Do you need to keep any lights on at night

Hey question apparently no one has asked this... im thinkin of buyin a cham, keepin it in my room but the lighting situation im concerned about....I generally like to sleep in the dark (like most humans) and am wonderin if i keep cham in my room is there gunna be light keepin my room lit up so its harder to sleep...kinda like a kitchen light over the sink....or is it generally just a really dull dull light...or no light at all?? lol easy question please help its the decider whether i get one or not.. I also have a closet that I could close and keep in there but i dont wanna necessarily do that since i got tons of clothes id have to move.

also i work 8 hrs a day so would i be good to feed it in mornin before work then 8 hrs later it'll be okay right?

no i dont believe so
i think they need a drop in temperature at night

NO, chameleons need complete darkness and a slight temperature drop, and chameleons are fine being fed once a day (unless you have a baby), adults even eat every other day

Lizardlover said:

NO, chameleons need complete darkness and a slight temperature drop, and chameleons are fine being fed once a day (unless you have a baby), adults even eat every other day

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No ceramic heater or red heat lamp should be provided at night...regardless of what the "expert" at the pet store tells you. Veiled Chameleons can withstand night time temps into the 40's. A good night time temp is between 60 and 65 degrees f. That is from brads site.. http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/temperatures-and-thermoregulation.html

im not sure if you forgot to type the n in NO new but just to clear it up NO ceramic heater or red heat lamp should be provided

Chameleons like to sleep in the dark just like you do
Yes, you can put insects in before you go to work as that will be satisfactory. Assuming its an adult (with younger ones, I would recommend feeding more often). On your days off, if you can, give them half the normal amount in the morning and then feed the chameleon again mid-day or early afternoon. I feed mine every day, twice or even three times a day if possible, and smaller amounts. I feel this is more in keeping with how they would eat in nature, and I feel its more in keeping with the limits of their digestive systems. But many many people feed every other day, once a day, larger amounts -and are entirely successfull doing so.

In the morning i put in the crix/supers/silkies and usually by mid day (1-2) he (my panther) has found and eaten them all, but i bowl feed my veild, and he eats them all then and there

Lizardlover said:

im not sure if you forgot to type the n in NO new but just to clear it up NO ceramic heater or red heat lamp should be provided

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I edited that, thank you

NewOwner said:

No ceramic heater or red heat lamp should be provided at night...regardless of what the "expert" at the pet store tells you. Veiled Chameleons can withstand night time temps into the 40's. A good night time temp is between 60 and 65 degrees f. That is from brads site.. http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/temperatures-and-thermoregulation.html

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wow thanks both of you guys...that was probably the fastest forum response ever!! im always on bmw forums and it takes hours sometimes but wow...and thanks alot guys thats sick cuz im in canada (southwestern ont.) and nighttime temp is around 70 degrees f more or less.. and the feeding thing thats awesome cuz i hate bugs (well mainly the ones that could suddenly leap from hand to face.. lol) so the less i have to deal with them, the better.

lmao!!!! yeah that o ceramic confused me til i responded to ur post n it said no that answered my q haha thanks buddy

thanks all u guys...lots of help much appreciated!!! im going for something blue if i can hahaha

sennema said:

wow thanks both of you guys...that was probably the fastest forum response ever!! im always on bmw forums and it takes hours sometimes but wow...and thanks alot guys thats sick cuz im in canada (southwestern ont.) and nighttime temp is around 70 degrees f more or less.. and the feeding thing thats awesome cuz i hate bugs (well mainly the ones that could suddenly leap from hand to face.. lol) so the less i have to deal with them, the better.

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Np, Welcome to the forums, and hope you get all the help you will need
Were always here to help

-Levi

NewOwner said:

No ceramic heater or red heat lamp should be provided at night...regardless of what the "expert" at the pet store tells you. Veiled Chameleons can withstand night time temps into the 40's. A good night time temp is between 60 and 65 degrees f. That is from brads site.. http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/2007/12/temperatures-and-thermoregulation.html

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A ceramic heater is great for keeping your cham warm when the room your cham is in drops below the min temp for the chameleon you are keeping.

If you have a veiled you can let the temp drop around 60 even a little less. A panther should be kept around the mid 60s.

Temperatures.....

I use red heat lights in every single cage I have in the winter. Panther and Veileds. It does not interfere with them at all. They sleep just fine. Their light/dark cycle is in proper order for health. I don't know why some here say never use them. I have used them exclusively for years. And I think that with the vast number of chams I am keeping I've done enough "testing" on my end to be able to say this as an "expert". These lights also allow me to see if they ARE sleeping properly at night.

I must respectfully disagree with Summoner12 on the temperatures for Panthers. I would not recommend keeping Panthers in the mid 60's at night. Panthers are prone to respiratory issues in captivity more than many other types of chameleons. I keep my 50 adult Panthers at a minimum of 70 degrees at night. In my location that means a heat source all day and all night in the winter. In the summer I turn the night red light source off and just have higher basking daytime lights on. Veiled chameleons take colder temperatures much better than Panthers. Panthers would succumb to illnesses at the temperatures a Veiled can go down too.

