Being Away and Feeding Your Chameleon

[InkyChameleon]

I am researching a lot about caring for a chameleon and I plan on owning a Veiled specimen. Unfortunately, I am currently in a situation were I am gone Monday night through Friday afternoon. I am going to buy and automatic mist/drip system and I can put lights on a timer but I don't know how to feed my chameleon while I'm gone. Any suggestions?

 

[jpowell86]

am researching a lot about caring for a chameleon and I plan on owning a Veiled chameleon. Unfortunately, I am currently in a situation were I am gone Monday night through Friday afternoon. I am going to buy and automatic mist/drip system and I can put lights on a timer but I don't know how to feed my chameleon while I'm gone. Any suggestions?

Honestly, I would not get a chameleon right now if your schedule looks like that. I know you can automate a watering system, but you cannot have control over certain variables. Like, what if there is a power outage, what if the timer itself breaks, etc. I'm not trying to be a buzz kill, but chameleons require constant care and keen eye. There are so many elemental changes that are required within the enclosures. Monitoring humidity, heat levels, food intake...it's just quite a bit. Even if there were an automated feeding system...there are no guarantees that the unit would not fail. I know this is not the answer you wanted to hear, but I have to be honest about the level of care required for these animals. Are you interested in all reptiles or did you have your heart set on a chameleon??

 

[jpowell86]

Unless you can hire someone. When I go out of state or country, I have a very reliable guy that I hire to take care of my chameleons. Just thinking of options incase you do get one. In fact I'm going to Maui in a couple of weeks and he is staying at my house the entire time just to monitor and care for them. He is a university student studying herpetology and he is very passionate about reptiles(I lucked out)...which is the only reason I allow him to care for them. Even with this being said, he calls me twice a day with updates...LOL!

 

[JaxyGirl]

I am researching a lot about caring for a chameleon and I plan on owning a Veiled specimen. Unfortunately, I am currently in a situation were I am gone Monday night through Friday afternoon. I am going to buy and automatic mist/drip system and I can put lights on a timer but I don't know how to feed my chameleon while I'm gone. Any suggestions?

Hi I'm really sorry to say that I have to agree with everybody else.
Chameleons need to be monitored closely every day. I know that a mister and possibly leaving feeders in the cage seems like a great solution but being away for three days out of the week without supervision is asking for disaster for all the reasons stated above. When I went on vacation for 10 days this past summer the preparation for the care of my two Panther chameleons was really stressful. They just can't be left alone because they are so specialized and delicate that their daily care must be consistent. On the flip side of the coin, I also have two adult bearded dragons that I didn't worry about at all for 10 days because their care is so easy and they are so hardy. That's the difference between taking care of a chameleon compared to any other lizard.

 

[InkyChameleon]

I visited a pet sore to get food for my dad's dog and I fell in love with the veiled chameleon they had on display. I really do want to be a herpetologist in the near future, so my heart was set on owning a chameleon. I used to have a leopard gecko when I was younger and I want to revisit owning a reptile. Any suggestions for low maintenance reptiles that I could successfully raise is my situation? I sorta knew in the back my mind that a chameleon wouldn't really work with my schedule, but I thought I would at least look into it. Thank you!

 

[InkyChameleon]

But having a person in my house watching the chameleon every week day is a little over kill I would say. Thanks for just having me hear it that a chameleon won't work.

 

[KLowery88]

I visited a pet sore to get food for my dad's dog and I fell in love with the veiled chameleon they had on display. I really do want to be a herpetologist in the near future, so my heart was set on owning a chameleon. I used to have a leopard gecko when I was younger and I want to revisit owning a reptile. Any suggestions for low maintenance reptiles that I could successfully raise is my situation? I sorta knew in the back my mind that a chameleon wouldn't really work with my schedule, but I thought I would at least look into it. Thank you!

