Leaving town for 5 days - do I have to hire a sitter?

[Phinfan31]

Hey guys,

I'm brand new to the forums. I tried my best to see if this question has been answered before but couldn't find anything.

I'm fairly certain that I know the answer I'm going to get...but figured I'd take advantage of now being a member and ask away anyway.

I'm leaving town for 5 full days. I'm wondering if I absolutely have to hire someone to take care of my cham while I'm gone?

A little info:

I live in Hawaii, so temperature and humidity levels are pretty much the equivalent to if he were outside. I use an Exo Terra tank. It has a screen on the top which has plenty of high branches for my cham to sit on and receive fresh air, as well as his heat/UVB lighting (two lamps). The tank is right next to an open window with a screen so he tends to get the proper temp/humidity that he would receive outdoors.

He is very healthy, and approx. 7 months old I believe. He feeds on about 4-5 crickets, and 4-5 mealworms per day.

On to the hypothetical -

WATER - If I were to buy a waterfall (for drinking water) would this be enough to justify not misting his foilage for the period while I am gone? He would have access to drinking water for the full 5 days - and quite honestly...before finding this website a couple weeks ago I didn't mist his plants very often at all...I would just feed him water directly, or spray him very lightly about once a day. So he was doing fine without the spraying before...but now I'm trying to do things by the book. ----theoretically would this be OK?

FOOD - I've read that putting too many crickets into a tank is very bad because they will gnaw on him. I would probably only put a half dozen in the tank, and then he would be feeding exclusively on worms for the days after until I get home. Speaking of worms...this is obviously the only option in order to avoid the problem of too many crickets - would a worm bowl (where they can't escape) be adequate for his 5 days? I figure I could load the bowl up with 25 worms. (averaging 5 per day) ...and he would be OK? Would he potentially over eat?? He wouldn't go through twice, or 3x his normal amount (5) would he simply because they're there for the taking? I know he can go 2-3 days without food if he HAD to...is this many even necessary?

LIGHTING - I would buy timers to put on my basking light/UVB in order for him to get the proper lighting he needs while I'm away.

Assuming he has a non-stop running waterfall, a large quantity of worms in his feeder bowl, and 1/2 dozen of crickets running around before I leave...with timed lighting sources....would he be OK for me to leave for 5 full days unattended??? Has anyone ever done this?

I am trying to do what I can to prevent having to hire someone to take care of him for me. I would appreciate someone looking out for HIS interest, but also trying to see if there is a way I can accomplish what I'm trying to do too. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Aloha

-Keith

 

[MelissaB]

Do you have time to buy a misting system before you leave? The waterfall could become contaminated with bacteria through drowned feeders or chameleon poop. I wouldn't want to leave that as his only drinking water for 5 days. Do you have a friend that could stop by a few times and feed him?

 

[carol5208]

The waterfall thing would worry me also, as he is not accustomed to drinking out of one and he may not recognize it as such. In times of desperation, they might if they got thirsty, but I would not want to find out the hard way. Same note on the worms, if he has never eaten out of a bowl, he may not now. He would not die if he ate all the crickets on the first day and did not eat again for the next 4, but it is not ideal of course. I don't really know how long they can go without water before becoming truly dehydrated. I am assuming you have a Jackson's living in Hawaii.? I myself, would not feel comfortable leaving my chameleons for 5 days, but that is just my opinion. I think it can be done as your described, but it would make me a nervous wreck! As the other member said, do you not have a friend or family member that could help you out. Maybe try the waterfall and bowl and see how it goes before you leave if time allows you to do so. Waterfalls are usually frowned upon anyways as you may know, if he drank out of it for 5 days it probably would not kill him.

 

[Lizardguy1]

What species is he? How old is he?

 

[carol5208]

What species is he? How old is he?

7 month old Jackson's.

 

[jannb]

I recommend you have someone come over daily. Stuff happens to these guys very quickly. I could never live with myself if I left my guys and come back and one had a prolapse, or his tongue had been out for hours.

