Humidity and misters

Hello all,

I am fairly new to the Cham world. I got my little guy Lando about a month ago and did not have anything set up beforehand, mainly because I didn't know I was getting him until it happened. Either way, I have him and I have spent A LOT of time and money buying his enclosure and supplies/food and doing research to make sure he stays healthy and happy. So let me tell you a little about him and his enclosure before I get to my issue.

The guy said he was over a year old but he was only about 6 inches from the tip of his tail to his nose, which makes me believe he was not over a year since what I have read says that Veiled get to adult age by the time they are 8 months. He eats healthy (Dubia roaches, hornworms as a snack, super worms, black fly larvae, and crickets) and on a regular schedule with supplements (calcium w/o D3 6 days a week and Multi Vitamine with D3 once a week (will go to cal w/D3 and multi w/D3 every other week opposite each other once he is adult size)). I feed him once a day and give him about 10 to 15 bugs, sometimes just one species but sometimes a couple so he has a choice. I used to keep the bowl in as long as there was food so he could eat when he wanted just in case he was starved and that's the reason he was small but this last week I only let the bowl stay in for about an hour and if he didn't eat all of the bugs then oh well, he will eat again the next morning. He has a good bowel movement that looks healthy along with a bright white Urea so I know he is hydrated. His enclosure is 18 x 18 x 36 (Yes I know it should be 24 x 24 x 48 but the guy said this size should be fine but I will upgrade him at a later stage) He has a duel lamp with heat lamp and grow bulb, also a T8 liner tube for UVB, all set on a timer that turns on at 7 am and turns off at 830 pm. I made a drip bottle that drips all day (not night time because when he goes to sleep he is out like a light and doesn't wake or move until the light comes back on). I have a long fake silky leaf vine for hiding and a stiffer brownish vine for climbing as well as a net for climbing and sleeping on. I also have some live plants that will take over for the fake vine when they get big enough to help with humidity. I also have good drainage I built into the bottom that drains into a bucket behind the door of the stand his enclosure is on that also has some big rocks to help with retaining some moisture for humidity.

My issue is with humidity. With it being cold outside and the heat is on in the house, the air is pretty dry. I have a couple of little hydrometers set up, one in the top of the enclosure and the other near the bottom so I can keep track of both. I also keep track of the temp with a laser surface thermometer and the temp is ideal from the top, middle, to the bottom. Due to the humidity being so low, around 25 to 30 percent, I added a clear light-weight shower curtain to 3 sides keeping the front and the top uncovered. I also added a mister that has settings that can be from every 1, 3, 8, and 12 hours for 15, 30, 45, and 60 seconds. I have it set to spray for 60 seconds every 3 hours. The top humidity, where Lando hangs out most of the time stays around 25 percent (until it sprays, and then it will raise a couple of notches), and the bottom around 60 percent. The mister is kinda loud and he hates it. Are all misters loud and is there a proper way to set it up so it will not bother him because every way I have tried seems to be an issue for him? Should I set it up to just spray the bottom of the enclosure? I can probably return the mister if I should get a new one so any and all advice on his living, humidity, temp, setup of the enclosure, anything at all would be greatly appreciated. I'm damn committed to him because he helps with my anxiety, so whatever I can do to keep him around for the 8 or so years will only help.
 
Hi and welcome it would be helpful if you could fill out a husbandry form. You can click on forums then health clini and how to ask for copy and paste and fill in your answers dont worry if you can't all at once what type of cham
 
Hello all,

I am fairly new to the Cham world. I got my little guy Lando about a month ago and did not have anything set up beforehand, mainly because I didn't know I was getting him until it happened. Either way, I have him and I have spent A LOT of time and money buying his enclosure and supplies/food and doing research to make sure he stays healthy and happy. So let me tell you a little about him and his enclosure before I get to my issue.