While I would still have someone come to check on their water while you are gone, Blue Tongue Skinks are a wonderful low maintenance reptile. My adults eat once a week and they drink from water bowls. As long as you have lights on a timer, they're pretty good to go. Again, I would have someone come by and check to make sure their water bowls haven't been pooped in or overturned if you go that route though. You don't want them drinking fouled water or going without water.

 

[gotwqqd]

I recently watched a podcast from somebody that addressed going away....its not that bad if less than a week.

check topics I started and there is a reply with the link to the podcast

actually I dug it up....http://www.chameleonbreeder.com/podcast/episode-003-vacations-and-chameleons/

 

[InkyChameleon]

While I would still have someone come to check on their water while you are gone, Blue Tongue Skinks are a wonderful low maintenance reptile. My adults eat once a week and they drink from water bowls. As long as you have lights on a timer, they're pretty good to go. Again, I would have someone come by and check to make sure their water bowls haven't been pooped in or overturned if you go that route though. You don't want them drinking fouled water or going without water.

Thanks! I'll definitely look into blue tongued skinks! I caught a few in the wild and they are incredible!

 

[KLowery88]

Thanks! I'll definitely look into blue tongued skinks! I caught a few in the wild and they are incredible!

They really are! My first reptile is a rescue Merauke BTS and she's my favorite pet. Depending on where you live, you have plenty of great species options. The BTS forums are an awesome place to start looking up information: http://www.bluetongueskinks.org/forum/index.php

 

[WilcoxAE]

I'd say go with a critter that only needs to be fed once a week or every few days. IE: A snake.

I was away for 2 weeks with my chams. I took an order of 500 crickets, refrigerated them for a bit to slow them down, and separated out a dozen females only into a plethora of separate containers with a small amount of food in each (potato/carrot/something that will retain moisture, feed, and not mold). I had a friend come every other day, pour water into their drippers, and "dump and run" the containers into the cages. Simple, stupid sounding, but it worked. (Used the females to keep noise down in my apartment in my absence. Males stayed in the utility room cricket bin.)

 

[JaxyGirl]

Bearded Dragons are great also. I have two females and after 9 years they are still healthy and strong. Beardies are really sweet and social. They have great personalities and they enjoy being handled and out of their cage. They are easy to keep, mostly vegetarian, and don't require their insects to be alive in order to eat them. Infact I gut load my crickets really well and freeze them then defrost them as I need them. Also being a desert species they don't have the same requirements regarding water and humidity that a chameleon does. They're a wonderful pet

 

[SycoSquirl]

my dad has 2 beardies and a corn snake and feeds them live critters once a week and the beardies some veggies in between, when i leave its usually for over 2 weeks long but since my cham has a bad eye infection i have to board him at the vet in order to get medications/surgeries, but before he got sick i was able to have friends come by every other day and feed him and check in on his watering system and lights to make sure everything was proper. Id honestly love a beardie myself or even a tortoise both of which are super adorable and easy to care for without putting in a ton of effort. good luck with whatever reptile you do end up with though

 

[trickedoutbiker]

I'm going to Florida next year in August for a week and was wondering the same thing. I just moved to Indianapolis and I don't know anyone here well enough to trust them coming to my house to feed my chameleon every day. Someone I'm not 100% comfortable with, in my house.... yea, no. Boarding him at a vet was another idea but most vets don't have chameleon experience. Also would be pretty expensive I'd bet. I'd have to find a herp vet but I'm not sure there is one nearby for me? I have another option.... there is a chameleon breeder 40 minutes from my house, and I thought about calling them up to see if they would care for mine while I was gone, maybe for a small fee if it came to that. Out of all the ideas, this seems the best, because a breeder will take care of your cham like one of his own, and know 100% what he is doing. (Or any owner with lots of experience in your area could be good too.)

