Veiled Chamelons and Low Temperatures

I was recently reading a book and it stated that in areas the veiled chameleons are frequently found, the night time temperatures in the peak of winter some times are as low as the mid 30's.

This has got me wondering, how low of temperatures veiled chameleons can withstand before it being detrimental to their health. Over here in SoCal, I don't believe it ever gets that low, even at night. This made me wonder if a healthy adult veiled chameleon would be able to live, or even thrive, in an outside enclosure all year round.

I understand that when in an enclosure, they do not have as good of an ability to thermoregulate due to the small amount of space they have to work with. Could someone simply provide a small ceramic heater to provide a heating source at night if needed, or even a heat mat underneath substrate or soil to provide warmth that they can seek out if in need (I have read that in cold temperatures they will crawl down and into crevices to protect themselves from the cold) to solve the problem? Would the chameleon benefit from the more natural seasonal changes, the year round sun light, and the natural temperature variations?

Just something I was thinking about, not something I will be trying any time soon as the veiled chameleon I have now is neither an adult nor in optimal health. Though if no answer is provided saying that it is indeed detrimental, it is something I would like to test when I feel my chameleon is in perfect health and is an adult, under close observation of course.

*bump* Anybody have any input?

I have a worldwide weather forecast and I routinely check the temperatures of places where my chameleons come from, Tamatave, Yemen, etc. Almost the whole winter it has gotten into the low 40's in Yemen at night and low 70's during the day.

Lizardlover said:

I have a worldwide weather forecast and I routinely check the temperatures of places where my chameleons come from, Tamatave, Yemen, etc. Almost the whole winter it has gotten into the low 40's in Yemen at night and low 70's during the day.

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That is very similar to the weather here, almost exactly the same actually. I'm wondering how big of a toll the cold weather would actually take on a healthy adult veiled chameleon.

Gradual weight loss and less activity would be expected, but what other harmful effects could the cold weather have on them?

My veiled lives outside year round and he only eats when it is over 60 degrees, in the summer he gets back to normal. It is normal and healthy for a chameleon to have a period where they slow down. Think of it as a battery, if its using full power all of the time it will burn out quicker, you need to give it time to rest.

Jakedn said:

This made me wonder if a healthy adult veiled chameleon would be able to live, or even thrive, in an outside enclosure all year round.

Could someone simply provide a small ceramic heater to provide a heating source at night if needed, or even a heat mat underneath substrate or soil to provide warmth that they can seek out if in need (I have read that in cold temperatures they will crawl down and into crevices to protect themselves from the cold) to solve the problem? Would the chameleon benefit from the more natural seasonal changes, the year round sun light, and the natural temperature variations?

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I know many keepers in southern areas do house them outdoors year round. I think the three main reasons people keep chams indoors include...

climate is normally too severe at some seasons.
Inaccuracies of the weather forecast might put a cherished pet at risk and a keeper may not be willing to do this.
They want to interact with and watch their pet more directly when they are home.
They are worried about building secure caging to avoid cats or other predators, problems with ants, theft, etc.

Cbb chams who were raised in a small habitat might not learn to avoid severe weather all that quickly unless they were raised in it from day one. I don't know. Wild hatchlings survive or perish on their own, but those who purchase a pet cham don't want to risk it.

I don't think the ceramic heat emitter or substrate heater pad idea would work all that well (but, I've never tried it either). As the day ends and the cham (and its brain) cools down it is less likely to move to a warmer unlighted area or be able to predict that it should move on one colder night versus a warmer one. If the temp falls quickly enough it may just hunker down where the sun last hit it. I don't know if chams respond only to a LIGHTED warm area (late sunny spot) or respond much at all to an UNLIGHTED warm area. I know chams often choose a sleeping perch that will position them in the early morning sun for basking.

It's speculation for most of us as we are not able to observe the learning curve of a wild cham who is familiar with its own wild home range, the very localized temp and humidity regime, the microclimate provided by the native foliage and tree cover.

I agree that a slow down is indeed beneficial. Thank you for your input, one day I may have to try it out and see how things go.

Carlton said:

I know many keepers in southern areas do house them outdoors year round. I think the three main reasons people keep chams indoors include...

climate is normally too severe at some seasons.
Inaccuracies of the weather forecast might put a cherished pet at risk and a keeper may not be willing to do this.
They want to interact with and watch their pet more directly when they are home.
They are worried about building secure caging to avoid cats or other predators, problems with ants, theft, etc.

Cbb chams who were raised in a small habitat might not learn to avoid severe weather all that quickly unless they were raised in it from day one. I don't know. Wild hatchlings survive or perish on their own, but those who purchase a pet cham don't want to risk it.

I don't think the ceramic heat emitter or substrate heater pad idea would work all that well (but, I've never tried it either). As the day ends and the cham (and its brain) cools down it is less likely to move to a warmer unlighted area or be able to predict that it should move on one colder night versus a warmer one. If the temp falls quickly enough it may just hunker down where the sun last hit it. I don't know if chams respond only to a LIGHTED warm area (late sunny spot) or respond much at all to an UNLIGHTED warm area. I know chams often choose a sleeping perch that will position them in the early morning sun for basking.

