Order of the morning routine? need advice?

[CC's Baby]

So I work and leave the house at 7am every morning. I want to get my cham enclosure set up and running to fit my routine and his. So this is my question. I will be feeding him in the morning. What time should I have the lights kick on and Do I feed him and give him some time BEFORE I have the misting system kick in and do a good 5 - 7 minute shower in the morning? Not sure how you all do it and what routine works for you guys -- but do not want the shower to interrupt his feeding either, so which should come first? Example : (1) Lights kick on (2) Long misting shower (3) feeding or (1) LIghts on (2) feeding (3) have misting system kick on . NOt sure which is best for him? Reaching out to my fellow experienced cham keepers for suggestion? I am so excited, I am hoping to receive him a week from tomorrow.

 

[zigzagzug]

My lights go on at 7am and off at 7pm, I have my mistking set up so it gives him a 5min shower at 7:05am, then it goes off for 2mins every 2 hours until 3pm. My cham is wild caught and won't eat out of a cup, he only eats free range or from my hand. I usually feed him 2-3 times a week between 8am and noon

 

[mBuxx]

My cham is a young veiled, so not sure if this is relevant. Lights are on 830 and off at 830. I feed him shortly after lights are on followed by a good 2 -3 min misting. I fill a dripper which runs for 6-8 hours(I let it flow quite fast to assure he always has water dripping). He get another misting when my kids get off the bus around 330. When I get home around 530 he eats again. I refill his dripper and I give him another mist around 630.

 

[Graves923]

If you leave the house at 7am i would probably set his lights to turn on at 6am. this will give your cham time to wake up and move to the basking spot to warm up. Then set the morning shower for about 5-6 mins around 6:05 or 6:10. Offer feeders around 630 or so.

Set the lights to turn off at 6pm and toss a sheet over the enclosure if you need lights on in the room the enclosure is in.

This is my routine for my veiled except the whole process starts at 7am. The chameleon will adjust to the routine over a few weeks or months. Youll start to notice that the cham will perch itself in its favorite sleeping spot about an hour or so before lights out.

 

[CC's Baby]

If you leave the house at 7am i would probably set his lights to turn on at 6am. this will give your cham time to wake up and move to the basking spot to warm up. Then set the morning shower for about 5-6 mins around 6:05 or 6:10. Offer feeders around 630 or so.

Set the lights to turn off at 6pm and toss a sheet over the enclosure if you need lights on in the room the enclosure is in.

This is my routine for my veiled except the whole process starts at 7am. The chameleon will adjust to the routine over a few weeks or months. Youll start to notice that the cham will perch itself in its favorite sleeping spot about an hour or so before lights out.

Sweet. Thanks for the response. That is a great idea. Had not thought about allowing him to actually wake up. Duh? That is probably important to consider. Yes, that probably works best for me. However, at night, at 6pm. LIghts are off, the room he is in the corner that I have setup usually remains dark --- however --- about 8 feet out lights in that room (large room ) are away from him. Do you think it is okay that the room is not complete darkness until 10pm. He will be in the dark though himself without light on him that should allow him to cool down. That is my concern. How often would you set a time to do a misting from 6am being the first one, then again at 2pm and then again after lights are out? I have a monsoon, so I was going to set the first shower to go off at 6:30 then do a feeding around 6:45 - 7. My thing I cannot decide on is how many misting in between. They will be at whatever I set the first on in the morning, but not sure how long it takes to dry out between mistings. So SHould I set it for 2 1/2 minutes in the morning and do a 2 1/2 minute every 4 hours? to make sure the last one helps the humidity because lights will go off 15 minutes prior to last misting. I am wondering if that is too much?

 

[GodricktheVeiled]

Hmmm....I do things a bit differently for my Male veiled baby cham.. his lights are on at 8am and off at 8pm. His first mist is at 9am for 3 minutes. After the first misting, I feed him. His mistings happen for 2 minutes every 3 hours until 6pm. I have a fogger to supplement humidity at night as needed.

 

[CC's Baby]

Hmmm....I do things a bit differently for my Male veiled baby cham.. his lights are on at 8am and off at 8pm. His first mist is at 9am for 3 minutes. After the first misting, I feed him. His mistings happen for 2 minutes every 3 hours until 6pm. I have a fogger to supplement humidity at night as needed.

