Conflicting hydration info

[Wumbo]

I’ve seen so much conflicting information, so many people saying one thing then some saying the opposite….

Do you only mist or is a fogger necessary? If you don’t use a fogger, then how do you keep your humidity up at night? If you don’t mist during the day, how do you keep your humidity up during the day?

I have 3 sides and the front covered with window film, only the bottom door and top open. Good airflow in the room, always have fans circulating nearby. The enclosure dries out everyday and humidity has been dropping pretty low lately at the highest branch midday (since it’s been getting warm) and I’m wondering how do people maintain their humidity levels without causing respiratory issues?

 

[Gloriawood]

I’ve seen so much conflicting information, so many people saying one thing then some saying the opposite….

Do you only mist or is a fogger necessary? If you don’t use a fogger, then how do you keep your humidity up at night? If you don’t mist during the day, how do you keep your humidity up during the day?

I have 3 sides and the front covered with window film, only the bottom door and top open. Good airflow in the room, always have fans circulating nearby. The enclosure dries out everyday and humidity has been dropping pretty low lately at the highest branch midday (since it’s been getting warm) and I’m wondering how do people maintain their humidity levels without causing respiratory issues?

I won’t give a ton of advice because I’m not an expert BUT I know that my humidity issues improved when I got all live plants in my enclosure. I don’t use a fogger and I don’t think everyone here does. I live in a pretty humid area so I don’t mist during the day either. Just once in the evening and morning for two minutes.

 

[Wumbo]

I won’t give a ton of advice because I’m not an expert BUT I know that my humidity issues improved when I got all live plants in my enclosure. I don’t use a fogger and I don’t think everyone here does. I live in a pretty humid area so I don’t mist during the day either. Just once in the evening and morning for two minutes.

Misting 4 minutes a day is enough to maintain enough humidity levels? I’ve heard similar schedules but when I mist for 2 min in the morning, by noon the humidity at the highest branch is pretty low.

I have all live plants, 6 of them, including a large golden Pothos that he likes to sleep on and is all intertwined in the branches. The plants help but I cannot consistently maintain above 50% daytime humidity without fogging or misting at some point during the day, like shut the lights off for a few min and do an afternoon rain shower for a few seconds, I thought it’s ok in order to maintain humidity as long as there’s air circulation and no heat emiting lights on. Idk what else to do.

I have a govee bluetooth near the basking area and another down lower near the foliage where he tends to sleep at night and even there it dipped to 48% mid day today.

Ambient temps stay in the 70s all day but if I don’t mist or fog for a few hours, humidity dips too low, so I’m confused how people make this work?

 

[Gloriawood]

Misting 4 minutes a day is enough to maintain enough humidity levels? I’ve heard similar schedules but when I mist for 2 min in the morning, by noon the humidity at the highest branch is pretty low.

I have all live plants, 6 of them, including a large golden Pothos that he likes to sleep on and is all intertwined in the branches. The plants help but I cannot consistently maintain above 50% daytime humidity without fogging or misting at some point during the day, like shut the lights off for a few min and do an afternoon rain shower for a few seconds, I thought it’s ok in order to maintain humidity as long as there’s air circulation and no heat emiting lights on. Idk what else to do.

I have a govee bluetooth near the basking area and another down lower near the foliage where he tends to sleep at night and even there it dipped to 48% mid day today.

Ambient temps stay in the 70s all day but if I don’t mist or fog for a few hours, humidity dips too low, so I’m confused how people make this work?

My humidity stays around 50% during the day. I live in the south and it’s pretty humid here. I’m pretty new to this so someone else here will be able to give you better advice, but I thought that it shouldn’t be above 50 during the day.

 

[Wumbo]

My humidity stays around 50% during the day. I live in the south and it’s pretty humid here. I’m pretty new to this so someone else here will be able to give you better advice, but I thought that it shouldn’t be above 50 during the day.

I have a 3mo panther chameleon, I thought it was supposed to be around 50-55% daytime and I cannot maintain that, and 75-80%+ at night, can’t maintain that either without more misting than 4 mins and also fogging. I live in the Midwest, it’s not super dry here

 

[Gloriawood]

I have a 3mo panther chameleon, I thought it was supposed to be around 50-55% daytime and I cannot maintain that, and 75-80%+ at night, can’t maintain that either without more misting than 4 mins and also fogging. I live in the Midwest, it’s not super dry here

Ahhhh I have a veild. I’m assuming humidity will be different for them.

I have seen others advise on here that a midday misting is just fine.

I’m still learning, but there are some awesome people here with tons of experience. I have no doubt that someone will be able to help you out! What’s your chams name? I’d love to see a picture!

 

[crosscutts]

Well, four minutes of misting is going to produce a lot of water. I run mine for five minutes in the afternoon and that’s literally 2 gallons of water , if you have all sides covered and just the bottom open you’re still gonna lose the fog out the bottom what I’ve made is a little plexiglass piece that pops on and off of the bottom and I leave a small crack roughly an inch to retain as much humidity is possible . In my opinion. Fogging is the only real hydration you need. My relative humidity here during the day is about 10%. In my cages, I’m able to maintain 40 to 50% during the day. And I almost 100% at night with a fogger. I feel the fog at night is where they get most of their hydration. The first picture is a temporary enclosure I made out of a screened unit with plexiglass silicone all the way around, including the door and there’s small slip plexi that I can take in and out every morning I also run a fan on top to help circulate air. The second one is my custom enclosure made by Tamara designs.