PardalisGirl said:

I use red heat lights in every single cage I have in the winter. Panther and Veileds. It does not interfere with them at all. They sleep just fine. Their light/dark cycle is in proper order for health. I don't know why some here say never use them. I have used them exclusively for years. And I think that with the vast number of chams I am keeping I've done enough "testing" on my end to be able to say this as an "expert". These lights also allow me to see if they ARE sleeping properly at night.

I must respectfully disagree with Summoner12 on the temperatures for Panthers. I would not recommend keeping Panthers in the mid 60's at night. Panthers are prone to respiratory issues in captivity more than many other types of chameleons. I keep my 50 adult Panthers at a minimum of 70 degrees at night. In my location that means a heat source all day and all night in the winter. In the summer I turn the night red light source off and just have higher basking daytime lights on. Veiled chameleons take colder temperatures much better than Panthers. Panthers would succumb to illnesses at the temperatures a Veiled can go down too.

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zero light is best. ceramic heaters are the way to achieve this. IMHO

I will say that I know of several keepers who i know locally who keep chams outside till the weather turns to night time lows of the mid 60s.

Thought this was neat. Link

PardalisGirl said:

I use red heat lights in every single cage I have in the winter. Panther and Veileds. It does not interfere with them at all. They sleep just fine. Their light/dark cycle is in proper order for health. I don't know why some here say never use them. I have used them exclusively for years. And I think that with the vast number of chams I am keeping I've done enough "testing" on my end to be able to say this as an "expert". These lights also allow me to see if they ARE sleeping properly at night.

I must respectfully disagree with Summoner12 on the temperatures for Panthers. I would not recommend keeping Panthers in the mid 60's at night. Panthers are prone to respiratory issues in captivity more than many other types of chameleons. I keep my 50 adult Panthers at a minimum of 70 degrees at night. In my location that means a heat source all day and all night in the winter. In the summer I turn the night red light source off and just have higher basking daytime lights on. Veiled chameleons take colder temperatures much better than Panthers. Panthers would succumb to illnesses at the temperatures a Veiled can go down too.

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What brand of lamp do you buy?

Sorry....don't agree....

I don't agree that no light at all is best. If I did I would not use the ZooMed Nightlight Red lights in every cage at night during late fall, winter and early spring. There is usually some sort of moon light at night in nature. If a cham did wake up in Madegascar it could probably see a little bit. It would not be in total darkness. I'm not saying one can't use a ceramic heater. That's fine if you want to. But I am saying it's wrong to tell people not to use red heat lights at night. It's definitely wrong to tell people "never" use them. I don't believe that should continue to be said here. Those lights are a valid choice. I stand by my experience with them since it's been acquired over years of owning professional breeding quantities of Panthers and Veileds.

I also stand by my temperature guide for Panthers. I received a Panther from a breeder who kept the guy in below 70 degree temps at night outside. It came to me with a respiratory infection that required a month of higher temperatures, antibiotics and vet visits to correct. It took higher than normal temperatures to get it's immune system back to normal. Sure Panthers can survive with nights below 70 degrees. But some Panthers with immune system issues may develop a problem as a result or may just not thrive as well. Or a Panther that develops a problem due to something else may get worse quicker or not get better as quick in lower temperature. Why not provide the best opportunity for them?

If an experienced breeder wants to keep some out like that at night, then fine. They can tell if something is not right. But to tell anyone getting a new cham or someone that has just a few of them to do this is not responsible in my view.

Panthers in Madagascar don't have great life spans. They do live with variations in temperature and rainfall that become stress factors. The strong survive these extremes and the weaker don't. If they receive some sort of injury or a big parasite infestation the colder night temperatures help do them in quicker there too, just as a shortfall of rain would. Higher temperatures increase the production of good bacteria in the gut and boosts the metabolism.

We need to understand their life in Madagascar but we want to replicate the best things from their environment and not the stress factors. We are not all buying or receiving the fittest of the chameleon species. Any breeder will tell you that in a given clutch there will be several superstar fit babies that grow twice as fast as the rest. There will be a bunch of babies in the middle. Then there will be a group that are smaller and take a lot longer to grow and thrive. You have no way of knowing which group someone's chameleon is coming from. Why play survival of the fittest in captivity? Give them the ideal ranges for health and not the more extreme of the ranges. Why are people here misting their chameleons two, three or even four times a day? Do you think it rains that much every day in Madagascar? No, it's to provide better than normal drinking and humidity opportunities than nature so they will thrive.

hey also, when people say they are feeding the chameleon out of a bowl or watever...do they mean they put a bunch of crickets in this bowl, i physically hold it til chameleon is done eating?...or like, leave it in bottom of cage, so whenever buddy wants some munch he just goes down to a low branch and shoots his tongue in this bowl full of crickets?

sennema said:

hey also, when people say they are feeding the chameleon out of a bowl or watever...do they mean they put a bunch of crickets in this bowl, i physically hold it til chameleon is done eating?...or like, leave it in bottom of cage, so whenever buddy wants some munch he just goes down to a low branch and shoots his tongue in this bowl full of crickets?

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Mine is twist tied to a branch, its twist ties are safe, they o are taped over, and its at the top of the enclosure, my cham likes to be up high, its made of an old butter container

NewOwner said:

Mine is twist tied to a branch, its twist ties are safe, they o are taped over, and its at the top of the enclosure, my cham likes to be up high, its made of an old butter container

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thats awesome thanks alot man