Veiled Chameleon Optimal Hydration Cycle (Mist system/No Driping)

[BiotechStudent]

24x24x48 bioactive enclosure. Monsoon Solo II Mist System.

The daylight cycle would be from 8 am to 7 pm
-2 heat lamps
-UVB 24'' + reflector

The hydration cycle would be separated by
-2 minutes morning mist at 8 AM
-2 minutes dawn mist at 8 PM
-5 minutes late night mist at 2 AM

What changes would you do? why?

 

[Snuits]

Personally I would do 8 to 8 or 7 to 7 so they have 12 hours on & off. & I would ditch the 5 min mist at 2 a.m 5 mins seems a bit excessive & shouldn't need another mist while he/she is sleeping.

just my opinion, Other people may have different opinions or tips. Good luck ♡

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. I can’t say that it’s right for everyone, but I give a 2 minute misting just before lights go on, mid day and then just before lights go off. At night to boost humidity a bit I have a couple of 15 second mistings.

 

[wanabthemoon]

Ok, I can't give any info on the schedule, but I am very curious about your decision to go with a Monsoon Solo II Mist System. I have seen over and over people pointing to the king, and kind of figured that was the way to go. How do you compare the 2 systems? Any positives or negatives you've experienced with this one?

 

[Beman]

24x24x48 bioactive enclosure. Monsoon Solo II Mist System.

The daylight cycle would be from 8 am to 7 pm
-2 heat lamps
-UVB 24'' + reflector

The hydration cycle would be separated by
-2 minutes morning mist at 8 AM
-2 minutes dawn mist at 8 PM
-5 minutes late night mist at 2 AM

What changes would you do? why?

24x24x48 bioactive enclosure. Monsoon Solo II Mist System.

The daylight cycle would be from 8 am to 7 pm This is fine. If the cage is in a room with light from windows you may have to alter the morning setting due to the cham waking with the sun.
-2 heat lamps Why two? Are you using plant lighting in one? If heat bulbs, what wattage bulbs are you running?
-UVB 24'' + reflector What UVB type and bulb strength are you running and what is the distance to your basking branch?

The hydration cycle would be separated by
-2 minutes morning mist at 8 AM
-2 minutes dawn mist at 8 PM
-5 minutes late night mist at 2 AM 5 minutes may be overkill.

What are your ambient humidity levels running during day? Misting should be based on this and the species. Your ambient levels will effect the cage. So if you live in a really dry climate you may need to run all 5 minute mistings. If you live in a really humid climate you may need to run 2 minute mistings. With a veiled your looking for a minimum of 30% to a max of 50% daytime humidity.

Do you have a pic of your enclosure?

 

[BiotechStudent]

I do not posses anything coted on the post. This a project and mistking prodeluxe is a option as well.

 

[Beman]

I do not posses anything coted on the post. This a project and mistking prodeluxe is a option as well.

Ok so I would say first buy a govee temp humidity gauge.... Put this in the area of the room that you would have the cage. This is going to tell you what your ambient levels will run. It will be your starting point. It will help you figure out what is best for your cham. A screen cage or a hybrid cage. This can then be used in the cage as well as long as it is outside of the spray path. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R586J37/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Have you found the chameleon academy site yet?

 

[BiotechStudent]

Since it is a project and i do not posses any of this items, lets pretend i have this ones:

Heat: halogen bulb 60w 120v
Growth: led light
Uvb: reptisun t5 24" reflector

Location: Orlando, FL

The cage would be positioned upstairs, indoor with AC system 24/7. Varying between 77F-74F.

I dont have any data on humidity inside the room which the cage would be at. However, the same room has one 20g fish aquarium.
I was wondering if I could create a outdoor cage on my yard, but I'm a bit worried about rain and winter seasons.

This veiled cham is known to be invasive on florida.

 

[BiotechStudent]

Just bought it. Thanks!

 

[Beman]

Since it is a project and i do not posses any of this items, lets pretend i have this ones:

Heat: halogen bulb 60w 120v
Growth: led light
Uvb: reptisun t5 24" reflector

Location: Orlando, FL

The cage would be positioned upstairs, indoor with AC system 24/7. Varying between 77F-74F.