It's speculation for most of us as we are not able to observe the learning curve of a wild cham who is familiar with its own wild home range, the very localized temp and humidity regime, the microclimate provided by the native foliage and tree cover.

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Well put Carlton, the heat pad was merely an idea; I doubt it would work either haha. Maybe if a heat emitter was placed directed towards where the sun last hits overnight he would know instinctually to sleep there on cold nights and receive the added warmth of the heat emitter.

The way I look at it, they might survive in cold weather but why put them through that if we don't have to. They don't live very long in the wild either. I would never allow my guys to drop below 70 at night. I do at least a 10 degree temp drop at night. They stay inside except when I take them out and watch them and if it gets cold we turn the heat on in the house.

I would worry more about heat..
In recent years, Summer in SoCal has reached triple digits lately.
If your cham has no place to cool down (limited in the enclosure).. there might be a chance for him to overheat.

I think our night temp is not too cold for veiled.

jannb said:

The way I look at it, they might survive in cold weather but why put them through that if we don't have to. They don't live very long in the wild either. I would never allow my guys to drop below 70 at night. I do at least a 10 degree temp drop at night. They stay inside except when I take them out and watch them and if it gets cold we turn the heat on in the house.

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but chameleons do need a period of rest. In the wild there are other factors that can cause them to perish, but in captivity where everything is controlled, a few days of cold, to enable their bodies to rest, will lenghten the life of the chameleon.

dodolah said:

I would worry more about heat..
In recent years, Summer in SoCal has reached triple digits lately.
If your cham has no place to cool down (limited in the enclosure).. there might be a chance for him to overheat.

I think our night temp is not too cold for veiled.

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The summer heat is another concern of mine, I would think that heat stress would be more detrimental to the health of a veiled chameleon than the cold nights we have here. Do you know of any good ways to cool down an enclosure outside in summer (other than by constant misting)? I read that some days in a yemen summer temperatures can get up to 110 degrees, how do veiled chameleons naturally react to this extremely high temperature in the wild?

Jakedn said:

The summer heat is another concern of mine, I would think that heat stress would be more detrimental to the health of a veiled chameleon than the cold nights we have here. Do you know of any good ways to cool down an enclosure outside in summer (other than by constant misting)? I read that some days in a yemen summer temperatures can get up to 110 degrees, how do veiled chameleons naturally react to this extremely high temperature in the wild?

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I also do not allow my veileds get hot. I keep my adult female at 80 and my adult male at 88 to 89. They die young in the wild.

jannb said:

I also do not allow my veileds get hot. I keep my adult female at 80 and my adult male at 88 to 89. They die young in the wild.

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I understand they die young in the wild. There are many variables to consider and how do we know that the heat and the cold are main contributing factors to this?

Just because I am saying that it gets to 110 in the wild, does not mean I am going to allow that for my chameleon. If I were to keep them out year round, I would take precautions, observe them, watch their weight and overall health, and even remove them from the environment to a more controlled one if I feel it is detrimental to their health.

I was asking what their natural instinct is to survive that amount of heat out of curiosity. I would provide heating in the winter, and I would provide extra water in the summer, along with moving the enclosure into shade as it got too hot, or using other methods to keep it cool. I will not be doing this anytime soon, so there is no need to worry. I am just curious of if this is doable, if it is beneficial, or if it is detrimental to their health.

Many keepers strive to mimic their chameleon's natural environment as closely as possible, I am only trying to do the same. I think that by giving them only optimal temperatures year round, and keeping them indoors we are missing out on observing a much more natural behavior. I understand that many keepers only have the option to keep them indoors and that is perfectly fine, but I am lucky enough to live in a place that appears to mimic almost exactly the temperatures of the veiled chameleon's natural habitat, and would it be so bad for me to allow the chameleon live in the temperature extremes it was supposed to?

I understand that by having them in an enclosure I impair it's ability to thermoregulate significantly, but why wouldn't I be able to put the enclosure in shade during the hottest part of summer, and into full sun during the coldest part of winter thus in theory, doing the thermoregulation for them.

I'm getting some good feedback; lets keep it coming.

i had my guys outside in the upper 40's low 50's and it started to take it's toll on them. sure... they can pull through... but do you want to beat them down and make them weak with that kind of treatment?

summoner12 said:

i had my guys outside in the upper 40's low 50's and it started to take it's toll on them. sure... they can pull through... but do you want to beat them down and make them weak with that kind of treatment?

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How long did it take for it to take a toll on them?

I had them out for about a month with a couple of those weeks being kinda cold.... the hard part was giving them a good basking spot with the ambient being so low. Sure they can take cold temps... but not out in the open with wind. If I were gonna let them be outside in cold weather I'd want them to be able to get direct sunlight instead of having to provide it with lights.

summoner12 said:

I had them out for about a month with a couple of those weeks being kinda cold.... the hard part was giving them a good basking spot with the ambient being so low. Sure they can take cold temps... but not out in the open with wind. If I were gonna let them be outside in cold weather I'd want them to be able to get direct sunlight instead of having to provide it with lights.

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I wouldn't ever attempt it without it getting direct sunlight all day. Do you think the heat from full sun would have given you a different outcome?

If the ambient day temp was in the upper 60s sure... and DIRECT sun.... in winter the sun isn't as strong because of the angle and also the day is shorter.