Misting at night

[davemailcall]

There's been quite a bit of info posted about misting. Here's a question though:

Should you mist at night? Will it spook a cham if he gets hit with water in the dark?

Clyde doesn't particularly like the spray bottle and I REALLY want to hook him up with a misting system that is consistent and comes from above rather than somewhat AT him.

 

[Tygerr]

I've thought about that one too. Not so much misting at night, but rather misting in the early morning before the lights come on.

In the wild, Veiled chameleons supposedly get most of their water from condensation (dew) that forms of leaves in the humid wadis they live in.
I thought that an early morning misting would simulate this in some way, since when the cham wakes up, the droplets will have settled on the leaves like dew.

However, I've never seen my chams drinking whenever I've done this. When I mist during the day when they're awake, I see them drinking.
So I'd rather continue to mist during the day when I can be sure that the cham is being hydrated by the mistings.

If you're simply planning to mist at night to keep the humidity levels up, a humidifier might be a better option. Misting at night means that the cage won't dry up very quickly.

 

[stevereecy]

There's been quite a bit of info posted about misting. Here's a question though:

Should you mist at night? Will it spook a cham if he gets hit with water in the dark?

Clyde doesn't particularly like the spray bottle and I REALLY want to hook him up with a misting system that is consistent and comes from above rather than somewhat AT him.

I wouldn't do it. It obviously gets dewy in the morning and rains at night. I know that cavemen lived in those kinds of conditions, but I'm sure some of them had their immune systems compromised and died too. Maybe, just maybe for some types of chameleons it might be helpful...but I wouldn't do it.

 

[PardalisGirl]

I would not do it. I would only do it during the day when the chams are awake. The whole point is to give them drinking opportunities. They should be sleeping at night.

 

[Jamie]

LOL.. I have been doing this for a few years now with no ill effects and would almost swear by it. Rain at night is natural.
I don't do it every night, just a few times a month at random. I give about an hour long "thunderstorm" in the middle of the night..... I have seen some interesting results from this.... At this point, it's all speculation on my part as I have no other "documentation" to compare to other than my past experiences.
I started doing this for a WC cham that I felt needed some extra hydration but was too stressed by interaction to move to the shower.
I was pleased to see results in all my chams, (even though I thought they were fully hydrated ). I see full round eyes, pure white urates, brighter colors, easier sheds and increased appetites on seemingly more "alert" chameleons....
I stay up now and then to see how the chams react. Each one is different (obviously LOL), but for the most part, they usually wake, reposition (sometimes to under more "shelter") and go back to sleep. I have only witnessed drinking on a few occasions, but I still believe the overall effect is beneficial...

I have not had any issues with mold/fungus ect.. but I also have an awesome drainage system in place.

To each his own I suppose.....