Cham Waking Up Before Lights?

[AZJ0SH]

I work overnight, and I get home about 630-7 every morning. I have the lights set to come on at 7am daily and shutting off at 7pm daily.

My wife said that when she gets up around 615-630 he's has his eyes open and sometimes is moving around the cage. Our apartment gets morning sun starting around 6am, and it doesn't get dark until around 7-8pm at night which is more than his 12 hour light cycle.

So my dilemma is do I turn his lights on earlier, and shut them off before it's even dark inside my place, or should I increase his light cycle to 13 on 11 off for the summer?

During the winter it won't be bright until after 7am so I can keep his normal 12 hour cycle going.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Carlton]

Even indoors chams respond to the ambient light level in the room. I wouldn't worry about it. They would not be exposed to full sun in early morning in the wild anyway but are probably awake before the full basking heat arrives.

 

[Lizardlover]

Agreed, its pretty typical for chameleons to wake up before their lights come on, its just a response to the rising sun, they need to get a head start on hunting!

 

[AZJ0SH]

Agreed, its pretty typical for chameleons to wake up before their lights come on, its just a response to the rising sun, they need to get a head start on hunting!

Hunting what though? Aren't you supposed to remove all uneating crix at night?

Good to know he's fine, I will just keep the 12 hour schedule.

 

[Chris Jury]

Either lengthening the light cycle or leaving it the same is fine IMHO. Day length is just under 13 hrs right now in their native Yemen anyway. A 12 hr day length isn't required by any means, it's just something we know should work well. At the latitudinal extremes of where some chameleons are found day length varies from just under 10 hrs to just over 14.5 hrs seasonally, whereas day length hardly varies from just over 12 hrs on the equator.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Hunting what though? Aren't you supposed to remove all uneating crix at night?

In the wild there are bugs everywhere all the time. Chameleons are not domesticated so they still operate on all their natural instincts like their wild cousins.

Mine are awake now because the sun is starting to come up so there is some light coming through the window. They're not moving around yet, but they are awake. Their lights don't come on for another 20 minutes.

 

[AZJ0SH]

In the wild there are bugs everywhere all the time. Chameleons are not domesticated so they still operate on all their natural instincts like their wild cousins.

Mine are awake now because the sun is starting to come up so there is some light coming through the window. They're not moving around yet, but they are awake. Their lights don't come on for another 20 minutes.

Ahh ok I was confused on that part from the last post.

Good to know it's normal, I appreciate the replies.