The guy said he was over a year old but he was only about 6 inches from the tip of his tail to his nose, which makes me believe he was not over a year since what I have read says that Veiled get to adult age by the time they are 8 months. He eats healthy (Dubia roaches, hornworms as a snack, super worms, black fly larvae, and crickets) and on a regular schedule with supplements (calcium w/o D3 6 days a week and Multi Vitamine with D3 once a week (will go to cal w/D3 and multi w/D3 every other week opposite each other once he is adult size)). I feed him once a day and give him about 10 to 15 bugs, sometimes just one species but sometimes a couple so he has a choice. I used to keep the bowl in as long as there was food so he could eat when he wanted just in case he was starved and that's the reason he was small but this last week I only let the bowl stay in for about an hour and if he didn't eat all of the bugs then oh well, he will eat again the next morning. He has a good bowel movement that looks healthy along with a bright white Urea so I know he is hydrated. His enclosure is 18 x 18 x 36 (Yes I know it should be 24 x 24 x 48 but the guy said this size should be fine but I will upgrade him at a later stage) He has a duel lamp with heat lamp and grow bulb, also a T8 liner tube for UVB, all set on a timer that turns on at 7 am and turns off at 830 pm. I made a drip bottle that drips all day (not night time because when he goes to sleep he is out like a light and doesn't wake or move until the light comes back on). I have a long fake silky leaf vine for hiding and a stiffer brownish vine for climbing as well as a net for climbing and sleeping on. I also have some live plants that will take over for the fake vine when they get big enough to help with humidity. I also have good drainage I built into the bottom that drains into a bucket behind the door of the stand his enclosure is on that also has some big rocks to help with retaining some moisture for humidity.

My issue is with humidity. With it being cold outside and the heat is on in the house, the air is pretty dry. I have a couple of little hydrometers set up, one in the top of the enclosure and the other near the bottom so I can keep track of both. I also keep track of the temp with a laser surface thermometer and the temp is ideal from the top, middle, to the bottom. Due to the humidity being so low, around 25 to 30 percent, I added a clear light-weight shower curtain to 3 sides keeping the front and the top uncovered. I also added a mister that has settings that can be from every 1, 3, 8, and 12 hours for 15, 30, 45, and 60 seconds. I have it set to spray for 60 seconds every 3 hours. The top humidity, where Lando hangs out most of the time stays around 25 percent (until it sprays, and then it will raise a couple of notches), and the bottom around 60 percent. The mister is kinda loud and he hates it. Are all misters loud and is there a proper way to set it up so it will not bother him because every way I have tried seems to be an issue for him? Should I set it up to just spray the bottom of the enclosure? I can probably return the mister if I should get a new one so any and all advice on his living, humidity, temp, setup of the enclosure, anything at all would be greatly appreciated. I'm damn committed to him because he helps with my anxiety, so whatever I can do to keep him around for the 8 or so years will only help.
Get a new mister and buy the mistking starter system... It is better in so many ways and the spray is much finer. You only want to mist in the morning and in the evening when temps are not as warm. 25% actually is ok for a Veiled. The preferred daytime humidity level is 30-40% max.

IF you have not found it yet this is a great link to learn from https://chameleonacademy.com/

Andddddd Welcome to the forum :)
 
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Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Veiled Cham, male, approx 6 or 7 months, had him for about a month.
  • Handling - I tried to handle him for a few minutes a day for the first couple days but now I don't handle him because I read that he needs his time to get adjusted and get to know me.
  • Feeding - He eats healthy (Dubia roaches, hornworms as a snack, super worms, black fly larvae, and crickets) and on a regular schedule with supplements. I feed him once a day and give him about 10 to 15 bugs, sometimes just one species but sometimes a couple so he has a choice. I gut load them with mango, carrots, sweet potato, and greens the night before. I used to keep the bowl in as long as there was food so he could eat when he wanted just in case he was starved and that's the reason he was small but this last week I only let the bowl stay in for about an hour and if he didn't eat all of the bugs then oh well, he will eat again the next morning.
  • Supplements - calcium w/o D3 6 days a week and Multi Vitamine with D3 once a week (will go to cal w/D3 and multi w/D3 every other week opposite each other once he is adult size. Reti brand.
  • Watering - I use a drip system for watering, I have seen him drink, I just bought the master but it goes off every three hours for 60 seconds.
  • Fecal Description - movement is brown and solid. Along with it is the urea that is bright white. Haven't taken him to vet yet for baseline records.
  • History - bought him at a reptile show. Wild caught.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - screen 18 x 18 x 36. I have clear plastic shower curtain covering 3 sides.
  • Lighting - heat lamp, grow bulb, T8 UVB 10 linear bulb reti brand. All on timer that turns on at 7 am and off at 830 pm.
  • Temperature - 72 in bottom, middle 76 top 86, basking approx 90. Night time about 72. I use a laser surface gun.
  • Humidity - I use a digital hydrometer. Top is 25 to 30 percent. Bottom is 60 percent.
  • Plants - yes. I have 3 baby plants all verified as safe for chams. I also washed them and washed the original soil off and repoted with reptisoil.
  • Placement - Top sits about 5 ft in high traffic because its by my desk and I work from home.
  • Location - East Tennessee

