what should my feeding schedule be when school starts and i wake up early?
- Thread starter sarie
- Start date
yoshimoto0
Member
what has their feeding schedule been as up till now?
nightanole
Chameleon Enthusiast
So i assume 5 months ish old. That should be daily or every other day depending on the chams growth spurts. It might be 3 crickets every other day, then boom growth spurt and it wants a dozen every day for 5 days straight, and goes up 25-50% in body weight. The little guy is going to be doubling in body weight every 6-8 weeks.
If you have silk/horn, you can just put them on random sticks in the morning before you leave.
But id bet 90% of its diet before it becomes and an adult will be crickets. Personally id just use a cup feeder. You can make one out of a pop bottle, you can just use a opaque bowl with a stick across it if it doesnt get misted. I just used one of those big heavy ceramic bowls used for outdoor squirrel water. But the key is you need to have sticks across it so the cham can get out if it falls in.
But in terms of time of day, it really doesnt matter. Yes there are those that think feeding right before bed is a bad idea, but those same people also are against leaving the basking light on for more than a few hours during the day. So unless you are going to have massive temp drops at night, you can feed your chameleon whenever you want, since its going to spend 95% of its day at room temp
yoshimoto0
Member
what they said! ^So i assume 5 months ish old. That should be daily or every other day depending on the chams growth spurts. It might be 3 crickets every other day, then boom growth spurt and it wants a dozen every day for 5 days straight, and goes up 25-50% in body weight. The little guy is going to be doubling in body weight every 6-8 weeks.
If you have silk/horn, you can just put them on random sticks in the morning before you leave.
But id bet 90% of its diet before it becomes and an adult will be crickets. Personally id just use a cup feeder. You can make one out of a pop bottle, you can just use a opaque bowl with a stick across it if it doesnt get misted. I just used one of those big heavy ceramic bowls used for outdoor squirrel water. But the key is you need to have sticks across it so the cham can get out if it falls in.
But in terms of time of day, it really doesnt matter. Yes there are those that think feeding right before bed is a bad idea, but those same people also are against leaving the basking light on for more than a few hours during the day. So unless you are going to have massive temp drops at night, you can feed your chameleon whenever you want, since its going to spend 95% of its day at room temp
Lindasjackson
Chameleon Enthusiast
What I would do if it were me is I’d put several bugs in a feeder cup and put it in his enclosure just below his basking branch and do This just before leaving for school. He will wake up and bask, see his food and eat it and then bask some more to digest his food. It’s simple as that. I use a bird seed cup like you’d put in a bird cage. I got the deepest one I could find and then I hang it on a branch where there is another branch to support the front of the cup so it won’t tip.
Klyde O'Scope
Chameleon Enthusiast
I think 8am to 8pm is too late at both ends. When I set my enclosure up, I looked at sunup and sundown data for where I live. Coincidentally (or not) the sun always does its thing the same length of time both before and after noon. IOW, noon really is noon here. Going by that, and wanting a 12hrs on/12 hrs off schedule, I set my timers (During Standard Time) for 6am & 6pm. When the clocks changed, I didn't change a thing; the clocks changed, but time—and my timers—did not. The lights now go from 7am to 7pm, but when the clocks change again in the fall, it will be back to 6 & 6, and I will never have touched a timer. No adjustment necessary for the chameleon.
I should mention that he's also at right angles to a large window, so pre-dawn and twilight also come in at the same distance from noon, even if his lights are slightly different.
I don't really know when chameleons eat. I know they bask as soon as possible after the lights go on, but mine eats when I feed him. I've noticed he has "hungry colors" and that he'll wait by the feeder cups when he's hungry, so I'll feed him then, but this could be any time from 1-4 hrs. after lights-on.
You say you'll wake up at 5 (do they still make that ungoshly hour?
) but what time do you actually leave the house (rhetorical—we don't need to know)? If there's time, you may be able to feed him before you leave. If not, then (and only then) I would think about changing his lighting schedule to coincide better with yours so you can feed him. I expect he'll learn fairly quickly to be hungry when the food is available.But figure this out NOW. Changing schedules is hard enough on us humans who understand what's going on and why; it's much more difficult for animals with their own internal clocks/circadian rhythms, who can't understand either.
If you email FramsChams—or call them on the phone, they'll be happy to tell you what he's recently been eating, how many, what size, what temperatures & humidities he's been raised in, and any other questions you have. I did. That's part of what makes them great breeders.
sarie
Member
hey thanks so much! I actually got the opportunity to meet them today and they gave me some pregnant dubias to breed as well as some worms! They were so friendly and I got to meet all of their chameleons like Starburst, Flash, Mondrian, Matisse—it was awesome! He eats crickets, dubias, and silkworms a lot. I think I’m going to do a 5:30AM TO 5:30PM just to better help with my schedule. They also told me that they only mist at night? What is your misting schedule. Currently my mistking is programmed for 9am, 12pm, 3pm, and 6pm. do you think i could mist one hour after lights turn on, once before lights out, and then mist like two more times during the night? that’s what they recommended but i’m not sure what’s best. and thanks for your help you’ve been giving the best advice!I think 8am to 8pm is too late at both ends. When I set my enclosure up, I looked at sunup and sundown data for where I live. Coincidentally (or not) the sun always does its thing the same length of time both before and after noon. IOW, noon really is noon here. Going by that, and wanting a 12hrs on/12 hrs off schedule, I set my timers (During Standard Time) for 6am & 6pm. When the clocks changed, I didn't change a thing; the clocks changed, but time—and my timers—did not. The lights now go from 7am to 7pm, but when the clocks change again in the fall, it will be back to 6 & 6, and I will never have touched a timer. No adjustment necessary for the chameleon.
