Sunlight

[christina1234]

How much time in the sun is enough for it to benefit a cham? I am thinking 5 minutes is not enough, but I work all day so I can only realistically get him out there on the weekends- what do you guys recommend? I was going to get a small screen cage and throw a plant and some vines in there as his outdoor sun room- but I am wondering about the length of time. (I live in sunny San Diego- so it is starting to warm up )

 

[pigglett79]

In my opinion they needs several hours to really benefit. If you get him out for most of the day on weekends that would be great. .

 

[Reyphox]

I believe any amount of time you can offer is good. The sun provides far more benefits to your pet than any light bulb could ever offer. Just make sure he has a shady place to hide so he doesn't over heat and that he stays hydrated! You should also continue to use your UVB Bulb after you return him to your enclosure for the rest of day.

 

[christina1234]

Thank you for the reply. I am going to get something set up so I can leave him out there next weekend

 

[pigglett79]

I found a misting set that was meant for an outdoor patio umbrella that hooks to the garden hose.....works great for outdoor cage misting.

 

[Reyphox]

You mean something like those patio misters?

OOoooo, those are a great idea!

 

[Cait0420]

Those musters look awesome! Where can you get them?

 

[fluxlizard]

Those are the kind of misters I use also- they are cheap and only need a tap to hook up to- no pump.

You can buy them on e-bay and get a set with many nozzles and tubing for $35-$50 or if you want fewer nozzles you can get for $20-$30.

My recommendation to the OP- get a large screen cage for outdoor use and keep him outdoors 24/7 as long as temperature is above 50 degrees. That's what I do (50 for panthers and most other species, 40 for veileds and jacksons and other cool tolerant species).

Just make sure you are home when days start getting really hot so you know things are OK in your cage or wait until the weekend when you are home to test your cage in the heat.

One of those nozzles over one shady part of the cage can provide a cool shelter and will reduce the temp near it even if there is no mist directly. Make sure you have shade as well as sun, and dry as well as damp.

For some species (melleri jacksons) I have run the misters up to several hours per day if the day is hot. For others (panthers, veileds) as long as I run it for a little while during the heat, they are fine even in very high temps (90s), as long as they also have shade.

 

[Kate]

Those are the kind of misters I use also- they are cheap and only need a tap to hook up to- no pump.

You can buy them on e-bay and get a set with many nozzles and tubing for $35-$50 or if you want fewer nozzles you can get for $20-$30.

My recommendation to the OP- get a large screen cage for outdoor use and keep him outdoors 24/7 as long as temperature is above 50 degrees. That's what I do (50 for panthers and most other species, 40 for veileds and jacksons and other cool tolerant species).

Just make sure you are home when days start getting really hot so you know things are OK in your cage or wait until the weekend when you are home to test your cage in the heat.

One of those nozzles over one shady part of the cage can provide a cool shelter and will reduce the temp near it even if there is no mist directly. Make sure you have shade as well as sun, and dry as well as damp.

For some species (melleri jacksons) I have run the misters up to several hours per day if the day is hot. For others (panthers, veileds) as long as I run it for a little while during the heat, they are fine even in very high temps (90s), as long as they also have shade.

That's really interesting. Living in N/E Scotland a nice day here can be around 12c. I often wonder if it's beneficial to take Popeye out in such low temps.

 

[fluxlizard]

I'm afraid I don't know at constant low temps like that. Probably if you get a good sunny day, it would be productive. The cham should be able to warm itself beyond ambient. I've had bearded dragons breed here when day temps were in the 60s for example- indoors they would be dormant, but sunshine warms lizards. If the day is overcast, probably wouldn't do much good...

Ever read anything by robert Bustard? If I remember right, he was scottish and was one of the pioneers of chameleon husbandry. If you can find old back issues of the british herp society journal in a university library or something you can find some of his writups I think going from about the 1970s-1990s- maybe even earlier than that at the early end. Anyway, one setup he had was an outdoor terrarium with brick back and sides and glass front and vents on the ends...

 

[Kate]

I'm afraid I don't know at constant low temps like that. Probably if you get a good sunny day, it would be productive. The cham should be able to warm itself beyond ambient. I've had bearded dragons breed here when day temps were in the 60s for example- indoors they would be dormant, but sunshine warms lizards. If the day is overcast, probably wouldn't do much good...

Ever read anything by robert Bustard? If I remember right, he was scottish and was one of the pioneers of chameleon husbandry. If you can find old back issues of the british herp society journal in a university library or something you can find some of his writups I think going from about the 1970s-1990s- maybe even earlier than that at the early end. Anyway, one setup he had was an outdoor terrarium with brick back and sides and glass front and vents on the ends...

I will check thank you. I recon if it's warm for me then he must be getting some. I put his plant close to the greenhouse yesterday so he got the heat reflecting off the glass.

 

[fuzzhc]

That's really interesting. Living in N/E Scotland a nice day here can be around 12c. I often wonder if it's beneficial to take Popeye out in such low temps.

Hey. I live just outside of Glasgow and during the summer I keep them outside most of the time on sunny days, even at night if I'm too lazy to bring them back in lol. Last summer was a cracker For them

 

[Kate]

Hey. I live just outside of Glasgow and during the summer I keep them outside most of the time on sunny days, even at night if I'm too lazy to bring them back in lol. Last summer was a cracker For them

Last summer was good. I invested in a screen viv. Let's hope this year is also good. I'm in Aberdeen and a good day is often followed by sea harr and we live as close to the River Don estuary as you can get.: