General Humidity/Food/Care Question

MegaWattz

Member
Hi all
So new here and I posted yesterday trying to figure out what ive done wrong with the enclosure for the rescue chameleon my Mom got my after law school. You can find my previous post here with pics of the enlcosure: https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/opinions-and-advice-on-my-custom-enclosure.168919/

SO my question now that I've found a group of people who know what they are doing is how does misting, humidity, etc. work? Unfortunately I have decided I will need to put my boy Iggy down as he is too far gone. But I would like to try again with my own cham prob a jackson from the FL sponsor but I do not want to subject another animal to it until I know exactly what I am doing.

1) So with the humidity what should it be during the day? I live in MI where temps can fluctuate like crazy. The vet told me I need to have the humidity up in the 70s since it is a tropical animal which can be difficult as its a screened enclosure but I see many people do this.

2) When do I humidify? The original owner gave me a repti fogger and told me to have it on during the day for humidity as did the vet that saw him. However here on the forum I found posts saying not to do this and run fogger only at night so the heat lamp does not evaporate it and cause respiratory infection. I have also since yesterday wrapped the bottom of this enclosure with bubble wrap to retain humidity which seems to help, if I do another cham I would probably install some plexiglass with hinges to open and clean them of gunk.

3) Misting? I usually hand misted the enclosure every few hours, as I gather this is the main source of humidity etc. during the day, and while this worked fine while I was waiting on Bar Exam results, now that I am working full time not as many chances to hand mist and have seen people hail the Mist King starter system as the best.

4) Dietary: Not long after I got my Veiled he refused to eat anything so I switched to hornworms which he loved but has since degraded in health. My plan for a new cham would be offering crickets and dubias on feeding tongs as otherwise they always escape the enclosure and I don't want them running around my new place. In a no escape feeder dish I would be offering superworms, meal worms, wax worms, and hornworms as no worry of escape and he would have some independence in eating.

So I know thats a lot but I really want to know where I am misinformed. My end goal is to see if this is something I can learn from and correct. If it turns out that I'm just no good at this and the environment is impossible to manage for these beautiful creatures I will leave them be and not subject another to the torture of my care. If it's something I can correct I would happily do so as my place does not allow cats/dogs and I have developed a fond fascination for chams. Thank you all for reading this.

Noah
 
Maybe I can help you get started with some suggestions I have done this to my cages for help with humidity https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/alternate-clearside-diy.168320/. I would also look into getting a Mistking starter system they are awesome and makes watering/misting a lot simpler. For feeding get a https://www.fullthrottlefeeders.com/copy-of-gutloads-and-supplies little to no crickets escape. As for feeding wax worms and hornworms those should only be given as a treat not a staple food but you can give silkworms as a staple food source. No mealworms just superworms. Only use a fogger in the early morning hours like 3am-6am. Hope this helps you.
 
Maybe I can help you get started with some suggestions I have done this to my cages for help with humidity https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/alternate-clearside-diy.168320/. I would also look into getting a Mistking starter system they are awesome and makes watering/misting a lot simpler. For feeding get a https://www.fullthrottlefeeders.com/copy-of-gutloads-and-supplies little to no crickets escape. As for feeding wax worms and hornworms those should only be given as a treat not a staple food but you can give silkworms as a staple food source. No mealworms just superworms. Only use a fogger in the early morning hours like 3am-6am. Hope this helps you.

All good advice looking at the feeder though I have no understanding as to how a cricket wouldn't jump right off of that
 
Crickets usually don’t jump unless they try to get away but with the a chameleon tongue is so fast they don’t even see it coming. Before but after you dust your crickets let them settle down before putting them in the feeder cup so they are not in flight mode. Yes you will have a occasional cricket jump out but unless you want to hand feed every day and have the time and assuming the Cham will actually take it from you at first then go that route.
 
Those feeders are great. As mentioned by Ruthless, crickets wont jump unless scared.

If you are looking at a jacksons chameleon for your next cham, they are a bit more sensitive to care requirements compared to veiled and panthers. Jacksons are a montane species so they are found in more humid, cooler habits. Here is a caresheet that details all the basic care requirements to keep a jackons health: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/jacksons/ Follow this caresheet. I dont always trust vets when it comes to exotic animal care especially after I had multiple vets tell me my veiled requires 100% humidity during the day.... 100% all day every day would kill...

Humidity can easily be maintains with an automatic mist system such as a mist king. I personally avoid foggers since I have no trouble keeping my chams enclosure humid enough.

