Misting Questions

[swan092]

Does the water have to be a certain temperature? How often should my cham be misted, and does it depend on the species? I also read that you can put them in the shower... does this count as misting, and is this really recommended or is it just depending on your cham and if he/she likes it? Does misting interrupt feeding or kill feeders, and should I feed and mist at different times???

If there is anything I need to know about misting, please let me know. THANKS

 

[chrisw]

misting does two things - adds some humidity to your enclosure and provides water droplets for your cham to drink. you can mist with a misting system (like a mistking which a lot of people use) or you can mist with a simple spray bottle. The advantage of a misting system is that you can put it on a timer and be sure that your cham is getting water while you are at work or school or away for the weekend. however, they can be a bit pricey. a spray bottle will work or even a drip system which can be as simple as a big plastic cup with a small hole poked in the bottom that sits on top of your cage. no matter what method you use you will need to figure out where the dripping or sprayed or misted water is going to go. you don't want it to sit in the bottom of your cage so most people figure out how to drain it out into a pan or bucket - lots of ways to be creative here. if you are a first time cham owner - you may want start cheap. if you use a drip cup, make sure it drips onto plant leaves in your cage so that your cham can see the dripping (moving) water and drink it. chams won't (usually) drink standing water like in a water dish. some people try and use warmer water, which is easy if you are using a drip cup or a spray bottle. a misting system usually draws water out of a bucket. some people try to warm this water but most let it flow at room temp. Lots of opinions on how much water a cham needs. if you are starting out with a drip cup or spray bottle - give them a big helping in the morning and one later in the day. if you can also give them some in the afternoon, do it. give them enough so that they see the water dripping and drink it. As long as they are drinking, keep giving them more. if they don't look too interested - stop. just watch your cham and try and tell how much water he wants or needs. i have raised many chams using drio cups or spray bottles. works fine. many chams don't like being sprayed directly, some do. see what your cham likes. some direct mist isn't a bad idea because it helps them keep their eyes healthy. you'll see them roll their eyes around while the water is misting onto them. some owners say that their chams love showers - i have never had a cham really take to this but others have. if you have to be away for the day or for the weekend, your cham will survive without water. just give him extra when you get back. these are just some notes from my many years raising chams - others may disagree or have some other good ideas. see what works for you and your cham. good luck

 

[swan092]

Thank you for that info. I am new at this, infact I haven't even gotten my cham yet. I am just preparing myself beforehand since they are one of the harder herps to take care of.

 

[chrisw]

They really aren't that hard. Do some reading. You can do a search thru this forum or you can just Google "Chameleon Care Sheet" and you'll find a lot of information. I recall the site FLChams having a good, no-nonsense care sheet. At the very basic, get a screen cage, put at least a 60 watt bulb on top, fill the cage with at least one live plant, some vines or sticks and maybe even a fake leafy vine just to provide some cover areas where your cham can hide when he wants to. Look at pics of others enclosures on this forum for good ideas. Provide water either via a drip cup (read about these) or mist with a spray bottle. Finally, and probably the worst for rookies, is to provide some live prey. Crickets are the best way for you to go and maybe superworms or mealworms. Since you will need to feed your cham 3 -6 crickets per day you will go thru a lot of crickets. In the end, it is the cheapest to order in bulk and keep them in an aquarium if possible. Going to the local pet store every week or so will get old. But crickets stink unless you keep their aquarium very clean - so really you'll end up with two pets...your cham and your crickets. You should read about cricket care as well. All fun - not that hard.

 

[swan092]

Thats funny that you said that because I just started a thread about buying them in bulk and got some very good responses. Thanks so much. My boyfriend is way into building the cage so he has been researching that. I decided to put plexiglass on the backside (since I live in WA and it is colder here and not humid at all) and cover it with some reptile scenery from a petstore. And the the top the side and the front door will be mesh screen. there will be a plastic funneling system on the bottom topped with the smallest screening possible, and posibally some kind of non edible substrate. This will be a tray I can pull out and clean. The funnel system will drain the excess moisture into a bucket inside a cabinet which willl be the base so that the whole thing loooks like a nice piece of furniture. Im thinking of putting the hanging plant I forget what its called at the top and another potted plant + extra vines and ofcourse the lights. I even have researche possible making a misting system eventually. As for the feeders, I have had other reptiles like geckos and bearded dragons so I know that they are the biggest pain/ expense. I also read that al feeder need to be completely removed from the enclosure before he sleeps. so thats something new. Let me know if you have anymore suggestions. I just put a down payment on a nosy be blue from chameleonparadise. His dad is beautiful, so im very excited to start the whole process.

 

[carol5208]

You say "non edible" substrate, meaning what? Meaning something not in pieces like mulch, or bark chips that a chameleon could injest?

 

[chrisw]

sounds good. I have had two nosey be's myself over the years, and the males can be pretty awesome. i have one now. i will say that one of my nosey be's ended up with metabolic bone disease (mbd). Only cham i've ever owned that had that happen. so make sure to dust your crickets with calcium powder and with a multi-vite powder a couple of times a week for the first year - then cut back. ask your breeder for a recommendation. usually, the breeder will give you some specific recommendations. if not, search the forum. I think i dusted at least 3 to 4 times per week for the whole 6 -8 months. also make sure to use a fluorescent fixture with a reptisun 5.0 bulb. if he can't spend a lot of time in natural sunlight, he'll need the UV's from that bulb. don't buy these bulbs in a pet store!!! go online (LLLreptile is super cheap) all of these little things add into your costs!! i would not bother pulling out uneaten crickets. the theory there is that a hungry (very hungry!!) cricket would take bites out of your sleeping cham. I have never seen it happen - ever. maybe others have. if it is of any concern, especially when your cham is very small, leave a small piece of carrot in the bottom of the cage. trust me, the crickets will go for that long before they try and eat your cham.

 

[Monzon]

The misting, shower, drip, spraying, hydration confusion is intimidating for most newcomers. Experienced keepers seem to provide water for their chameleons in many different ways. Some chameleons love spray bottle waterings, some only drink from a drip, some only drink from dripping leaves. I have a shy girl who likes to sometimes drink from a glass medicine dropper and that's fun (she has mistings and drips to choose from also). For me, the exciting thing is to get to know my chameleons' unique behavior sets and preferences. Provide your animal with as many choices, zones, feeders... as you can and then let them teach you. This can't happen all at once or overnight. This is a pay attention, live-and-learn, ongoing, research and question kind of hobby. Your chameleon is lucky to have a keeper that has so many questions. Keep on asking and don't forget about the forums "search' feature.

 

[seanUTD]

Mine will ONLY drink from drops falling from leaves and he ATTACKS the droplets... So I have to use a rain mimicking system.. You have to find what your cham will drink from and run with it