I should mention that he's also at right angles to a large window, so pre-dawn and twilight also come in at the same distance from noon, even if his lights are slightly different.
I don't really know when chameleons eat. I know they bask as soon as possible after the lights go on, but mine eats when I feed him. I've noticed he has "hungry colors" and that he'll wait by the feeder cups when he's hungry, so I'll feed him then, but this could be any time from 1-4 hrs. after lights-on.
You say you'll wake up at 5 (do they still make that ungoshly hour?
But figure this out NOW. Changing schedules is hard enough on us humans who understand what's going on and why; it's much more difficult for animals with their own internal clocks/circadian rhythms, who can't understand either.
If you email FramsChams—or call them on the phone, they'll be happy to tell you what he's recently been eating, how many, what size, what temperatures & humidities he's been raised in, and any other questions you have. I did. That's part of what makes them great breeders.
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Lindasjackson
Chameleon Enthusiast
I think that misting schedule sounds great! Glad you got to meet them! I would do like they recommend since they are breeders and know what they’re doing. Good luck!
Lindasjackson
Chameleon Enthusiast
I agree with that.
Klyde O'Scope
Chameleon Enthusiast
We wanted to meet, but it was the middle of Dec. and the pandemic, and it would have taken a day to drive each way. Shipping hub to hub was faster & safer for all.
Sounds good.
My schedule is based on our household temps, humidity, & schedule.
First I established the most efficient session length by turning the mister on manually (button in upper RH corner, IIRC) until everything was wetted down and water began draining into the drain pan. As mentioned above, no point in wasting expensive water. This turned out to be exactly 2 min.
I also timed how long it takes for the enclosure to dry out completely (to avoid mold, mildew & other nastiness). That was 3 hrs.
Schedule (all sessions 2 min.)
6 am (lights-on)
Noon
6 pm (lights-off)
9 pm (3 hrs.)
Midnight (3 hrs.)
3 am (3 hrs.)
Repeat.For me, this results in adequate humidity—day & night—without needing a fogger. The evaporative cooling during the night also provides the recommended temperature drop.
IDK if this will work for anyone/everyone else—it works for us.
Last edited:
sarie
Member
thanks so much! i love my little boy carlos. he’s ate from my hand on the first day! he’s so happyWe wanted to meet, but it was the middle of Dec. and the pandemic, and it would have taken a day to drive each way. Shipping hub to hub was faster & safer for all.
Sounds good.
My schedule is based on our household temps, humidity, & schedule.
First I established the most efficient session length by turning the mister on manually (button in upper RH corner, IIRC) until everything was wetted down and water began draining into the drain pan. As mentioned above, no point in wasting expensive water. This turned out to be exactly 2 min.
I also timed how long it takes for the enclosure to dry out completely (to avoid mold, mildew & other nastiness). That was 3 hrs.
Schedule (all sessions 2 min.)
6 am (lights-on)Noon6 pm (lights-off)9 pm (3 hrs.)Midnight (3 hrs.)3 am (3 hrs.)Repeat.
For me, this results in adequate humidity—day & night—without needing a fogger. The evaporative cooling during the night also provides the recommended temperature drop.
IDK if this will work for anyone/everyone else—it works for us.
sarie
Member
thanks so much! i got my chameleon today and his name is carlos. he’s already hand feeding and he loves the crickets and black soldier fly larvae we got from framschams!So i assume 5 months ish old. That should be daily or every other day depending on the chams growth spurts. It might be 3 crickets every other day, then boom growth spurt and it wants a dozen every day for 5 days straight, and goes up 25-50% in body weight. The little guy is going to be doubling in body weight every 6-8 weeks.
If you have silk/horn, you can just put them on random sticks in the morning before you leave.
But id bet 90% of its diet before it becomes and an adult will be crickets. Personally id just use a cup feeder. You can make one out of a pop bottle, you can just use a opaque bowl with a stick across it if it doesnt get misted. I just used one of those big heavy ceramic bowls used for outdoor squirrel water. But the key is you need to have sticks across it so the cham can get out if it falls in.
But in terms of time of day, it really doesnt matter. Yes there are those that think feeding right before bed is a bad idea, but those same people also are against leaving the basking light on for more than a few hours during the day. So unless you are going to have massive temp drops at night, you can feed your chameleon whenever you want, since its going to spend 95% of its day at room temp
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