Can chameleons eat at night?

Chameleons need to eat fairly early in the day because they need several hours under the lights after eating to help them digest their food.
 
Can. But not recommended. Could be with bad consequences. Indigested food or impaction. They are diurnal and cold blooded. Means they are active during the day but need sun and heat to digest food. Unless you want to change their day to night, I would try not to feed them late in the day. I personally don't feed beyond 4 pm.
 
Usually i give my chameleon crickets at day but today, im not at home at day and ive just arrived(night). Thank god. Thanks guys for the info :)
 
I usually feed closer to the middle of the day. Anywhere between 10 and 1 typically, it's just when I'm usually done with other chores (or get back from work) and can sit and dedicate the time to sifting out feeders, dusting them, and feeding everyone. We take about 6 hours to digest our food, and while I don't know if reptiles take anywhere this long (their GI tract is much simpler and much shorter), feeding them earlier in the day just means we're 100% sure they've had enough time to bask and digest that meal.

Although I'm not going to lie, I have given them something on occasion in the evening for certain reasons. Like if I see a horn worm that looks like it may pupate overnight and I don't want it to, I may give it to Daedalus just so someone can enjoy it. Now in summer my lights turn off at 8:30 so it's not so bad, but once in a blue moon it's not going to harm them. It's just not ideal.
 
Chameleonmaster said:
Do you guys feed your Chams when they first get up in the morning?
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My guy's lights turn on at 7:30, so I give him a few hours to bask. I'll usually feed him at around 9 or 10.

And if you feed him at night it's not really a good deal, because he's not getting the heat from the bulbs that he needs to digest, as the other members have said. You should give him about 3-4 hours at least before bedtime to digest. And if you think about it, what if the food is still partially alive and he doesn't digest it right... :eek:
 
I feed in the am most days and often offer treats later in the day.
However chams have been observed in the wild feering at night. They are opportunistic hunters and will take a meal when they can get it. I have even observed mine wakeing up in the middle of the night and snatching up a straggeling cricket.
 
I was just wondering (and not to come off rude), but what does everyone do for a living that they are able to be home during the day to feed their chameleons?

I myself, have to leave the house at 5:15 am each morning and don't get home until 4:15 pm. I feed my cham when I get home, but would love to be able to spend as much time as I can doing what needs done.
 
Slug said:
I was just wondering (and not to come off rude), but what does everyone do for a living that they are able to be home during the day to feed their chameleons?
I myself, have to leave the house at 5:15 am each morning and don't get home until 4:15 pm. I feed my cham when I get home, but would love to be able to spend as much time as I can doing what needs done.
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I'd hate to be up and away that early in the day! poor you!

I work at a college. I bowl feed before I leave (around 8am) - the chameleons will eat when they feel like it, but its always before noon (and usually immediately, since the lights come on between 7 and 7:30am right now). On those days I come home mid-day for my own lunch, or on weekends, I will often feed again mid-day (only small quantities each meal), usually free-range. On those days Im really busy, I have fed them later in the day, around 4 or 5 - or even not fed them at all. Although I wouldnt skip feeding anything under a year old, personally, if at all possible. Feeding earlier to mid-day is probably best, but occassional evening feeding is no big deal.
 
Slug said:
I was just wondering (and not to come off rude), but what does everyone do for a living that they are able to be home during the day to feed their chameleons?

I myself, have to leave the house at 5:15 am each morning and don't get home until 4:15 pm. I feed my cham when I get home, but would love to be able to spend as much time as I can doing what needs done.
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I work at night. 4:30pm-1am. :-D
 
I cant feed my guys early since I have to get up at 5am to go to work.
I get home at about 3pm and feed them then.

I would not want to stuff them with several crickets an hour before bedtime
 
Psychobunny said:
I cant feed my guys early since I have to get up at 5am to go to work.
I get home at about 3pm and feed them then.

I would not want to stuff them with several crickets an hour before bedtime
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This is probably the closest to my situation. I don't want to wake my cham up early for a feeding only to have it fall back asleep right after. Plus, it sucks getting up as early as I do, the rushing around to get ready for work, then almost always end up running late due to our local bridge access to the highway being out due to bridge construction (and today we found out that a crane wrecked a bunch of the newly constructed portion, so it will be out even longer, when before that happened, they were way ahead of schedule...yay, MoDOT!!!...I hate you)

I need a job where I never have to leave home if I don't want to. Maybe I should just become an evil genius, they always seem to work from home...
 
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