My last resort, and an idea I'm gonna give to you..... Experiment with different insects that pupate into other insects. Me, I have wax worms in a jar that pupate into bee moths. In another jar, phoenix worms that pupate into black soldier flies. In another jar, I have blue bottle fly spikes that turn into blue bottle flies. And yet another jar has housefly spikes that pupate into houseflies. I might get some more different insects to experiment with as well. But either way LEARN THE PUPATE TIMES FOR YOUR INSECTS. I've got the flies down as they are pretty consistent with hatch times. (Blue Bottle Flies hatch about 2-3 days after pupating, 4 days once in a great while. Houseflies hatch about 2 days after pupating, maybe an extra day needed.) Wax worms take about a week or a hair more to pupate under my 20 watt, and about another 1 - 1.5 weeks to hatch. I just started experimenting with the phoenix worms so not totally sure with those yet. But anyways.... learn how long any specific insect takes to hatch after it turns into a pupae.

I keep my pupating insects in glass jars with a plastic cup over them (with lots of tiny needle holes poked in the plastic cup for airflow, and a tiny bit of wood chips at the bottom for them to chill in) and I put that glass jar in from of a 20 watt bulb on a timer for 12 hours a day. That 20 watt bulb keeps them nice and warm and the glass keeps heat in the jars, leaving the insects at around 80 degrees or so. For each insect I have, they have their own jar. Don't overcrowd the jars.

ANYWAYS.... say you have blue bottle flies like I do. In my experience, after the spikes pupate, it takes them 2-3 days to hatch into flies while under my 20 watt bulb. So this is my idea: Get some spikes and get them to pupate, or you can just order blue bottle fly pupae online too. 1 step already done for you there. After you have some fly pupae, put all of them in the door of your fridge (not the middle of your fridge - the door is recommended for insects because it is the warmest part of the fridge and wont chill your insects too much to death) Then, set out however many of those pupae that you want to turn into flies. Because it takes them only a few days, do this a day or two before you leave. Put those pupae into a dark jar so your chameleon can't see through it to see bugs - such as a small film canister with a hole cut in the lid, or a small cleaned out black shampoo bottle with the lid off.

So you put those pupae in the bottle, film canister... whatever. Put that in your chameleon cage with the escape hole for your insects aiming sideways (aiming upwards will cause water to get in it from the mist system - or you could build some type of umbrella rig for the container) Put that canister or what-have-you in his cage. It will be dark so he wont know what is inside and won't mess with it. Now you leave for the week. Your lights are already on a timer. Your mist system is already on a timer. And now, in 1-2 days after you leave, your flies will be hatching, fly out of the container you placed them in, and buzz around your chameleon's cage. Voila. You just fed him without even being home. And they wouldn't overeat, as each day's batch would only have enough for that day. Give one or two extra more than you want to give them, in case one dies in the pupae stage and fails to hatch.

You leave Monday night and aren't home till Friday afternoon. So you can feed him Monday before you leave, and Friday when you get back... which leaves you only three days to worry about. So, just using ONLY FLIES... you'd have to set a batch of pupae out on Friday, another batch Saturday, and another batch Sunday, (or Saturday, Sunday, and Monday right before you leave - as the Friday batch might hatch before Tuesday.) to make sure they are hatching by at least Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Put each different batch in a separate small black container, put them in his cage, and each day you're gone, you should have them hatching when you are gone. If one takes a bit longer, or is a bit faster, then it should be okay because he will still eat. I wouldn't use an insect that isn't predictable with hatching though. Flies seem to work best as far as my own experimenting, but I have lots more to learn and toy around with. But if say, you needed a bit more than three days, you could use a few different insects. You know, get some started before you leave and then say, one hatches in 2 days after you are gone and another hatches in a week or something. That's why you would have to experiment a lot to see how it would all work best, before you attempt to actually leave him at home alone with it

Just a thought. I HAVENT TRIED ANY OF THIS YET, it was just an idea that popped into my head the other day, but it seems like it would work. I'd much rather have someone look after him, but if I can't then I really don't have a lot of options.... :-(

Any input on my idea anyone? Just would have to make sure you dust all other feeders good since they wouldn't be getting dusted those three days. I mean technically, it SHOULD all be okay. But as life goes: there's always a chance that something can go wrong, with anything.