 

[carol5208]

Jann you are absolutely right and there are many other things that can happen. He was asking if it could be done and it could, but I would never do it either. If I could not find someone, I would not be going away!

 

[ZiggyStardust]

I live in the UK so obviously cannot comment on whether this might be available in the USA, but certain reptile establishments/breeders offer a "holiday home" service, whereby they will house, feed and basically take care of your chameleon whilst you are away for a price of about £5.00 per day. Worth looking into if you honestly can't find anyone who would be prepared to look after him for you.

I would never leave my chameleons longer than overnight, I would be worried as to whether they were okay 24/7.

 

[Sanababit]

Hi, i have left my chameleon for 2-3 day trips alone, i do have a mistking system and leave a 2-3 crickets inside the cage, they Dont miss me at all, lol, but for 5 days i would get someone to at least come by at least once and do a quick clean and feed them

Sana

 

[carol5208]

ziggy we have pet sitting available also in the U.S.

 

[Phinfan31]

Thanks everyone for your feedback.

He is a Jackson. Can someone help me determine his age? The pet store literally had no idea...but guessed that he may be around 6 months when I purchased him. I've had him for approx. 1 month now...so with that guys random guess I have been claiming he is approx. 7 months.

Isn't he quite small though for this to be the case? When measuring a cham - is it from the tip of the horn to the end of the tail? I read that they can grow to 10-12 inches, and have been expecting him to get much larger but so far haven't seen much indication that he is growing.

Anyways, I certainly can buy a mister, or waterfall and test them out for the next week before I leave. I can buy the bowl and test that out as well. If we were to throw the waterfall out of the equation because of the potential for contamination - and I went one step further and removed all of the substrate at the bottom of the tank as well - do you guys think that the mister, and approx. 25 worms in a bowl/5 crickets would be sufficient?

Again, this is all hypothetical. If everyones opinion seems to be to avoid doing this altogether, I will either seek someone to take him into their own home, as was mentioned, OR if I have to ill find a sitter.

I am a college student, so my friends are definitely not the type of people I trust to take care of him properly. Also I live in a secured building and would have to go through a hoop or two to get them access while I am away.

Thanks again to everyone for the replies.

 

[ZiggyStardust]

Just taking of you going out of town out of the equation for a moment, I would seriously recommend removing the substrate as soon as you can in any event, it can cause impaction if ingested accidentally and can be a breeding ground for mould, bacteria and RIs.

 

[repdog]

I had my parents come over to feed mine while I was gone for 4 days. I picked up simple food for them to feed to make things as easy as possible. But I would start with the mister, no waterfall, and remove the substrate. Try the cup feeding for the worms and see if that even works. If it does then go with that. Maybe have two cups with worms. I think you would be ok with that. Just make sure the mister is working and running the right amount for your area. You don't need the humidity to all of sudden go to high.

I wouldn't feel safe without having someone stop by at least twice in those 5 days but again that's me as well. My parents came once a day to feed and make sure everyone was still looking ok. I left out photos of things that can go wrong with them and left out a sheet of paper to write down what they ate. I keep records on each reptile to the T.

 

[Bush baby]

You beautiful Jackson looks about 8-12 moths old; around the same age as mine.

I've never had an issue with leaving a dozen crickets in the cage running free, so long as you leave food in the cage for them to nibble on i.e half an orange or apple, some repashy bug burger gel, etc at the bottom of the cage. That, along with leaving a cup with about 6 super worms in it should hold your cham easily for 5 days….


…the real issue is water; as Jackson's love water..more so than food, imo!

 

[little leaf]

I am not tiring to scare you- but I would NOT go away for 5 days , and leave him - I DID have someone watching mine when I went away- it was not enough, and when I got home , that night threw the week, I lost over 9 - another good place to ask is your vet - see if they can recommend someone - I babysit, I dont know where you are - but I dont charge - they go in to a quarantine room - but you do have to your own stuff - but ask your vet if can give you the name of someone close to you , your jax is BEAUTIFUL