I dont have any data on humidity inside the room which the cage would be at. However, the same room has one 20g fish aquarium.
I was wondering if I could create a outdoor cage on my yard, but I'm a bit worried about rain and winter seasons.

This veiled cham is known to be invasive on florida.

What do you mean by project? Are we talking totally hypothetical for a paper your writing or are you actually going to be setting up something?

Florida humidity is going to be much higher granted in the summer most run their air conditioners which will help bring down humidity.

 

[BiotechStudent]

I want a chameleon, so i am studying and researching everything before. These were my options and Im asking if they are good. Thats it. Simple.

 

[Beman]

Ok so....

Since it is a project and i do not posses any of this items, lets pretend i have this ones:

Heat: halogen bulb 60w 120v Use 1 not 2.
Growth: led light arcadia makes the jungle dawn led bar. people also use the sansi LED lights but they do produce some heat so they have to be raised up off the cage.
Uvb: reptisun t5 24" reflector This is good. Pro T5 by arcadia are better fixtures then the reptisun though. You will want either a 5.0 or 6% bulb for this. Distance to basking branch would be 8-9 inches for an approximate 3 UVI level.

Location: Orlando, FL

The cage would be positioned upstairs, indoor with AC system 24/7. Varying between 77F-74F. This would be good ambient temps. I would not want them any warmer then 77 though. With ambient your wanting low to mid 70's so the cham can get down into cooler levels of the cage if needed. I would also do a screen enclosure since your in FL.

I dont have any data on humidity inside the room which the cage would be at. However, the same room has one 20g fish aquarium.
I was wondering if I could create a outdoor cage on my yard, but I'm a bit worried about rain and winter seasons. You still want to test your ambient humidity in that room. It may be a bit higher with all the water from the tank. Also I would not have the cham positioned to see the tank. It will see the fish movement and think they are food. There are those that have chams in FL in outdoor cages. They have to watch temps carefully though due to cold snaps. @janjan20 has hers outside with the ability to move them in for bad or cold weather.

This veiled cham is known to be invasive on florida. Yes, as are Panthers. So would it be one from a pet store or one your trying to catch?

 

[Lindasjackson]

Hi and welcome! You’re doing the smart thing by setting everything up and working out the bugs first. This is a great place with many helpful cham owners that can give you good information to help you get everything set up perfectly for your chameleon!

 

[BiotechStudent]

Ok, so lets forget about outdoor enclosures then...

For humidity -in a bioactive enclosure- i just bought and received the Govee from Amazon. (Of course i will have hygrometer inside the enclosure as well).

Online articles and websites claim that the optimal daytime temperature for a veiled chameleon would be around 77F with basking spot reaching 85F. They also claim that the optimal temperature at night should be around 70F. Im still confused and researching for this matter (with caution!).

The UVB reptisun t5 Ho 24" was my choice because I thought that it didnt need to be elevated. I will have to look for something else again if that is not the case.

I will get a chameleon from a good online breeder (or something similar like Repticon). I want to make sure it doesnt come with the possibility of parasites (wild caught ones) or planned obsolescence (petstores).

 

[Beman]

Ok, so lets forget about outdoor enclosures then...

For humidity -in a bioactive enclosure- i just bought and received the Govee from Amazon. (Of course i will have hygrometer inside the enclosure as well).

Online articles and websites claim that the optimal daytime temperature for a veiled chameleon would be around 77F with basking spot reaching 85F. They also claim that the optimal temperature at night should be around 70F. Im still confused and researching for this matter (with caution!).

The UVB reptisun t5 Ho 24" was my choice because I thought that it didnt need to be elevated. I will have to look for something else again if that is not the case.

I will get a chameleon from a good online breeder (or something similar like Repticon). I want to make sure it doesnt come with the possibility of parasites (wild caught ones) or planned obsolescence (petstores).

So careful what sources you read. A lot of the info is outdated or just incorrect. Daytime temps your looking for an ambient of low 70's. Basking your looking for 80-85 at the max end.

Humidity should sit around 30-50% and can spike after the morning and evening misting session.