Current Problem - keeping the humidity proper, mister is too loud and scares the crap out of Lando. Where is the proper location and should he react like that? I know he needs to be misted but since he already seems scared about everything I hate that this is one more thing to annoy him. I would really like for him to start liking me but the more I have to do to his enclosure the longer its going to take for him to bond with me.
Hi and welcome it would be helpful if you could fill out a husbandry form. You can click on forums then health clini and how to ask for copy and paste and fill in your answers dont worry if you can't all at once what type of cham

Does this work?

Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Veiled Cham, male, approx 6 or 7 months, had him for about a month.
  • Handling - I tried to handle him for a few minutes a day for the first couple days but now I don't handle him because I read that he needs his time to get adjusted and get to know me.
  • Feeding - He eats healthy (Dubia roaches, hornworms as a snack, super worms, black fly larvae, and crickets) and on a regular schedule with supplements. I feed him once a day and give him about 10 to 15 bugs, sometimes just one species but sometimes a couple so he has a choice. I gut load them with mango, carrots, sweet potato, and greens the night before. I used to keep the bowl in as long as there was food so he could eat when he wanted just in case he was starved and that's the reason he was small but this last week I only let the bowl stay in for about an hour and if he didn't eat all of the bugs then oh well, he will eat again the next morning.
  • Supplements - calcium w/o D3 6 days a week and Multi Vitamine with D3 once a week (will go to cal w/D3 and multi w/D3 every other week opposite each other once he is adult size. Reti brand.
  • Watering - I use a drip system for watering, I have seen him drink, I just bought the master but it goes off every three hours for 60 seconds.
  • Fecal Description - movement is brown and solid. Along with it is the urea that is bright white. Haven't taken him to vet yet for baseline records.
  • History - bought him at a reptile show. Wild caught.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - screen 18 x 18 x 36. I have clear plastic shower curtain covering 3 sides.
  • Lighting - heat lamp, grow bulb, T8 UVB 10 linear bulb reti brand. All on timer that turns on at 7 am and off at 830 pm.
  • Temperature - 72 in bottom, middle 76 top 86, basking approx 90. Night time about 72. I use a laser surface gun.
  • Humidity - I use a digital hydrometer. Top is 25 to 30 percent. Bottom is 60 percent.
  • Plants - yes. I have 3 baby plants all verified as safe for chams. I also washed them and washed the original soil off and repoted with reptisoil.
  • Placement - Top sits about 5 ft in high traffic because its by my desk and I work from home.
  • Location - East Tennessee

Current Problem - keeping the humidity proper, mister is too loud and scares the crap out of Lando. Where is the proper location and should he react like that? I know he needs to be misted but since he already seems scared about everything I hate that this is one more thing to annoy him. I would really like for him to start liking me but the more I have to do to his enclosure the longer its going to take for him to bond with me.
 
