How often should I mist my 2-3 month old veiled chameleon?

[Kylecase]

I understand this is a dumb question but how should I mist my chameleon I ask because I'm gone for alot of the day 5 days a week. I'm just not sure how I should work the misting on days I'm gone for 6 hours. (I have an automatic mister coming in the mail)

 

[CamrynTheCham22]

I have mine mist every hour for 4 seconds, which keeps my cham perfectly hydrated, even when I'm not there. When I am around, I add hand-misting to the automatic just as an extra precaution to make sure she doesn't get dehydrated.
I know some people just mist 2-3 times a day for about 5 minutes, but I am not sure how well that works. You might have to experiment a little. Every cham is different
Welcome to the forums!

 

[Charlotte Louise]

I hand mist (empty the contents of a 1L hand sprayer) one hour before lights on and an hour after lights off. Dripper used during the day which I've never seen them use.
Then have a fogger running throughout the night to keep humidity high (very important).

Very rarely mist during the day - when I do, all lights go off 30 minutes before I mist and my Chameleons hide, only coming out when the lights are back on after the spraying has finished. Which is natural behaviour.

In the wild it doesn't rain every single day, never mind every hour - in fact it doesn't rain for months for some species, when it does rain - people observing these animals in the field see Chameleons run for cover... they are well hydrated from breathing in the moist air and fog during the night - they don't enjoy getting wet.

When it rains in the wild Chameleons typically have warnings - ones we can easily replicate are, it goes duller and temps typically drop because of cloud cover but in captivity we tend to blast them with water, without warning. That's why on the very rare occasion I mist during the day - I'll turn lights off 30 minutes before and only turn them back on when I've stopped misting.

In captivity we have it backwards - often having high humidity during the day and low humidity at night... which isn't what Chameleons would get in the wild. Therefore they often have to compensate throughout the day by drinking.

Ambient temperature and relative humidity are linked - those cooler night time temperatures help keep humidity higher for longer. Warm temperatures mean relative humidity drops.

I never see any of my Chameleons actually drink - apart from when they first arrived with me. My Chameleons are healthy, show no signs of dehydration, their urates and faeces are perfect. Something to look into for you

 

[jamest0o0]

Had to post because I dont agree with the above posts...especially as advice to a beginner. Not to be rude, but there should be anywhere from 7 min+ total minutes of mistings each day. IMO even more, but it could depend on humidity. Short misting sessions doesn't stimulate drinking behavior like long mistings do. It also doesn't give time to clean the eyes. Which the above posts seem to be forgetting.

@Charlotte Louise I can tell you've read a thing or two, and you're totally right about most of what you're saying, but we can't compare their natural habitat, regularly filled with humidity and good air flow, with keeping in captivity(most of the times with AC/heat).

I agree some of what we do is a little unnatural, it would get cooler and darker during a rain, but that's not really necessary to replicate. I regularly see my Panthers bathe under water for long periods of time, not to mention my parson's that absolutely loves water. They run for cover in the rain because they're getting smacked by large drops.... I also wouldn't say a fogger is very important for most people. A good mist system is a much better investment and less likely to cause an RI. Foggers definitely have their uses, but can be easily misused.

 

[Charlotte Louise]

Had to post because I dont agree with the above posts...especially as advice to a beginner. Not to be rude, but there should be anywhere from 7 min+ total minutes of mistings each day. IMO even more, but it could depend on humidity. Short misting sessions doesn't stimulate drinking behavior like long mistings do. It also doesn't give time to clean the eyes. Which the above posts seem to be forgetting.

@Charlotte Louise I can tell you've read a thing or two, and you're totally right about most of what you're saying, but we can't compare their natural habitat, regularly filled with humidity and good air flow, with keeping in captivity(most of the times with AC/heat).

I agree some of what we do is a little unnatural, it would get cooler and darker during a rain, but that's not really necessary to replicate. I regularly see my Panthers bathe under water for long periods of time, not to mention my parson's that absolutely loves water. They run for cover in the rain because they're getting smacked by large drops.... I also wouldn't say a fogger is very important for most people. A good mist system is a much better investment and less likely to cause an RI. Foggers definitely have their uses, but can be easily misused.

I respect your opinion but I'd much rather follow the advice of experienced herpetologists who've studied Chameleons in both captivity and the wild and probably forgotten more about Chameleons, than I'll ever know. I've seen the benefits since changing and so have many other keepers Don't knock something until you've tried it IMO.

