be as simple as a plastic cup or bottle. Poke a pinhole in the bottom, fill it with water, set on top of the cage (note that if it's a bottle you want to leave the top a little loose or it will stop dripping).

Mine is, finally, working really well. I made it from the plastic container my fiber powder came in (okay, you're probably young and don't have fiber powder, but maybe ask a parent to save one for you). I bought "air line control valves" at the aquarium store (about $2 for 2 of them) and some of the appropriate size tubing (depends on how they'll sell it to you). I poked a hole near the bottom of the container that was big enough to take the tubing. Jammed the tubing in, put the valve on the other end, poked a "vent hole" near the lid of the container. This has been my most successful attempt in the almost 4 years I've been trying things.

Downside to the fiber container: it's opaque so I can't tell the water level at a glance.

Upside to the fiber container: it has the same "footprint" as the commercially made "little dripper" but holds a bit more than twice as much water.

Mist heavily in the morning before you leave.
Fill a large dripper.
How to make your own easy and inexpensive Dripper:
Drippers
or https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs...er-set-up.html
have a plan for dealing with the excess water.

If needs be, spray mist again as soon as you return from work, assuming there will be sufficient time for branches to dry before lights out.

Start saving money - chameleons are not inexpensive pets!