Just posted those photos.
Hi ok your little guy would benefit alot to more live plants for privacy / to ide or sleep behind to make him feel secure. Golden pothos and wandering jew are pretty good and fast growing in the right conditions. Also your reptile hammock is designed for bearded dragon not chameleons as they can / could get nails caught so imo u would remove it more vines or ideally real branches would be a better option. Real branches if collected for outside would need to be cleaned appropriate thickness and not pine
 
Hi ok your little guy would benefit alot to more live plants for privacy / to ide or sleep behind to make him feel secure. Golden pothos and wandering jew are pretty good and fast growing in the right conditions. Also your reptile hammock is designed for bearded dragon not chameleons as they can / could get nails caught so imo u would remove it more vines or ideally real branches would be a better option. Real branches if collected for outside would need to be cleaned appropriate thickness and not pine

He really likes his hammock. He sleeps on it but I see your point. The branches are real and I took the bark off, washed them with soap and water and baked them at 220 for 2 hours. When I bought the plants I thought they would come bigger but I do plan on getting bigger plants when I can find them. One of the plants is a creeper and the other 2 are pothos style. Also, I took the advise and bought a misterking so ill be returning the one I have and installing the king.
 
Sorry I can't advise on plants as I'm in the uk. But you could look in to your plant. My pothos was pretty small 5/6 weeks ago but is nearly across the back of the enclosure. I thought I would share my start with rb the two bottom to top branches are structural foundation
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He really likes his hammock. He sleeps on it but I see your point. The branches are real and I took the bark off, washed them with soap and water and baked them at 220 for 2 hours. When I bought the plants I thought they would come bigger but I do plan on getting bigger plants when I can find them. One of the plants is a creeper and the other 2 are pothos style. Also, I took the advise and bought a misterking so ill be returning the one I have and installing the king.
Lol I'm jealous 🙃 mistkings only started to become available here middle of the year after I bought my exoterra monsoon which is more of a spay and freaked my girl out so I changed to Mistking nozzel way better. Can't wait to get mine next year
 
Ok supers are also a treat . I will add gutload page. Cage size you know. Uvb a t5ho repti sun 5%or from reviews (everyone has their own opinions) arcadia 6%might be better quality. Basking temp might be a bit high imo 85 would be fine. Humidity 30% to 50% max day . Night can go way up 80 /100 . I can't achieve that in my rb so just try too have the direction flow to girls sleeping place with my habistat fogger.
 

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@jlbradford81 Please see my feedback in red bold. Let us know if you have additional questions.


Chameleon Info:

  • Your Chameleon - Veiled Cham, male, approx 6 or 7 months, had him for about a month.
  • Handling - I tried to handle him for a few minutes a day for the first couple days but now I don't handle him because I read that he needs his time to get adjusted and get to know me.
  • Feeding - He eats healthy (Dubia roaches, hornworms as a snack, super worms, black fly larvae, and crickets) and on a regular schedule with supplements. I feed him once a day and give him about 10 to 15 bugs, sometimes just one species but sometimes a couple so he has a choice. I gut load them with mango, carrots, sweet potato, and greens the night before. I used to keep the bowl in as long as there was food so he could eat when he wanted just in case he was starved and that's the reason he was small but this last week I only let the bowl stay in for about an hour and if he didn't eat all of the bugs then oh well, he will eat again the next morning. So at this age you want to cut back to 5 feeders every other day. But I would ease him into this and do 5 every day for say the next month then drop to 5 every other day. Then at approximately 9-10 month old you will reduce even more to 3 feeders every other day. Keeping your diversity in what your feeding.
  • Supplements - calcium w/o D3 6 days a week and Multi Vitamine with D3 once a week (will go to cal w/D3 and multi w/D3 every other week opposite each other once he is adult size. Reti brand. So you do not need to break apart you supplements if you have one that has the multivitamin and D3 together. You can leave him on that 2 times a month. Once a week for a combo is a little more then recommended. Just drop it back to 2 times a month say the 1st and the 15th.
  • Watering - I use a drip system for watering, I have seen him drink, I just bought the master but it goes off every three hours for 60 seconds. The mistking will be better. You will want to get the tubing clips and a wedge. I do not believe those come in the starters. But the clips are important because it will allow you to secure the hose to the cage so it does not rattle. Morning and evening misting of about 2-3 minutes is all you really need.
  • Fecal Description - movement is brown and solid. Along with it is the urea that is bright white. Haven't taken him to vet yet for baseline records.
  • History - bought him at a reptile show. Wild caught.