So what I am not sure of which will help is how long does it take a 2x2x4 cage to dry out between 2 minute sprays? And if I do one after lights are out after 6, wouldn't that help keep the humid levels up for the night?

 

[GodricktheVeiled]

So what I am not sure of which will help is how long does it take a 2x2x4 cage to dry out between 2 minute sprays? And if I do one after lights are out after 6, wouldn't that help keep the humid levels up for the night?

I am new to this myself...but I was told not to mist the cage after the lights go out. Maybe the more experienced cham members can enlighten us both?

 

[Beman]

Sweet. Thanks for the response. That is a great idea. Had not thought about allowing him to actually wake up. Duh? That is probably important to consider. Yes, that probably works best for me. However, at night, at 6pm. LIghts are off, the room he is in the corner that I have setup usually remains dark --- however --- about 8 feet out lights in that room (large room ) are away from him. Do you think it is okay that the room is not complete darkness until 10pm. He will be in the dark though himself with light on him. That is my concern.

I had to put a black out curtain around Beman's cage. He is in the living room and even with the lights being about 5-8 feet away he would not settle in completely and sleep until everything was off. Once I added the curtain he started getting into sleep mode looking for his spot about 30 minutes prior to lights out. So the lights go out, curtain goes on creating complete darkness in the cage, and when I go to bed at 10pm I remove the curtain from the hooks that I put on the cage so that everything is uncovered for the morning. I run a 6am to 6pm schedule. He is normally awake and ready for food by 6:30ish. I only feed in the morning to ensure he has enough basking time to digest before lights go out. My misting schedule and fogger along with lighting is following Bill Strands Podcast episode 91. However I am going to run slightly longer sessions. 1 minute 30 minutes prior to lights on, 5 minute rain shower at noon, and 1minute at 7pm 1 hour after lights out. Humidifier will run from midnight until about 4:00 am. Then kick on prior to his afternoon shower and off when the shower completes. There may be some adjustments to misting sessions based on my humidity levels in the new cage I have ordered to get my humidity levels right. I do have a little dripper running at all times as he prefers his over the mister. I would set everything up on a day you have off and then monitor all your levels so you know what his environment will be when your at work. I work from home so its a little easier for me to play with it.

 

[CC's Baby]

I had to put a black out curtain around Beman's cage. He is in the living room and even with the lights being about 5-8 feet away he would not settle in completely and sleep until everything was off. Once I added the curtain he started getting into sleep mode looking for his spot about 30 minutes prior to lights out. So the lights go out, curtain goes on creating complete darkness in the cage, and when I go to bed at 10pm I remove the curtain from the hooks that I put on the cage so that everything is uncovered for the morning. I run a 6am to 6pm schedule. He is normally awake and ready for food by 6:30ish. I only feed in the morning to ensure he has enough basking time to digest before lights go out. My misting schedule and fogger along with lighting is following Bill Strands Podcast episode 91. However I am going to run slightly longer sessions. 1 minute 30 minutes prior to lights on, 5 minute rain shower at noon, and 1minute at 7pm 1 hour after lights out. Humidifier will run from midnight until about 4:00 am. Then kick on prior to his afternoon shower and off when the shower completes. There may be some adjustments to misting sessions based on my humidity levels in the new cage I have ordered to get my humidity levels right. I do have a little dripper running at all times as he prefers his over the mister. I would set everything up on a day you have off and then monitor all your levels so you know what his environment will be when your at work. I work from home so its a little easier for me to play with it.

Good morning Beeman -- You know -- My problem is this -- I got the Monsoon Multi which I like that idea but I have to set the misting times and durations exactly the same each time. So that is what I am trying to get down. I will be on the same schedule as you , however, I work away from home. So lights on at 6:15 , lights out at 6:15. So I was thinking lights on 6:15, misting session 2 1/2 minutes at 6:30am. Feeding around 6:45 - 7 then I leave for the day. SO mist again at what time? and then last misting at what time? And with the last post which is a great question ----- do I make sure the last misting is before lights go out? I am now wondering about going ahead and getting a fogger to help ensure humid levels. What do you think? I saw this one on amazon ( I need it by Friday so I may have to pay more for it) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...title_huc_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A18UZ8OJII3VEM I am going to run a little dripper during the day and wondering if I should leave this running all the time on a slow drip or put it on a timer as well? Also -- I keep reading bad things about humidifiers causing respiratory issues. BIG QUESTION -- How long does it take for cage to dry out between mistings?