Supplementation is also very important, so again, follow what the caresheet lists.
 
If you can pass the BAR then a cham is no problem. You are in the right place foe for answer. When you have some time, document the times you mist. Note the time, temp and humidity levels everytime you go in to see cham. Note the volume of water sprayed to achieve the desired conditions.You can build a pattern off of the data and mist according to the needs. I live in the central valley of California. What I need is different than you. Youre on the right track and Im happy that you can recognize good info from bad. Good luck and keep us posted.
 
You'll want/need a mistking for a jacksons In most cases. Read into montanes, they are kept a little different than veiled or panthers.

Don't bother with mealworms or waxworms, they're poor in nutrition. Superworms make good treats. Hornworms are good for hydration purposes. Crickets and dubia as staples. Don't tong feed though, that's an injured tongue waiting to happen. Hand feed, cup feed, or free roam feed.

You want high humidity and cooler temps at night, that's why some use foggers. Warmer and lower humidity during the day.
 
You'll want/need a mistking for a jacksons In most cases. Read into montanes, they are kept a little different than veiled or panthers.

Don't bother with mealworms or waxworms, they're poor in nutrition. Superworms make good treats. Hornworms are good for hydration purposes. Crickets and dubia as staples. Don't tong feed though, that's an injured tongue waiting to happen. Hand feed, cup feed, or free roam feed.

You want high humidity and cooler temps at night, that's why some use foggers. Warmer and lower humidity during the day.

So dubias would work as a staple? I just have a problem with crickets because the drive me bonkers. I'm also juggling building a whole new enclosure that is more insect escape proof since the one I have is made from reclaimed shelving unit wood. Doing that may prevent a lot of the cricket escape and then Id have less of a prob with them.
 
Those feeders are great. As mentioned by Ruthless, crickets wont jump unless scared.

If you are looking at a jacksons chameleon for your next cham, they are a bit more sensitive to care requirements compared to veiled and panthers. Jacksons are a montane species so they are found in more humid, cooler habits. Here is a caresheet that details all the basic care requirements to keep a jackons health: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/jacksons/ Follow this caresheet. I dont always trust vets when it comes to exotic animal care especially after I had multiple vets tell me my veiled requires 100% humidity during the day.... 100% all day every day would kill...

Humidity can easily be maintains with an automatic mist system such as a mist king. I personally avoid foggers since I have no trouble keeping my chams enclosure humid enough.

Supplementation is also very important, so again, follow what the caresheet lists.
I did not realize panthers were easier to care for I instantly assumed they were the hardest so may look into that I just dont wanna do another veiled b/c Id feel like I was replacing my friend
 
Since you don't know what made your Veiled ill I would thoroughly disinfect your cage and get rid of any thing that is porous or not easily disinfected.
 
Jackson's are only harder because they require lower temperatures down to 60˚F at night 72˚ ambient daytime, higher humidity, less supplements and good live plants. Panthers are more like veiled in their care.
 
Definitely give panthers a look, and consider buying from a reputable breeder. I got mine from @Matt Vanilla Gorilla and he's a wonderful little guy (I got him when he was about 3 months old, he's six months now and doing awesome).

I will say that so far mine doesn't like roaches at all, so just be aware that that can happen. I know lots of chams love dubia and roaches, just not mine. I've even tried a bunch of different varieties and he is a firm "NO" on them unfortunately. When he's a bit older I'm going to try some tough love on him and see if I cant get him to go for them. For now, I just keep offering every week or two and he's still refusing. He likes everything else (black soldier flies and larvae, silkworms, supers, hornworms, blue bottle flies and larvae), but I guess crickets are his staple for now.
 
Definitely give panthers a look, and consider buying from a reputable breeder. I got mine from @Matt Vanilla Gorilla and he's a wonderful little guy (I got him when he was about 3 months old, he's six months now and doing awesome).

I will say that so far mine doesn't like roaches at all, so just be aware that that can happen. I know lots of chams love dubia and roaches, just not mine. I've even tried a bunch of different varieties and he is a firm "NO" on them unfortunately. When he's a bit older I'm going to try some tough love on him and see if I cant get him to go for them. For now, I just keep offering every week or two and he's still refusing. He likes everything else (black soldier flies and larvae, silkworms, supers, hornworms, blue bottle flies and larvae), but I guess crickets are his staple for now.

Trust me, they'll eat roaches if they have to lol. With all those goodies though, why would he pick the skinless chicken breast? Haha
 
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