 

[Tkrd69]

I'm not a panther expert either, since I have a veiled too. I was always told not to fog unless temps were in the sixties at night. @Gingero and @MissSkittles would know more on this subject than me "Neptune the chameleon" might have a video for it on YouTube.

 

[Gingero]

Ask and you shall receive! Here is my video on this topic:



And this one talks about fogging at night:

 

[bbyoda]

There is conflicting info out there for a few reasons. Different species have different needs when it comes to humidity levels. And where you live influences what hydration methods will work best for your species.

I live in central Florida and have a Veiled chameleon. I tried following Bill Strand's hydration method as outlined on Chameleon Academy and unfortunately it resulted in my humidity levels being too high throughout the entire day (even with a dehumidifier running in the same room) and he got over hydrated as well (runny white urates). So I do 1.5 min misting in the morning and evening now and urates indicate proper hydration and I still battle humidity with an all screen cage in Florida but it's in the good enough range during the day with help from a dehumidifier.

I have a small PC fan at the top that runs on the same timer as the lights. So that helps with ventilation. But a properly made cage with a chimney effect going will ventilate fine as well.

I'm glad I don't have the fogger anymore. They suck down water quickly and I didn't like cleaning the device and pvc system I had rigged to it. So in the future I would not get a species that needs the fogging because I can't provide that need.

Hope that helps clear things up a bit!

 

[Flick boy]

Hi so no fogging during the day only at night when temps are below 68/ 65f preferably. You can do 30 on 30 off see what your govee reads , if you mist say 4mins in the morning how does your humidity pan out over the day ( humidity does not need to sit at a constant level ) can have spikes and lows

 

[JacksJill]

As @bbyoda aptly explained every situation is different and there isn't one simple answer. Cages in Arizona need different things than ones in Florida or Maine. I do an ultra short misting of 10 seconds midday to give a boost but time it when the basking light is off so I don't create a hot swampy condition. Keep in mind your night time humidity does not need to be 80+% all night long. In nature the humidity rises over night and peaks prior to sunrise. A misting around lights out and a hint of fogging if needed could be just a couple of 30 minute sessions between 2 & 4am. Results will vary adjust accordingly.

 

[Wumbo]

Well, four minutes of misting is going to produce a lot of water. I run mine for five minutes in the afternoon and that’s literally 2 gallons of water , if you have all sides covered and just the bottom open you’re still gonna lose the fog out the bottom what I’ve made is a little plexiglass piece that pops on and off of the bottom and I leave a small crack roughly an inch to retain as much humidity is possible . In my opinion. Fogging is the only real hydration you need. My relative humidity here during the day is about 10%. In my cages, I’m able to maintain 40 to 50% during the day. And I almost 100% at night with a fogger. I feel the fog at night is where they get most of their hydration. The first picture is a temporary enclosure I made out of a screened unit with plexiglass silicone all the way around, including the door and there’s small slip plexi that I can take in and out every morning I also run a fan on top to help circulate air. The second one is my custom enclosure made by Tamara designs.

That looks awesome! What kind of fogger do you use, if you don’t mind me asking?

 

[crosscutts]

That looks awesome! What kind of fogger do you use, if you don’t mind me asking?

House of Hydro and I made them the first one is 27 gallons three head for my larger habitats in the second one is a Bucket singlehead for my 2 x 2 x 4 they also serve as reservoirs for my mist king misting system

 

[Beppo]

House of Hydro and I made them the first one is 27 gallons three head for my larger habitats in the second one is a Bucket singlehead for my 2 x 2 x 4 they also serve as reservoirs for my mist king misting system

I just want to attest to how awesome this works!

 

[Throwingstones]

I need reassurance on this and didn’t want to make a new post and clutter the feed. My misting schedule is 2min before lights on and 2 after they turn off, I did have a midday for 1 min but took that away. Fogger on low throughout the night, which I am going to change after I get my dragon strand hybrid. I have a dripper most of the time but it’s that little dripper thing and very inconsistent, I think I want to do the milk jug method instead. Daytime humidity is 55-60% and night time is 65-70. I also have a cotton sheet I put up that covers the front and 3/4 of each side. Ceiling fan always on.
So pre-fogger she would sleep low in a plant. Now that I added the fogger she will sleep on the screen on either side of enclosure typically where the sheet doesn’t cover. Boyfriend says she is trying to run away from the fogger and she’s very thirsty. He’s been trying to talk me into one of those stupid fountains and I refuse, well, because they’re not good. Urates are white with maybe tinge of orange sometimes but mostly white. Funny thing is he put a little container of water on there and I was watching her dip her little hand in it and then caught her with her head low to the water checking it out, I didn’t see her drink. But it’s interesting, I know that is very rare to non-existent of seeing them drink from standing water. The Reddit people swear by putting like a crystal type cup of water in the enclosure. She’s also been getting hornworm treats every few days, and what do I do about the ones that are too big now?

