letting him out of his cage

[jamest0o0]

I've been putting together my cham's adult cage(he's quickly outgrowing the 36x18x18), in the meantime I let him out of his cage to explore. I either lift him out or set a branch from the cage to a free range I set up. He takes to it pretty fast and seems to enjoy it. His free range is just a weeping fig and dracaena with a light over and some vines wrapped around. My concern was, how long can I leave him out before UVB becomes an issue? When he's in his cage he sits directly under the uvb a lot of the time. His lights are on from 8am-8pm, and I usually let him out of that cage for anywhere from 2 to 5 hours. I mist the plants couple times and supervise. It's usually while I'm doing my online courses and he sits a few feet from me on the plants.

 

[nightanole]

If you do the recommended D3 supplement schedule this isnt a problem. Several breeders dont even use UV lamps and supplement 100% with D3. But really they only need 30-60min a day of full Lamp, and might only need 20-30min every other day if they are allowed out side.

We didnt have MBD back in the 1990's and our bulbs were T12's and put out 1/4 of what a reptisun t8 10.0 putout.

 

[nstd]

If you do the recommended D3 supplement schedule this isnt a problem. Several breeders dont even use UV lamps and supplement 100% with D3. But really they only need 30-60min a day of full Lamp, and might only need 20-30min every other day if they are allowed out side.

We didnt have MBD back in the 1990's and our bulbs were T12's and put out 1/4 of what a reptisun t8 10.0 putout.

With your logic does that mean we can reduce the operation time of our UVB? i.e. basking bulb is on for 12 hours but we can reduce our UVB... 6 hours?

 

[jamest0o0]

I do sticky tongues D3 twice a month herptivite 1x a month and reptivite 1x a month(alternating every week) Think that's enough?

 

[Andee]

I agree having him out for 2-4 hours won't be a problem, especially if you take him out for a total of 1 hour a week and give him uvb the rest of them time. The problem with the older days is in my opinion the chameleons were healthier, there was less inbreeding with certain species and more wild caught blood (though I am not positive as I am only 25 XD). But gotta know where your chameleons have come from and what bloodlines they have in them.Otherwise in my opinion weekly sunshine, and uvb the rest of the time he is not out will solve so much. Abuse the sun during the good seasons. I know I always do. I cannot wait until I have moved because I will have at least one purely outside cage for my chameleons I keep indoors. That I can just leave them outside in because it will be safe. I will go out and mist them. Otherwise they will likely spend a couple hours or more outside on good days <3

 

[jamest0o0]

Do you mean outside 1 hr per week, or out of the cage? I've been taking him out of the cage on a daily basis for a few hours average. As far as going outside, where I live in western PA we get about a month and a half of sunshine if we're lucky and regularly see all 4 seasons in a given week. I'd love to get him out though, but I can't count on it being a regular thing : /.

 

[Andee]

1 hour per week outside. Depending on the temps, it doesn't matter much of actual sunshine, if it's cloudy and still warm enough to take him outside then do it. Clouds don't block as much UVB as you'd think. Glass does, but clouds are totally different. If you have a day of really nice weather as far as temps, keep him out as long as possible as far as 2-3 hours if it works into your schedule. Just remember to mist him. Do something like a safe outdoor set up for him and you can leave him during those times. I did/do it all the time depending on the health of the chameleon I have. As far as taking him out regularly and not having regular outdoor time, I would only do it around 2-3 hours depending on what you are dusting/gutloading with and his bloodlines. ^^ much love to you and your boy.

 

[nightanole]

I do sticky tongues D3 twice a month herptivite 1x a month and reptivite 1x a month(alternating every week) Think that's enough?

Ive been running sticky indoor (really low dose d3) since the 1990's as my only dust, and gut loading with either sticky vit-all or some other powder. My vet has always given my extended family members a good bill of health and good bones.

 

[nightanole]

With your logic does that mean we can reduce the operation time of our UVB? i.e. basking bulb is on for 12 hours but we can reduce our UVB... 6 hours?

That would be odd but yea that would work. I assume the basking bulb would be the least used light, i mean its basking what, 1 hour a day maybe?

I see no point in turning off the bulb if the cham is in the tank. Its not going to extend the life of the bulb (based on my meter a 2 of the same bulbs of reptisun or arcadia can last anywhere from 9 months to 2.5 years, so its a big variance).

The only reason i could see is if you wanted 6 hours of natty window lite and 6 hours of just florescent light, in that case it would work.

 

[Andee]

Yeah I don't see much point in reducing a ton either... I still strongly prefer sunlight as does @nightanole and most other chameleon keepers. It can help so much.

 

[jamest0o0]

Great, didn't think about that with the clouds and uvb. I have a little deck at my place i'll have to throw something together when it warms up. If it rains should he be taken in?

As for feeding/dusting he gets 9 different feeders throughout the week usually and dusting every day.

Always appreciate the help andee and friends!

 

[Andee]

Ummm as far as rain it depends to me. If I get a day where the weather is still warm and I have something similar to a warm/humid rain I will let my chameleons stay out in it. They love it. But the thing is, you have to make sure the weather reports don't talk about dangerous storms coming your way during it. Usually I don't leave them out for more than an hour at my place in that kind of weather because it almost always means lightning and thunder.

 

[nightanole]

I have no idea of ambient temps, but my guys do not like to be out for more than 30-45min if its sunny, in the outdoor cage thats just full of sticks. If you are going to make an out door cage, or even one that they are going to be in unsupervised for an hour or more, i would have a large amount of plants to hide in.

Even if its only 70f out, full sun can take the cham temp in to the 90's which is not good for extended periods.

I just check on them every 10min or so, once they start scratching at the bottom of the reptibreeze xl outside, i bring them in.

 

[Andee]

I definitely agreed, outside cages should have lots of foliage like inside cages. I also only have my reptiles in general (if they are my guys who have inside cages and are moved in and out) during either peak sun hours in my backyard, which last for around 3 hours. But all my cages have various vines and fake foliage or real depending on the cage when I have a cage set up. Lately I would not trust either of my chams outside, so I have been doing 30 minutes with me sitting with them. Thankfully I don't have to worry tons about hawks directly in my yard due to my dog and cats.