humidity question..whats best for her?

[spenserohara]

Hey guys just a quick question. What do you recommend the most? I spray my chameleon and she hates it. The only time when she enjoys it is when she is about to shed. I tried using the fogger to keep the humidity up and she is afraid of it! She looks at the fog as a threat! There is one ficus tree in there and the rest are fake. Should I use more live plants?..if so what do you recommend. I thought she would get over the fogger but not yet and I don't want to stress her out. Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Rob G]

try misting with warm water in the spray bottle. Schefflera arboricola, pothos, and hibiscus are all good plants

 

[spenserohara]

Ok thanks a lot! Will try it out!

 

[azgnoinc]

Warm water is a great tip, and don't spray the chameleon directly. You don't mention if you have a trigger sprayer or a pump sprayer - either works well to immediately raise humidity and both have spray controls. I have always found that the finer the mist the better they tolerate having it land on them. Don't forget- these are usually wild animals- they get rained on in the wild and have done so for thousands of years - the species wouldn't have lasted this long without water. I spray/mist mine and get the water droplets to accumulate on the top of the cage and start dripping down as if it were raining.

 

[spenserohara]

Thanks for the advice! I appreciate it a lot! So don't even bother with the fogger? I just use a regular spray bottle and I spray all over the cage. I don't mist directly on her but she loves it when it comes to shedding time.

 

[ataraxia]

what is the humidity in the cage? what kind of chameleon? how old?

your humidity can fluxuate. misting three times a day and live plants should be sufficient. now if your house is dry you can place a cool air humidifier near the cage.

 

[BallstoWall30]

my humidity fluctuats btw 50% and 90% when I spray, but the bottom of the cage is really humid.... Im having A hard time keeping it above 60 though which it needs to be at.... And he is shedding and has been for a week but Im trying to help but nothings quite working.

 

[Rob G]

IMO the actual humidity isn't as important as what they drink. Lower humidity would be fine(except when shedding where higher humidity helps shedding) as long as they are drinking enough.

 

[BallstoWall30]

well its just hard bc I cant really help him shed on the top of his head, and its been there for a week, hopefully he doesnt get any infections

 

[spenserohara]

I have been using the fogger but she hates it..she looks at it as a threat sometimes but I want her to get used to it. It gets really dry in our studio so I spray around the cage all the time and she gets plenty of water. I am not home all the time so I thought the fogger would work. I tried a humidifier but didn't work for some reason. She is finally shedding again which is good. Before she didn't shed at all...only on her leggs, feet and head. The humidity is tough to keep it going thats for sure! I was just in petco and I was looking at the chemeleons and noticed the temp was at 80 degrees and the humidity was at 30 degrees! Makes no sense if they need the humidity at a certian point when they keep theirs very low...lol

 

[ataraxia]

why is the bottom of the cage humid?

humidity between 50-90 fluxuating is great. you dont have to keep a constant 60 percent humidity.

try putting him in a warm shower chamber for 15 minutes a day.

nutrition along with humidity is important with shedding.

 

[BallstoWall30]

It's more humid down there bc the uv lights aren't hitting down there as much and there is little moss patches soaked with water that I replace every week... Plus the soil from the plant in the cage is wet. But I guess the humidity is good then I'll give him another shower today all that is left is his head btw his eyes