Also what is it about the Facebook group recommending 12% uvb lights?

 

[Beppo]

I don’t see anything wrong in what your doing. I mist before and after lights out as well. I use the dripper that is inconsistent as well hah. My chameleon usually try’s to sleep to place himself where he can get the most benefits from the fog. Maybe he’s on the screen because that’s where it’s exiting out at? Anyways I’m pretty new to keeping a chameleon, but those are all the parameters I use as well. Reddit and face book seem like the worst places to get any actual useful information to me, but I also haven’t been on either in years. Sounds like your doing a good job

 

[crosscutts]

I need reassurance on this and didn’t want to make a new post and clutter the feed. My misting schedule is 2min before lights on and 2 after they turn off, I did have a midday for 1 min but took that away. Fogger on low throughout the night, which I am going to change after I get my dragon strand hybrid. I have a dripper most of the time but it’s that little dripper thing and very inconsistent, I think I want to do the milk jug method instead. Daytime humidity is 55-60% and night time is 65-70. I also have a cotton sheet I put up that covers the front and 3/4 of each side. Ceiling fan always on.
So pre-fogger she would sleep low in a plant. Now that I added the fogger she will sleep on the screen on either side of enclosure typically where the sheet doesn’t cover. Boyfriend says she is trying to run away from the fogger and she’s very thirsty. He’s been trying to talk me into one of those stupid fountains and I refuse, well, because they’re not good. Urates are white with maybe tinge of orange sometimes but mostly white. Funny thing is he put a little container of water on there and I was watching her dip her little hand in it and then caught her with her head low to the water checking it out, I didn’t see her drink. But it’s interesting, I know that is very rare to non-existent of seeing them drink from standing water. The Reddit people swear by putting like a crystal type cup of water in the enclosure. She’s also been getting hornworm treats every few days, and what do I do about the ones that are too big now?

Also what is it about the Facebook group recommending 12% uvb lights?

Well, here’s my schedule and advice . I wouldn’t listen to anything on Reddit. No Chamaeleon drinks from standing water. If they do, they’re desperate. My fogging gets up to 95 to 100% at night. Fogger runs from 11pm at night to four in the morning. Just before fogger goes on. Mister for one minute. so the fog. Sticks to the leaves. My Mister comes on again, five minutes after Lights go on. Heat lamp runs till about 10 o’clock. 11 o’clock. Computer fan kicks on. And runs until five. Dries entire habitat out humidity never drops below 50. Misters come on again at 5 o’clock they run for 10 minutes lights go off at six cycle continues again at 11pm . My Chamaeleons don’t drink. On very rare occasions I will see them. Opening and closing their mouth as the Mister are spraying in the afternoon but I wouldn’t really call it Drinking All of my Chamaeleons are well hydrated. I’ve been running the same schedule for over a year now. So I’m pretty confident. In my opinion. Which I’m sure you’ll find 100 different ones out there is they get the majority of their hydration from the fogging at night . And if you watch the humidity levels in Madagascar you’ll see that it’s quite similar . As for hiding from the fog. What I’ve observed is, if they can actually see it. It bothers them. That’s why mine don’t go on till late at night. They have already been asleep for a while. They don’t wake up to move away from it. Generally, once the lights go off cams don’t move. So what I think you’re observing is the Chamaeleon is actually intimidated by the fog itself not what it’s doing same thing with ceiling fans . To a chameleon a ceiling fan is a giant bird flying around the room. This may also be causing an issue. Sure hope this helps.

 

[Beppo]

@crosscutts forgive me for stepping in haha I literally thought I was in a thread for a new member asking for help, didn’t realise I was in the middle of your conversations

 

[crosscutts]

I need reassurance on this and didn’t want to make a new post and clutter the feed. My misting schedule is 2min before lights on and 2 after they turn off, I did have a midday for 1 min but took that away. Fogger on low throughout the night, which I am going to change after I get my dragon strand hybrid. I have a dripper most of the time but it’s that little dripper thing and very inconsistent, I think I want to do the milk jug method instead. Daytime humidity is 55-60% and night time is 65-70. I also have a cotton sheet I put up that covers the front and 3/4 of each side. Ceiling fan always on.
So pre-fogger she would sleep low in a plant. Now that I added the fogger she will sleep on the screen on either side of enclosure typically where the sheet doesn’t cover. Boyfriend says she is trying to run away from the fogger and she’s very thirsty. He’s been trying to talk me into one of those stupid fountains and I refuse, well, because they’re not good. Urates are white with maybe tinge of orange sometimes but mostly white. Funny thing is he put a little container of water on there and I was watching her dip her little hand in it and then caught her with her head low to the water checking it out, I didn’t see her drink. But it’s interesting, I know that is very rare to non-existent of seeing them drink from standing water. The Reddit people swear by putting like a crystal type cup of water in the enclosure. She’s also been getting hornworm treats every few days, and what do I do about the ones that are too big now?

Also what is it about the Facebook group recommending 12% uvb lights?

There’s also a great podcast on fogging