0% Humidity + high desert sun = terrible skin?

[TRohr]

Hello again~

Lately I've been worrying about Gratchs skin a bit....

Where I live we have very long, relatively warm (low 90s), and absolutely dry summers. You mention humidity here, and everyone will give you a questioning look.

Generally when I free range Gratch, outside, I put him in the shade with one or two branches of his tree in direct sunlight. I mist him every so often too. I take him outside in the morning when it's just starting to warm up, and evening when it's starting to cool down for an hour or so.

Should I be worrying about his skin drying out excessively? The room with his cage is always nice and humid, it's just when he's outside that I worry....

 

[carol5208]

Where do you live? I live in Florida and have just the opposite problem with the humidity being too high outside. I put my cham outside in my patio which is a huge screen room and he gets sunlight through it. It is super humid here right now but he never seems to get too hot and I mist him to cool him off. I dont know about his skin drying out if he is only outside for brief periods. As long as it is humid in his cage where you keep him, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[james L]

Carol, the current humidity in LW,FL is not to high for your panther. Its not something to worry about. We are lucky not to really ever have humidity issues like our friend TRohr here.

 

[TRohr]

I live over in Idaho. Do you think the arid air could harm his lungs? I figured since they are lizards after all he's probably just fine.... I mist him enough, I think.

 

[james L]

It would be best if his humidity was higher (50-70%). If its really at 0 your going to definitly have shedding issues. Also im not sure how good it is for them to breath in air that has very low humidity. Im not sure what the long term effects would be, but I cant imagine that it would be positive. My veileds have never felt humidity lower then 40% and they do well. Misting is a only a short term solution to your problem. Try and find other reptile keepers in your area and find out how they keep there humidity up.

 

[TRohr]

Might have a solution.... We have a large outdoor patio misting system hidden away somewhere in our shop like this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgAHeOkchIU

I could set it up around the patio, and it would probably be more than enough to raise relative humidity.

 

[laurie]

Hey i am in Montana my humidity right now is 26%. I take my chams outside as ofter as the temps allow. I have a garden hose with a mist function. About every 10 min I mist every cage and chameleon. My humidity may be a bit higher that your today but is gets worse that 26%. My chams do great when I take them out. I as well as panthers & veileds, even take my Jacksons & Quads out.

 

[TRohr]

Hey i am in Montana my humidity right now is 26%. I take my chams outside as ofter as the temps allow. I have a garden hose with a mist function. About every 10 min I mist every cage and chameleon. My humidity may be a bit higher that your today but is gets worse that 26%. My chams do great when I take them out. I as well as panthers & veileds, even take my Jacksons & Quads out.

Ah, cool, good to know! Humidity isn't 0% here, but it's pretty darn close. Generally it's anywhere from 10%-37%. Sometimes it will rain, literally out of nowhere, and it evaporates almost instantly bumping humidity to 90% for the day.

 

[laurie]

My hubby is putting an Arizona mister on the back deck for my chams. But that only get afternoon sun. I like to go out to the front yard in the morning before it get s hot.

 

[carol5208]

oh, thanks James L. Good to hear from someone in the area! I wasnt too concerned, but when I have my cham outside sometimes it is so blazing hot I worry but I know what to look for to make sure he is not overheating. We are lucky with our humidity down here. My humidity is sitting at 65 right now with no misting or anything!!!

 

[Syn]

Hey TRohr,

I live in Arizona, it gets really dry and warm here. Your best bet is to get a swamp cooler and get lots of live plants.
If possible, keep a mister going when you take your chameleon outside on a section of the cage.
Be sure to allow plenty of opportunities for drinking as well. As long as you are diligent about keeping Gratch hydrated there shouldn't be any worries.

 

[FFSTRescue]

Might have a solution.... We have a large outdoor patio misting system hidden away somewhere in our shop like this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgAHeOkchIU

I could set it up around the patio, and it would probably be more than enough to raise relative humidity.

I think that is a great idea. My brother used to live in AZ and he had a great mister for his patio, albeit a very expensive one, but it produced such a fine mist that it did not soak us as we sat under it, it just provide enough moisture to increase the humidity and allow slight cooling from evaporation. It was great, I would highly recommend doing that. I would make it going in a circle around where your chameleon is going to be placed and put it at a high level because the moist air is going to fall towards the ground because hot air is less dense than cool air.