How do you deal with vacations??

[chrisandpugs]

Hi everybody!

My husband and I go occassionally on vacations because we do have a very capable pet-sitter who I totally trust to take care of our Male Veil C.
However, I don't know what would happen if we ever moved or she retired from pet-sitting because it's hard to find good reliable pet sitters especially for Chameleon care!! I just have one Chameleon yet I still worry about him while I am out of town!

Just out of curiosity, who does your Chameleon care while you are on vacation especially breeders who have a lot of Chameleons(especially breeding stock) and can't allow any of them to get sick while they are away on a long trip, lets say to an out-of-state Reptile Show!!

By the way, how long can you safely leave a Chameleon alone at home if you have an adequate misting system and access to food??

 

[Moe]

With a good mist system and access to food and and proper heat and lighting on a dependable timer i dont see why he cant be alone for a week, as long as food and water system supports that, just make sure your mist system is full of water and t he pump wont burn out in case of leak or running out of water like the promist system, thats the main reason i purchased it, i have left my guy alone for 5 days and he did great.

 

[chrisandpugs]

What type of food do you use??

Hi!
I'm amazed that you can be away for that long of a period and come back with your Chameleons being O.K. ...Sure beats having to pay for a pet sitter each day that you are gone!!

What type of insects do you put in the cage when you go away? Is your Chameleons housed indoors or outdoors?

Christine

 

[Jewel]

I wouldn't even stay away from home for one night without having a reliable person to look after my animals. First off you can only put enough food in the cage for one day because your feeders have to be gut loaded just before putting them in the cage, also if you put several days worth of food in the cage at once then your animal is likely to eat it all at once and have nothing for the following day or days to eat.
Secondly, we all know how fast things can change health wise with a chameleon so if your chameleon became sick or fell in their cage then how could they get the proper care they needed if no one was around to check on them.
Thirdly, the cage would smell and cause bacteria and germs etc. to grow if the feces was not cleaned up daily.
I care to much for my chameleons to ever think of leaving them unsupervised for even one night, but then again, that is just me.

If I ever did decide to take a vacation I would just ask my daughter to come over and watch the chameleons.

 

[Marc10edora]

No matter how good of an automated system you got set up, always have someone check on your cham every day. There are some reptile stores in my area that will baby sit my cham for a fee. You might want to check stores around your area. Or better yet, see if there is a cham breeder around your area that would be willing to babysit.

 

[kinyonga]

Vacations?? What are they?? LOL! I haven't been on one for any length of time for years!

 

[Fate X]

you gotta have a mist system but first you gotta have someone that you could trust to feed them and make sure everything is the way its supposed to be. many times family is gonna be your best bet. my brother helped me biuld my cages and setup the mist system right before i had to go in for a hernia surgery,the morning i went in he went to my house and feed all my veileds and sprayed them ,since he has more then general knowledge of reptiles he already knew some stuff.
even my mom helped spray them after i got out the hospital because i could not use the stairs.

with all that said if i was going on vacation for 10 days i would ask my brother to keep them alive n healthy he would have to work around his work scedule and drive to town takes 10 mn. each trip.

so you need someone who has basic knowledge at the minimum. that you could trust.

 

[Prism Chameleons]

I hire my part-time employee to take care of things. She's magnificent. If you can teach a family member, friend, or neighbor how to take care of chameleons and signs to watch in case of an illness, then I would say that would be your best bet. I have an book I made in case of an emergency (like if I had to leave because a member of my family was hurt or ill) that explains all the needs that must be done for the proper care of my chameleons when I am gone. I think it's almost a "must-have" for any one who has a chameleon in case of emergencies. You never know when you have to be away at a moment's notice.

Life always... has occurrences that you never expected... good and bad.

I suggest everyone have a "black book" of chameleon care for that occasion when you immediately have to pack your bags and go away .

 

[Jordan]

How do you deal with vacations?

I get three weeks a year. I sell them and get one big fat check that month. Besides they would never let me actually have the time off.

 

[Kazza]

I was very lucky to have a good friend take excellent care of Shiver when i went away at easter, i still worried and called though lol.
If she's not available we have an excellent reptile store nearby who pet-sit
I personally wouldn't want to leave a cham alone for even one day, too much can happen.

 

[Marc10edora]

I just found this useful site that lists herp sitters in your area. http://web.archive.org/web/20050701022501/www.icomm.ca/dragon/sitter.htm

 

[Steve]

Possibly find someone in your area (with the same interests ie: raising chameleons) that could take them while you are gone, or check with your local reptile store. I have the same problem and am living in San Diego. Luckily my brother lives close by and comes over to care for my (kids) chameleons. Good luck, and enjoy vacation.