Hello after listening to chameleon academy about chameleon drinking water confused me about misting. He says fogger at night and misting in the morning. How many people do it this way ? He makes a lot of sense when chameleons are sleeping and the mister gos off on them that they don't like it. Can some one please help me should I buy a mister and a fogger ? I just want my girl to be happy and healthy thank u
Hello! Please keep in mind I am still a new chameleon keeper. With that being said, I feel I have a pretty good grasp for this. So what is important of course, is that your chameleon is hydrated adequately. And usually when done well enough (with exceptions! they're individuals with different preferences..) they mostly won't need to drink during the day. So what you want is that higher humidity at night. AFTER the temps go down.
I used to be confused by all of this too. I was at a point to where I couldn't tell if the humidity needed to be high all night or what. Through experienced I've learned that it doesn't need to be all night. My chameleons humidity is only up to the low-high 70s until around 1am (but these numbers vary. sometimes into the 80s sometimes less.). Once midnight hits my fogger AND mister turn on (2 mins for mister... 1am to 6am for fogger). At this point my temps are easily in the low-mid 60s in his enclosure. Humidity is 80%+ usually. Again, not always. At 6am fogger turns off. At 6:30am the mister turns on for another 2 minutes. Lights are on at 7am. Temps start rising again, gradually and the humidity starts lowering again gradually. BUT you will want a gradient just like with UVB. Humidity will be higher at lower/mid portions of your cage where there is less heat and more plants (most likely).
throughout the day you want the enclosure to be dry. At 7pm my lights turn off. 7:30pm mister is on for 2 minutes... rinse and repeat.
The best advice I was given was "start off with 2 misting sessions at 2 minutes each. half hour before lights on and half hour after". Run the fogger from 1am-6am. This was suggested by my chameleons breeder.
Keep in mind this varies for everyone. We all live in different areas and have different situations.
Check the temps/humidity, and keep an eye on your chameleons poop and if he drinks during the day. Start with a simple schedule (I'll post a friendly to read format at the end), and make small adjustments until you get it right.
I live in South Jersey, I keep my AC at 70-73degrees (usually 73, and when its really hot it'll get as warm as 75-77 in here because we have no shade). My chameleon has a large 36"x24"x48" enclosure, and it is all screened. So it's "fogger friendly" because the air keeps moving through it and out of it.
Here is my schedule:
7:00pm - lights off
7:30pm - mister (2 mins)
1:00am - fogger on + mister (2mins)
fogger stays on
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6:00am - fogger turns off
6:30am - mister (2 mins)
7:00am - lights on!
**I have a big dripper I let drip 24/7** - Though he never drinks from it but it helps the plants. Just put it over a plant and rotate it between plants. IMO yould should have it. It's too easy to have not to have it unless you really know your chameleon doesn't need it.
Again this is an example and something you could start out with. But please keep in mind you have to pay attention to your own situation and adjust accordingly as it really is different for everyone. And also different per chameleon type.... and chameleon as individuals! Hope this helps!
edit: I should also add it might be a good idea to start withOUT the fogger. Just to see what your numbers look like and how your chameleon is. If you don't need it, don't bother. Although I personally feel it's better to just have it... again IF your conditions call for it. For me I can tell it helps keep the humidity higher during those early morning hours. Again, test, make small adjustments.