Cage Info:

  • Cage Type - screen 18 x 18 x 36. I have clear plastic shower curtain covering 3 sides. You will need to upgrand the enclosure size to a 2x2x4 OR attach another 18x18x36 to this enclosure so it is wider then tall. Cross latch branches from one to another with zip ties... You need some more horizontal areas.
  • Lighting - heat lamp, grow bulb, T8 UVB 10 linear bulb reti brand. All on timer that turns on at 7 am and off at 830 pm.
  • Temperature - 72 in bottom, middle 76 top 86, basking approx 90. Night time about 72. I use a laser surface gun. Little hot at basking... I would not have it over 83-85 max end.
  • Humidity - I use a digital hydrometer. Top is 25 to 30 percent. Bottom is 60 percent. These number are fine.
  • Plants - yes. I have 3 baby plants all verified as safe for chams. I also washed them and washed the original soil off and repoted with reptisoil.
  • Placement - Top sits about 5 ft in high traffic because its by my desk and I work from home.
  • Location - East Tennessee

Current Problem - keeping the humidity proper, mister is too loud and scares the crap out of Lando. Where is the proper location and should he react like that? I know he needs to be misted but since he already seems scared about everything I hate that this is one more thing to annoy him. I would really like for him to start liking me but the more I have to do to his enclosure the longer its going to take for him to bond with me. The mister you have rattles the heck out of everything. It is more the vibration that is startling him. Start working on hand feeding him or holding the feeder cup for him to come eat from you. This will help start to associate you to food.


Accurate info and Product links for things I like:


https://chameleonacademy.com/

https://www.chameleonbreeder.com/

https://www.youtube.com/c/NeptunetheChameleon?sub_confirmation=1

www.dragonstrand.com

https://tkchameleons.com/collections/accessories/products/shooting-gallery
 
@jlbradford81 Please see my feedback in red bold. Let us know if you have additional questions.


Chameleon Info:

  • Your Chameleon - Veiled Cham, male, approx 6 or 7 months, had him for about a month.
  • Handling - I tried to handle him for a few minutes a day for the first couple days but now I don't handle him because I read that he needs his time to get adjusted and get to know me.
  • Feeding - He eats healthy (Dubia roaches, hornworms as a snack, super worms, black fly larvae, and crickets) and on a regular schedule with supplements. I feed him once a day and give him about 10 to 15 bugs, sometimes just one species but sometimes a couple so he has a choice. I gut load them with mango, carrots, sweet potato, and greens the night before. I used to keep the bowl in as long as there was food so he could eat when he wanted just in case he was starved and that's the reason he was small but this last week I only let the bowl stay in for about an hour and if he didn't eat all of the bugs then oh well, he will eat again the next morning. So at this age you want to cut back to 5 feeders every other day. But I would ease him into this and do 5 every day for say the next month then drop to 5 every other day. Then at approximately 9-10 month old you will reduce even more to 3 feeders every other day. Keeping your diversity in what your feeding.
  • Supplements - calcium w/o D3 6 days a week and Multi Vitamine with D3 once a week (will go to cal w/D3 and multi w/D3 every other week opposite each other once he is adult size. Reti brand. So you do not need to break apart you supplements if you have one that has the multivitamin and D3 together. You can leave him on that 2 times a month. Once a week for a combo is a little more then recommended. Just drop it back to 2 times a month say the 1st and the 15th.
  • Watering - I use a drip system for watering, I have seen him drink, I just bought the master but it goes off every three hours for 60 seconds. The mistking will be better. You will want to get the tubing clips and a wedge. I do not believe those come in the starters. But the clips are important because it will allow you to secure the hose to the cage so it does not rattle. Morning and evening misting of about 2-3 minutes is all you really need.
  • Fecal Description - movement is brown and solid. Along with it is the urea that is bright white. Haven't taken him to vet yet for baseline records.
  • History - bought him at a reptile show. Wild caught.