 

[Beman]

Good morning Beeman -- You know -- My problem is this -- I got the Monsoon Multi which I like that idea but I have to set the misting times and durations exactly the same each time. So that is what I am trying to get down. I will be on the same schedule as you , however, I work away from home. So lights on at 6:15 , lights out at 6:15. So I was thinking lights on 6:15, misting session 2 1/2 minutes at 6:30am. Feeding around 6:45 - 7 then I leave for the day. SO mist again at what time? and then last misting at what time? And with the last post which is a great question ----- do I make sure the last misting is before lights go out? I am now wondering about going ahead and getting a fogger to help ensure humid levels. What do you think? I saw this one on amazon ( I need it by Friday so I may have to pay more for it) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...title_huc_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A18UZ8OJII3VEM I am going to run a little dripper during the day and wondering if I should leave this running all the time on a slow drip or put it on a timer as well? Also -- I keep reading bad things about humidifiers causing respiratory issues. BIG QUESTION -- How long does it take for cage to dry out between mistings?

It is not episode 91 it 89 here is the link https://www.chameleonbreeder.com/podcast/ep-89-naturalistic-hydration-for-chameleons/ So your humididity requirements for a panther are almost the same as mine. I do not know anything about the Monsoon system. I went with the mistking because I had more ability to customize the settings and how and where my mist heads would go. I would mist again in the afternoon like at noon. A longer session to mimic rain. And then in the evening. This way your cage drys out in between. Now I am no expert by any means. I am just basing what I am doing with the fogger, lights, and misting, on Bill Strands podcasts. Again this is not my final schedule as I will have to test in the new enclosure to see what all my levels end up being. But I think it will be pretty close to it because I got the clearside enclosure that he does. Right now I only have the back and one side covered so I lose humidity much quicker. With the new one back, side, and front will be enclosed leaving 1 side and top screen. That fogger should be good just keep in mind you may need to change out the tube. Mine holds water in the tube so it never drys out. I will be replacing mine in the next few days. You don't have to get the more expensive reptile foggers you can get a cool mist ultrasonic fogger for people as well. You will just have to retrofit it with tubing. I got this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076D3PL1H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00__o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I like the double head. I think I am going to use the head going into the enclosure so I can run to lines in the cage targeting where I want my highest humidity gradient. I am replacing the tube from fogger to double head and then the two lines that run from the head into the cage. Hope that helps.

 

[CC's Baby]

It is not episode 91 it 89 here is the link https://www.chameleonbreeder.com/podcast/ep-89-naturalistic-hydration-for-chameleons/ So your humididity requirements for a panther are almost the same as mine. I do not know anything about the Monsoon system. I went with the mistking because I had more ability to customize the settings and how and where my mist heads would go. I would mist again in the afternoon like at noon. A longer session to mimic rain. And then in the evening. This way your cage drys out in between. Now I am no expert by any means. I am just basing what I am doing with the fogger, lights, and misting, on Bill Strands podcasts. Again this is not my final schedule as I will have to test in the new enclosure to see what all my levels end up being. But I think it will be pretty close to it because I got the clearside enclosure that he does. Right now I only have the back and one side covered so I lose humidity much quicker. With the new one back, side, and front will be enclosed leaving 1 side and top screen. That fogger should be good just keep in mind you may need to change out the tube. Mine holds water in the tube so it never drys out. I will be replacing mine in the next few days. You don't have to get the more expensive reptile foggers you can get a cool mist ultrasonic fogger for people as well. You will just have to retrofit it with tubing. I got this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076D3PL1H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00__o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I like the double head. I think I am going to use the head going into the enclosure so I can run to lines in the cage targeting where I want my highest humidity gradient. I am replacing the tube from fogger to double head and then the two lines that run from the head into the cage. Hope that helps.

So with just one tube -- the humidity level is not only hitting certain areas of the cage in the bottom and not the top?

 

[AChameleonObserved]

I found this other Chameleon Breeder podcast really helpful. Bill talks about lights going off before misting to give a slight warning that its coming etc. He talks about his routine too:
https://www.chameleonbreeder.com/podcast/ep9-chameleons-and-water/

Might help. We've just got a Panther Chameleon and I can't get enough of these podcasts!

