Humidity!

I have a screen cage and it will house a baby veiled chameleon on saturday

Awesome! I bet you can't wait.

So, Veileds do not need as much humidity as other species. 50-70% humidity is what they need on average. I personally keep my veileds around 55%. You will definitely want to get a digital hygrometer with a probe. The dial versions are not accurate at all, so spending the little extra for the digital is worth it.

To maintain this level of humidity, you will spray the enclosure(whether by hand or automated misting system) multiple times daily. Also, live plants(IMO) are essential to chameleon husbandry. Some use fake plants, and I am in no way saying that's bad, but I don't think they benefit the chameleon like live plants do. Plants will hold the droplets of water for longer periods of time and the moist soil will increase humidity in the enclosure naturally. If for some reason these methods don't maintain the proper levels of humidity for your enclosure(i.e. - winter/arid times of the year) then a cool mist humidifier can be added during these times. Some of my screen enclosures get a little to dry for some of my montane species during the winter, so I had plexiglass panels cut to fit the interior walls of the enclosure. This will definitely keep the humidity in. Just make sure that if you use a method like this, don't overdo it and cut all airflow. This can lead to RI and fungal issues if left for prolonged periods of time.

I hope this helps and I can't wait to see the new arrival!
 
what about cling wrap? If you wrap it around one or two sides of the cage? Will that damage to chameleon at all And THANKS so much for all the info
 
I have a screen cage and it will house a baby veiled chameleon on saturday
Where I am, the humidity in the winter gets terribly low, the misting wasn't working, so once it was getting into the tens I went and got a humidifier for my room. Now my room feels like a rainforest, which I'm sure Vincent likes... so far its working for me! When he arrives, please post lots of pictures of your new Cham!!!!!
 
Awesome! I bet you can't wait.

So, Veileds do not need as much humidity as other species. 50-70% humidity is what they need on average. I personally keep my veileds around 55%. You will definitely want to get a digital hygrometer with a probe. The dial versions are not accurate at all, so spending the little extra for the digital is worth it.

To maintain this level of humidity, you will spray the enclosure(whether by hand or automated misting system) multiple times daily. Also, live plants(IMO) are essential to chameleon husbandry. Some use fake plants, and I am in no way saying that's bad, but I don't think they benefit the chameleon like live plants do. Plants will hold the droplets of water for longer periods of time and the moist soil will increase humidity in the enclosure naturally. If for some reason these methods don't maintain the proper levels of humidity for your enclosure(i.e. - winter/arid times of the year) then a cool mist humidifier can be added during these times. Some of my screen enclosures get a little to dry for some of my montane species during the winter, so I had plexiglass panels cut to fit the interior walls of the enclosure. This will definitely keep the humidity in. Just make sure that if you use a method like this, don't overdo it and cut all airflow. This can lead to RI and fungal issues if left for prolonged periods of time.

I hope this helps and I can't wait to see the new arrival!
Do you think you could give me a link to a good digital hygrometer? I don't trust my dial one a bit... Thanks!
 
Anyone have any recommendations on how to keep an enclosure humid? Thanks!

Hey brando-the-cham :)

To keep your enclosure humid you can raise humidity by using live plants and misting the cage. Living plants in the room itself, and a humidifier in the room can help too. :)
Anywhere from 40-60% is fine. Provide lots of drinking water too of course. If the humidity of your house generally is very low, dont switch to an all screen cage or you'll have even more difficulty.

Hope this little information helps you!

Regards
Valerie Sabin
 
I have a Jackson's chameleon, which need a bit higher humidity than the veileds, but I mist the enclosure with a spray bottle twice a day (before and after work) and also use a cool mist humidifier on a timer. I increase the amount of time the humidifier runs based on the time of year and ambient humidity. I have live plants as well. My house is pretty dry, but these three elements keep the humidity up.

If you get a humidifier and a couple timers you can have the lights and humidity mostly running on autopilot, so all you have to do is spray the cage so the cham can drink (and if you get a rain system you can automate that too). It just depends how much time you have and if you'd rather go manual (cheaper but a pain) or automated (more expensive and lots of tuning up front).

Good luck!
 
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