So with the T5HO and a 5.0 bulb. You do not need to elevate it unless baby is scree climbing the top. Generally this is going to sit directly on the top of the cage. Then the closest branches below would be 8-9 inches down for the correct UVI level. You do not want your branches closer then that. But also you have to think of the space needed for him or her as they are mature. Casque height is typically an inch or more off the top. Plus where they stand off the branch. Now if baby screen climbs you need to elevate the fixture 4 inches and then add in a few branches 4-5 inches below the screen top so that total distance from the bottom of the fixture to the branches is 9 inches. Once baby is too heavy to screen climb it will stop.

Careful buying from repticon. We have seen some bad stuff come out of expos. Framschams breeds Veileds. And then we do have members that will have clutches as well.

 

[BiotechStudent]

Right now, the house average temperature and humidity are 74F-77F and 36%-58% consecutively. Also, I've been rethinking how the misting process will work with a caged enclosure instead of glass. Since the humidity and temperature are already on the range (is it?), the glass enclosure doesn't seem necessary in order to keep both at appropriate levels; however, I've been thinking about how my floor and things around the enclosure will get wet due to the fact that the misting cycle will come from the top of the enclosure (TAKE IN CONSIDERATION THAT IVE NEVER HAD ANYTHING ALIKE BEFORE, SO I DONT KNOW HOW IT WORKS)

 

[DocZ]

your daytime humidity and temperature is fine currently, but hitting 80-100% RH at night may be more difficult
I assume if you’re in Orlando, you’re running central air much of the year. This may lower your ambient indoor humidity during hotter months.

I wouldn’t totally discount a hybrid or even glass enclosure given your ambient humidity. However, a glass enclosure suitable in size for an adult veiled chameleon will be heavy and may be difficult to find and/or expensive to purchase or build

 

[BiotechStudent]

I couldn't imagine how much information my post would bring me in a short period of time. My motivation certainly spiked, and I feel more than happy to have the support of this community on my project. My next concern is about Misting Systems. MistKing is the way to go, and I would like some advice on which version to buy, what extra gadgets to acquire (?), and tips from those who have a running MistKing system on their enclosures.

This is my new choice for the 24x24x48 bioactive enclosure:
v5.0 Ultimate Misting System - US$259.99

The new proposed hydration cycle on an 8 am - 8 pm cycle:
2 MIN morning mist at 8 am
30 -SEC mist at 3 pm
2 MIN dawn mist at 8 pm
20-SEC mist at 2 am and 4 am


What do you think about this product? Is it enough for the given enclosure? What should be expected from this misting system?

 

[MissSkittles]

I couldn't imagine how much information my post would bring me in a short period of time. My motivation certainly spiked, and I feel more than happy to have the support of this community on my project. My next concern is about Misting Systems. MistKing is the way to go, and I would like some advice on which version to buy, what extra gadgets to acquire (?), and tips from those who have a running MistKing system on their enclosures.

This is my new choice for the 24x24x48 bioactive enclosure:
v5.0 Ultimate Misting System - US$259.99

The new proposed hydration cycle on an 8 am - 8 pm cycle:
2 MIN morning mist at 8 am
30 -SEC mist at 3 pm
2 MIN dawn mist at 8 pm
20-SEC mist at 2 am and 4 am


What do you think about this product? Is it enough for the given enclosure? What should be expected from this misting system?

You would be just fine with the Mist King starter system. It can run up to 10 heads - 10 single or 5 double. I prefer the double heads and have just one per each 2x2x4’ enclosure. I did consider putting 2 double heads in, but like to give my chameleons some space to avoid the mist if they choose…and they usually do. Currently I have one Mist King running 4 double heads with zero problems. The only accessory besides getting the double heads if you want them, is a tubing cutter makes cutting so much easier. It also has a nifty gadget on the end that helps when needing to disconnect tubing.

 

[AnamCara]

With the mist king I bought the Zip Drip for some reason -- I was excited with my first setup and wanted everything, but I have found it pretty unnecessary. All it does is stop the nozzle from dripping when it turns off. I've removed it since rearranging and the nozzle drips like, twice and is done.... So IMHO it's not necessary. Unless you're very particular and want zero drips.