 

[JapSolum]

I think it's an interesting conversation. I think @Charlotte Louise has definitely done the research and the logic checks out. but it is against anything I've ever learned... anywhere. I tend to side with @jamest0o0 that in captivity, we cant perfectly replicate what happens in the wild (even though our job should be to get as close as possible). in the wild they have access to more humidity and airflow naturally which (depending on where you are) isnt always possible. by the same logic, that would mean we shouldn't be dusting crickets with calcium, their basking spot would have to move throughout the day (like the sun does) and if you were going to "warn" the cham of rain you'd want to shade the light for a while first to simulate cloud cover not turn the lights off to simulate night. I can see @Charlotte Louise has clearly done some research and wouldn't say the advice is "wrong" but completely replicating life in the wild would literally be a 24 hour a day job. and let's not forget, in the wild its survival of the fittest, a lot of chams dont make it in their natural environments. our job as owners is to make sure ours do. that being said I mist 2-3 times a day, run a fogger for short periods of time in between, and have a dripper for constant water source.

 

[Charlotte Louise]

I think it's an interesting conversation. I think @Charlotte Louise has definitely done the research and the logic checks out. but it is against anything I've ever learned... anywhere. I tend to side with @jamest0o0 that in captivity, we cant perfectly replicate what happens in the wild (even though our job should be to get as close as possible). in the wild they have access to more humidity and airflow naturally which (depending on where you are) isnt always possible. by the same logic, that would mean we shouldn't be dusting crickets with calcium, their basking spot would have to move throughout the day (like the sun does) and if you were going to "warn" the cham of rain you'd want to shade the light for a while first to simulate cloud cover not turn the lights off to simulate night. I can see @Charlotte Louise has clearly done some research and wouldn't say the advice is "wrong" but completely replicating life in the wild would literally be a 24 hour a day job. and let's not forget, in the wild its survival of the fittest, a lot of chams dont make it in their natural environments. our job as owners is to make sure ours do. that being said I mist 2-3 times a day, run a fogger for short periods of time in between, and have a dripper for constant water source.

My Chameleons are kept in a room with a window - lights off, they still have ambient light, they aren't plunged into darkness.

We know Chameleons kept outside, fed wild bugs aren't supplemented... Or at least aren't supplemented as heavily, no one supplements the Chameleons released and seemingly surviving in Florida and Hawaii

Gutloading is an issue, especially in farm raised insects - they need to be kept at certain temperatures to actually digest food you're feeding them. Variety can also be a concern - wild chameleons consume a lot of pollen from flying insects, yet many keepers don't feed many flying insects and even if they did, they don't have a chance to collect pollen - so instead we can supplement bee pollen, something which is easy to do.

Yemens in a way are supplemented, while eating leaves and drinking water from leaves in the wild they ingest dust. Limestone deposits are widespread in Yemen so that a significant part of the dust is Calcium, in the form of CaCO3 - as said by Petr Necas a well respected Herpetologist, done a lot of work with Chameleons and studying them in the wild.

I'm not looking to replicate the wild exactly - just the beneficial parts. IMO we can replicate the humidity a Chameleon in the wild would experience it isn't difficult, more and more people are trying this method and seeing the benefits for themselves. Chameleons aren't running over to drink at the first opportunity because they don't need too - seeing them position themselves to sleep under the cool mist/fog of an ultrasonic fogger, it's something they are choosing to do. Very interesting to observe and see the difference in behaviour.

We learn more, our knowledge expands and we try new things. Husbandry is always advancing - only as long as people are willing to try new things which can be backed up by science and field observations. Otherwise we'd still be stuck with Chameleons barely surviving in fish tanks without UV lighting.

 

[JapSolum]

My Chameleons are kept in a room with a window - lights off, they still have ambient light, they aren't plunged into darkness.

We know Chameleons kept outside, fed wild bugs aren't supplemented... Or at least aren't supplemented as heavily, no one supplements the Chameleons released and seemingly surviving in Florida and Hawaii

Gutloading is an issue, especially in farm raised insects - they need to be kept at certain temperatures to actually digest food you're feeding them. Variety can also be a concern - wild chameleons consume a lot of pollen from flying insects, yet many keepers don't feed many flying insects and even if they did, they don't have a chance to collect pollen - so instead we can supplement bee pollen, something which is easy to do.

Yemens in a way are supplemented, while eating leaves and drinking water from leaves in the wild they ingest dust. Limestone deposits are widespread in Yemen so that a significant part of the dust is Calcium, in the form of CaCO3 - as said by Petr Necas a well respected Herpetologist, done a lot of work with Chameleons and studying them in the wild.

I'm not looking to replicate the wild exactly - just the beneficial parts. IMO we can replicate the humidity a Chameleon in the wild would experience it isn't difficult, more and more people are trying this method and seeing the benefits for themselves. Chameleons aren't running over to drink at the first opportunity because they don't need too - seeing them position themselves to sleep under the cool mist/fog of an ultrasonic fogger, it's something they are choosing to do. Very interesting to observe and see the difference in behaviour.

We learn more, our knowledge expands and we try new things. Husbandry is always advancing - only as long as people are willing to try new things which can be backed up by science and field observations. Otherwise we'd still be stuck with Chameleons barely surviving in fish tanks without UV lighting.

agreed, and as I said, your advice isnt "wrong" nor do I want to debate it because you have obviously done a lot of research on the topic, and seem very knowledgable. just offering my two cents. especially for somebody that seems like a new cham owner, experimentation may not be as safe as it is for somebody that can tell the signs of when their methods are going wrong or not. but I do plan to follow you because I think your theories on it are very interesting.

 

[Kylecase]

I live in the mountains of Colorado so I've been misting her more often then most people probably do as the air here is very dry (nice for me bad for her) I have a fogger that should be here by Wednesday. From what all of you wonderful people are saying I've been doing it correctly. I have a dripper on all day while I'm gone and I've been misting the plants more than her to keep the humidity up. I'm happy to know I'm not alone in not seeing my cham drink I see no signs of dehydration and she's been eating daily. Another question at whay age should I start feeding her every other day?

 

[Kylecase]

Had to post because I dont agree with the above posts...especially as advice to a beginner. Not to be rude, but there should be anywhere from 7 min+ total minutes of mistings each day. IMO even more, but it could depend on humidity. Short misting sessions doesn't stimulate drinking behavior like long mistings do. It also doesn't give time to clean the eyes. Which the above posts seem to be forgetting.

@Charlotte Louise I can tell you've read a thing or two, and you're totally right about most of what you're saying, but we can't compare their natural habitat, regularly filled with humidity and good air flow, with keeping in captivity(most of the times with AC/heat).

I agree some of what we do is a little unnatural, it would get cooler and darker during a rain, but that's not really necessary to replicate. I regularly see my Panthers bathe under water for long periods of time, not to mention my parson's that absolutely loves water. They run for cover in the rain because they're getting smacked by large drops.... I also wouldn't say a fogger is very important for most people. A good mist system is a much better investment and less likely to cause an RI. Foggers definitely have their uses, but can be easily misused.

For a fogger in a dry climate what woukd you recommend?

 

[JapSolum]

I live in co mountians...-ish too, I have a reptifogger that I had to go off once every couple hours... though I just loaded up his cage with a big (maybe too big as I can barely find him now) weeping fig, so I'm going to see if that holds humidity a little better and maybe cut back on how often I use fogger

I live in the mountains of Colorado so I've been misting her more often then most people probably do as the air here is very dry (nice for me bad for her) I have a fogger that should be here by Wednesday. From what all of you wonderful people are saying I've been doing it correctly. I have a dripper on all day while I'm gone and I've been misting the plants more than her to keep the humidity up. I'm happy to know I'm not alone in not seeing my cham drink I see no signs of dehydration and she's been eating daily. Another question at whay age should I start feeding her every other day?

 

[jamest0o0]

@Charlotte Louise sounds like we have read a lot of the same things. I agree with most of what you're saying and I love where you're coming from. I personally invest a lot into replicating natural conditions. I'm not saying you're wrong about the humidity. It's just that misting is tried and true. It's not the same as keeping them in fish tanks because it does work. Captive chameleons are living longer than ever and people are having all sorts of success breeding new species. Pretty much all of these people I've come by have put a heavy emphasis on misting. I have seen my chameleons enjoy the fogger as well, but foggers have been known to cause more problems than misters so it's important to use correctly. Fog also doesn't address eye cleaning. Chameleons don't run up to the water immediately because they are used to it not being an issue, for whatever reason(long rain fall and/or natural high humidity). I see no problem with experimenting if you're experienced and know what you're doing. But for the average new keeper, it's probably best to stick to the 'don't fix it if it's not broken' approach.

Anyway, I loved your post, no disrespect intended, just discussing!

 

[Kylecase]

I live in co mountians...-ish too, I have a reptifogger that I had to go off once every couple hours... though I just loaded up his cage with a big (maybe too big as I can barely find him now) weeping fig, so I'm going to see if that holds humidity a little better and maybe cut back on how often I use fogger

Thanks that's super helpful