 

[CC's Baby]

I found this other Chameleon Breeder podcast really helpful. Bill talks about lights going off before misting to give a slight warning that its coming etc. He talks about his routine too:
https://www.chameleonbreeder.com/podcast/ep9-chameleons-and-water/

Might help. We've just got a Panther Chameleon and I can't get enough of these podcasts!

Thanks for that one too. Yes, I love these podcasts. What kind of panther did you get and how old?

 

[CC's Baby]

It is not episode 91 it 89 here is the link https://www.chameleonbreeder.com/podcast/ep-89-naturalistic-hydration-for-chameleons/ So your humididity requirements for a panther are almost the same as mine. I do not know anything about the Monsoon system. I went with the mistking because I had more ability to customize the settings and how and where my mist heads would go. I would mist again in the afternoon like at noon. A longer session to mimic rain. And then in the evening. This way your cage drys out in between. Now I am no expert by any means. I am just basing what I am doing with the fogger, lights, and misting, on Bill Strands podcasts. Again this is not my final schedule as I will have to test in the new enclosure to see what all my levels end up being. But I think it will be pretty close to it because I got the clearside enclosure that he does. Right now I only have the back and one side covered so I lose humidity much quicker. With the new one back, side, and front will be enclosed leaving 1 side and top screen. That fogger should be good just keep in mind you may need to change out the tube. Mine holds water in the tube so it never drys out. I will be replacing mine in the next few days. You don't have to get the more expensive reptile foggers you can get a cool mist ultrasonic fogger for people as well. You will just have to retrofit it with tubing. I got this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076D3PL1H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00__o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I like the double head. I think I am going to use the head going into the enclosure so I can run to lines in the cage targeting where I want my highest humidity gradient. I am replacing the tube from fogger to double head and then the two lines that run from the head into the cage. Hope that helps.

I just ordered a humidifier. I ended up getting one that is a little less that should do the trick with large capacity that is for reptiles. I am just going to do it and be done with it! So excited . I ordered a time for it too so I can put my monsoon on to kick in on a timer and my humidifier on a timer.

 

[Beman]

So with just one tube -- the humidity level is not only hitting certain areas of the cage in the bottom and not the top?

It is going to be more concentrated in the area that you have the tube going to.

 

[Beman]

@CC's Baby Here is what I have drawn up based on Bill's podcast. This is my working idea. I still have to test my humidity levels when I have everything set up in my new enclosure. I am more visual so writing things out helps me lol. Looking at my schedule for everything they all correlate and work with each other.

 

[CC's Baby]

@CC's Baby Here is what I have drawn up based on Bill's podcast. This is my working idea. I still have to test my humidity levels when I have everything set up in my new enclosure. I am more visual so writing things out helps me lol. Looking at my schedule for everything they all correlate and work with each other. View attachment 221236

Thats nice -- So I can run my Heat Lamp and My UVB and T5 bulbs all the same on a timer. On at 6 and off at 6pm? Yes, my problem is the monsoon then with no flexibility in different spray durations. So I will work at that. I did order a separate timer for my monsoon and a separate timer for my fogger/humidifier. YES, I am writing everything down and do this the same way. I AM VISUAL and have to see it too! LOL. The only way I can function these days at my age.

 

[Beman]

Thats nice -- So I can run my Heat Lamp and My UVB and T5 bulbs all the same on a timer. On at 6 and off at 6pm? Yes, my problem is the monsoon then with no flexibility in different spray durations. So I will work at that. I did order a separate timer for my monsoon and a separate timer for my fogger/humidifier. YES, I am writing everything down and do this the same way. I AM VISUAL and have to see it too! LOL. The only way I can function these days at my age.

Yes, you can run all your lighting on one timer if you like. It sounds like it is all coming together hun. Maybe do a test run on Saturday and Sunday to get your levels right for everything then you should be ready to go when the little one gets there next week.

 

[CC's Baby]

Yes, you can run all your lighting on one timer if you like. It sounds like it is all coming together hun. Maybe do a test run on Saturday and Sunday to get your levels right for everything then you should be ready to go when the little one gets there next week.

You know what just occured to me. I am wondering when I set my Monsoon on a timer that when it kicks off and on, that it holds it settings, hmmmmm. Does anyone out there own a Monsoon and know the answer to this?