Feeding times and digestion?

[Canny Chams]

Today i got an email from someone who purchased a chameleon from me quite afew monthes previously, that i couldnt answer fully. He told me, he is always very rushed and generally cant feed his chams before 4:30pm which is 4.5 hours away from when his lights turn off. He wanted the latest possible time to feed chameleons before negative health problems start occuring. I personally feed my chams either on my way to work at 9am, or on my way to school at 11-12. I have never experimented with this, i know generally you should feed in the morning, and afternoon is fine, but evening is bad, im wondering what really borders the afternoon evening time.

 

[Canny Chams]

Could someone answer asap cause i dont wana keep the guy waiting for an answer

 

[Pilotman800]

The limit for me is 4 hours before they go to sleep. Thats only if I don't get to feed them right when I wake up.

 

[SilverDragoness]

Honestly I'm curious about this one. I'll admit I feed my guy at night. In the morning I'm not up early enough to kick the light on for him to warm up. So I would imagine his metabolism is not geared up either. Yes, I could put stuff in a feeding cup and leave it but I choose not to fuss with him too much then. I don't see where feeding after the metabolism fires up would be bad. Perhaps not ideal but I'm pretty sure they will still be able to obtain nutrients but the gastrointestinal tract is maybe slowed down somewhat. That's what the next day is for. I've never seen undigested parts in my chameleons feces. Perhaps other members have had a different experience.

 

[brandychams]

i dont think it matters as long as they have proper basking temps through the day the food would just continue to be digested the next day hope that helps

 

[clarkrw3]

I don't know what the answer is on this....I think the earlier the better. I will say that my chams almost never get fed in the morning. Usually they will not eat for me before I go to work so my wife takes them outside about 1pm-2pm and they usually eat outside and then lights out at 6pm. So far it has worked but there have been times when they eat at 4pm or find something left over in there cages later then that and bask till lights out.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

If I know I can't feed them in the morning soemtimes I throw crickets in at night after the chams are asleep. I've never had a nibbling incident and I think a piece of greens at the bottom would help with that worry. That way when my chams are done basking in the morning they can chow down without having to wait for me to get home. I think the earlier in the day the better and I know my chams stop taking food a few hours before lights off even though crickets may still be crawling around. That's my opinion fwiw...

 

[sandrachameleon]

he is always very rushed and generally cant feed his chams before 4:30pm which is 4.5 hours away from when his lights turn off.

I think a four hour digestion window would be fine

(but really, how hard it is to feed in the morning? getting up three minutes earlier and adding this to your rushed morning routine isnt likely to cause the sky to fall)

 

[Carlton]

Today i got an email from someone who purchased a chameleon from me quite afew monthes previously, that i couldnt answer fully. He told me, he is always very rushed and generally cant feed his chams before 4:30pm which is 4.5 hours away from when his lights turn off. He wanted the latest possible time to feed chameleons before negative health problems start occuring. I personally feed my chams either on my way to work at 9am, or on my way to school at 11-12. I have never experimented with this, i know generally you should feed in the morning, and afternoon is fine, but evening is bad, im wondering what really borders the afternoon evening time.

Maybe he could give himself a little later feeding window by setting his light timers to come on later in the morning and staying on later in the evenings. If he's not using timers to run the lights it will make his life a bit easier.

 

[Canny Chams]

I think a four hour digestion window would be fine

(but really, how hard it is to feed in the morning? getting up three minutes earlier and adding this to your rushed morning routine isnt likely to cause the sky to fall)

i dont know, all of my chameleons ,with the exception of the ones i have as pets, are kept in a heated shed i made in my parents backyard, on my way to work if i cant feed them, i will feed them on my way home or to school. Sometimes i will feed mine at 6, which is 3 hours before lights out. My chams in my apartment are fed generally either immediately when i get up at 8, or on occasion my roommate will put them in at 3 if i didnt feed them in the morning (he really hates crickets and i have to buy one of those useless cricket dusters just to get him to feed them)

 

[tdotcham]

why not suggest to him to catch and seperate the crickets the night before? This way he can have a good chance for fresh gutload, and just have to dust and throw them in. I started doing this now that my gf works from home, where I'll catch them in the morning and have her feed them around noon so they can munch on some fresh veggies/fruit

 

[fluxlizard]

Mine eat whenever depending on my schedule I might feed a few minutes before lights out and I let my temps drop down to the low 50s (nearly 50) much of the year. Other days I might feed in the morning.

They've never had a problem.

Ask yourself - who goes around stopping wild chameleons from eating at the end of the day?

 

[bathtub12]

chameleon

Other days I might feed in the morning.
toilet