Cage Info:

  • Cage Type - screen 18 x 18 x 36. I have clear plastic shower curtain covering 3 sides. You will need to upgrand the enclosure size to a 2x2x4 OR attach another 18x18x36 to this enclosure so it is wider then tall. Cross latch branches from one to another with zip ties... You need some more horizontal areas.
  • Lighting - heat lamp, grow bulb, T8 UVB 10 linear bulb reti brand. All on timer that turns on at 7 am and off at 830 pm.
  • Temperature - 72 in bottom, middle 76 top 86, basking approx 90. Night time about 72. I use a laser surface gun. Little hot at basking... I would not have it over 83-85 max end.
  • Humidity - I use a digital hydrometer. Top is 25 to 30 percent. Bottom is 60 percent. These number are fine.
  • Plants - yes. I have 3 baby plants all verified as safe for chams. I also washed them and washed the original soil off and repoted with reptisoil.
  • Placement - Top sits about 5 ft in high traffic because its by my desk and I work from home.
  • Location - East Tennessee

Current Problem - keeping the humidity proper, mister is too loud and scares the crap out of Lando. Where is the proper location and should he react like that? I know he needs to be misted but since he already seems scared about everything I hate that this is one more thing to annoy him. I would really like for him to start liking me but the more I have to do to his enclosure the longer its going to take for him to bond with me. The mister you have rattles the heck out of everything. It is more the vibration that is startling him. Start working on hand feeding him or holding the feeder cup for him to come eat from you. This will help start to associate you to food.


Accurate info and Product links for things I like:


https://chameleonacademy.com/

https://www.chameleonbreeder.com/

https://www.youtube.com/c/NeptunetheChameleon?sub_confirmation=1

www.dragonstrand.com


https://tkchameleons.com/collections/accessories/products/shooting-gallery


This is great info. Thanks.

I misrepresented the temp for his basking sit. It's actually at 85 right now.

As for the food, should I only keep it in there for a certain amount of time or keep the bowl in there until he actually eats it all because he doesn't go right for the food and when he does he only eats like 2 or 3 bugs and then walks away to bask some, then comes back later to grab some more. I don't want to starve him but I also don't want to overfeed him. Even though the bowl is there he does roam from top to bottom of the enclosure randomly. Not sure if he's hunting or just taking a stroll.
 
Ok supers are also a treat . I will add gutload page. Cage size you know. Uvb a t5ho repti sun 5%or from reviews (everyone has their own opinions) arcadia 6%might be better quality. Basking temp might be a bit high imo 85 would be fine. Humidity 30% to 50% max day . Night can go way up 80 /100 . I can't achieve that in my rb so just try too have the direction flow to girls sleeping place with my habistat fogger.


Thanks for the info, it looks like I'm on the right path with gut loading. At least now know that I can add more.
 
This is great info. Thanks.

I misrepresented the temp for his basking sit. It's actually at 85 right now.

As for the food, should I only keep it in there for a certain amount of time or keep the bowl in there until he actually eats it all because he doesn't go right for the food and when he does he only eats like 2 or 3 bugs and then walks away to bask some, then comes back later to grab some more. I don't want to starve him but I also don't want to overfeed him. Even though the bowl is there he does roam from top to bottom of the enclosure randomly. Not sure if he's hunting or just taking a stroll.
Your welcome. You can leave it in there. But you do want to reduce your feeder amounts the way I described.
 
Sorry I can't advise on plants as I'm in the uk. But you could look in to your plant. My pothos was pretty small 5/6 weeks ago but is nearly across the back of the enclosure. I thought I would share my start with rb the two bottom to top branches are structural foundationView attachment 284350
That is a lot of sticks. I might need to add more or just get bigger plants to fill my empty spots and give him more verticle areas.
 
Your welcome. You can leave it in there. But you do want to reduce your feeder amounts the way I described.

Awesome, will do. He seems like a graser and doesn't like to eat all at once so it's tricky to know what to do about it. Thanks again.
 
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