Florida heat...Too much?

[xoiceox]

Hey guys, I live in Miami Florida and the temps now in the summer are btw 80-high 90's...

I just got Sobe's 2x2x4ft aluminum cage and I'm seeing on here that if I can keep him outside it's better...

Would these temps be too high???

I don't know anything about outside keeping. Do I still need to buy any lights or anything?

Thank you!

 

[alan23]

u got any pics of ya cage mate and wht chameleon have u gt in it and how old is he cham mate i just looking to get a aluminum cage for my guy

 

[xoiceox]

I post lots of pix of him on here hehe (look for threads with the name Sobe in it)

He's 4 months old and the cage is a standard aluminum 24x24x48

 

[alan23]

u gt any pics of his cage lol sorry lol xxx

 

[xoiceox]

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...een/-/24-x-24-x-48-inch-aluminum-screen-cage/

 

[alan23]

do ya think my cham will b ok in one of them he is coming up a year old i got him in a 260 gal at mo bt i wnt a aluminum cage as i am getting a mister soon too x

 

[xoiceox]

Lets stick to the subject here plz. And yes its a great cage. Now back to my question on outside heating

 

[JoshCrane1]

I live 2 hrs north of you, i would say to bring em in for the summer, just a little too hot. but if you do leave em outside make sure to mist, shade,and drip very often.

 

[alan23]

ok bossy lol thought this ws bout helping peeps lol well i think u shud keep him out for a little bit and if seems too hot on him bring him bak in then at least he getting some sun hey x

 

[Justin Carl]

I wouldnt be surprised if you could keep him outside for the better half of the year with no problems.
Remeber what these animals natural habitat is like.
Daytime temperatures can reach 100 degrees or more.

My Vieled likes to bask in the late morning around 9:30-10:00 and evening around 5:30-6:00.
His cage is between two large oak trees, so he gets very little direct sunshine in the afternoon.
Usually a couple of small patches of sun will hit his cage between 2:00 and 4:00pm.
If you could work something like that out you shouldnt have to much of a problem.
I know it can be a little on the hot side down there, but if you are careful with a good supply of water and shade their shouldn't be a reason why he cant spend 6 or more months out of year outside.

Best of luck

 

[sharkey]

we fl keepers have recently discussed this on 2 diff threads.

remember - heat kills and can cause brain damage.

 

[xoiceox]

what are the threads' names?

 

[sharkey]

general discussion "tampa bay/st. pete owners"

can't find the 2nd thread but it was essentially the same discussion

 

[JoshCrane1]

the other was " cage too hot!! " i ran into temp probs with hid's in the back porch

 

[chris]

madagascar is probably hotter and more humid than SoFL for most of the time. they dont get full sun all day. in the wild i've read they come out to drink dew and bask in the morning. for the rest of the time i would make sure they have enough space to move around comfortably and find a shady spot they can hide in so they can self regulate.

 

[xoiceox]

I'll see how it goes, he's still little but I'd like to try the outdoors if its better for him

 

[jwthought]

I posted this in another heat related thread:

"I live in the Keys and Ive been keeping my male panther outside exclusively for the last 8 months except for when it gets into the 50s at times during the winter. I think the key to successfully keeping them outside is plenty of shade ( or in my case, total shade during the hottest parts of the day) and frequent long mistings. My guy gets misted 4 times a day for 30 minutes, sometimes more on the really hot days. I also have a dripper going all day. No problems yet ( famous last words) and I feel that it actually makes him hardier as he is exposed to the elements and other stimuli that he wouldn't experience otherwise.

That being said, the heat from the outdoors can quickly dehydrate and kill an animal, especially veileds and montane species as opposed to those from Madagascar. I agree with the theory that coastal chams may be better suited to Floridian heat. I once lost a veiled to dehydration when she was kept outdoors. I was new to the hobby, admittedly, and didnt take the neccesary precautions. She looked fine for a while, then one day she was sunken in and saggy. The following day she was dead. So if any of your chams are looking at all sunken or you feel like it's not a good situation for them to be outdoors for any reason, address the problem immediately because dehydration and other problems can arise suddenly, seelingly out of nowhere

Interestingly enough, though, I have read of some feral veiled populations in South West Florida.

Also,bear in mind that a younger or smaller animal will be more suseptible to dehydration or overheating than a larger one.

Anyway, if you can do it safely, I highly recommend keeping them outside."

Josh

 

[CleanLineChameleons]

Well I would say that since there are colonies of wild veileds in southern florida, you could probably get away with keeping a veiled outside most of the year as long as you have areas where he can escape the heat if needed. But for a panther, I wouldn't suggest it. I have seen numerous chameleons that have URIs and other issues from keeping them outside too often. Don't get me wrong, I would definitely say that keeping them outside a few hours on a 85F sunny day would be great for them, but over night constantly is a different story. These guys are from areas with super high humidities and heat in Maddy but I think that there are a lot more factors that play a part in making a suitable environment that just are not present in FL.

That is my 2 cents.

-chris

 

[Dankmeleon]

during the hottest part of the day, if they've been outside all morning, I think your chameleon would choose shade over full sun which is probably indictative of it being to hot, also if you find your cham chilling with his mouth open, he is probably overheated, If i were you I'd get a small cage set up for the sole purpose of him being outside....make sure he has lots of plants in and around the cage for shelter/shade

you can even use a large umbrella and cover some of his cage area to help cool things down about 10 degrees

 

[sharkey]

while there are supposedly feral pops of veilds in s fl that doesn't mean that it is an IDEAL enviornment for them. plus not every one has veilds and panthers (I have 8 jax, 1 veild). like i said before my philosophy is that these are my pets - i'm not willing to experiment on them. a supervised visit outside is a great idea - i just wouldn't make it their permanent home.