Mistking schedule
- Thread starter Jp41
- Start date
ThePantherBaron
New Member
Each person will find his own unique misting schedule. The guide lines are this.
*Most Important* - that your cage bottom as well as plants/plastic leaves dry out between mistings. This is hugely dependent on if you have some sort of drainage system. Wether it's custom built, drainage pan, drip easy, or just plan pvc bottom with no drainage.
Your household humidity and how much you use heat and air conditioning will play a large role as well.
Do not focus so much on maintaining humidity. We found in our 8x10 adult breeder room (18 cages) that misting 3 times a day for 2.5 minutes each achieved our goals. We use drainage pans supplied by dragonstrand. We drill holes into the pvc bottom to allow proper drainage. This allows the chameleons to not only bathe for hygiene reasons but also to get some good water. Most importantly we get dry out times pretty quickly and are able to provide them with plenty of water. Too much can cause upper respiratory infections among other things.
So back to the point. Mist one hour after lights turn on and 3 to 4 hours before lights go off. Try 2 minute durations twice a day
And if your achieving proper cage dry out (cage is actually dry atleast an hour or two between mistings) try adding a 3rd misting.
*Most Important* - that your cage bottom as well as plants/plastic leaves dry out between mistings. This is hugely dependent on if you have some sort of drainage system. Wether it's custom built, drainage pan, drip easy, or just plan pvc bottom with no drainage.
Your household humidity and how much you use heat and air conditioning will play a large role as well.
Do not focus so much on maintaining humidity. We found in our 8x10 adult breeder room (18 cages) that misting 3 times a day for 2.5 minutes each achieved our goals. We use drainage pans supplied by dragonstrand. We drill holes into the pvc bottom to allow proper drainage. This allows the chameleons to not only bathe for hygiene reasons but also to get some good water. Most importantly we get dry out times pretty quickly and are able to provide them with plenty of water. Too much can cause upper respiratory infections among other things.
So back to the point. Mist one hour after lights turn on and 3 to 4 hours before lights go off. Try 2 minute durations twice a day
And if your achieving proper cage dry out (cage is actually dry atleast an hour or two between mistings) try adding a 3rd misting.
ChameLIonLover
Member
My cage bottom is never completely dry... I have a dragon strand 2x2x4' cage with the drainage tray (capacity is about 3 gallons i'd say). There's actually always standing water, but I wipe the bottom every few days so it's not an issue I don't think. My misting schedule:
Sunrise is 5 am but I have lights on at 7:30 am and lights off at 7:30 pm.
7:00 1 min to simulate dew when he wakes up at 730
8:00 4 min misting
11:30 6 min misting
2:30 5 min misting
5:00 4 min misting
I live in the midwest by the way. Right now my guy is in my bedroom where there is no natural sunlight, but I get him out for an hour or so every few days. I've been thinking about moving him into a larger room near the window where there is screen door so he can get more natural sunlight.
That's a ton of misting. Please keep in mind that constant standing water is a breeding pool for bacteria. If your feeder insects are swimming in it...you just want to make sure you don't get your Cham sick. Either from bacteria or a constantly wet cage that's going to cause respiratory infections as Justin mentioned. Good luck.
APailthorp
Member
I run multiple mist heads, so when system runs, everything gets wet pretty quick.
For one misting each day, I run longer not to get things more wet, but to give more time to stimulate the lizards brain to do some drinking. That's the idea anyhow, it is not like I've spent a lot of time watching them drink.
My veiled is currently in a Dragon Strand Larger Breeder (21.5"x16"x44.5") with four mist heads, three inside and one up top to create a rain spot, and my quad is in a Reptibreeze "Large" (18"x18"x36") with three mist heads inside, and two on top creating a larger rain spot.
The schedule is:
8:00 AM - 1 minute
11:00 AM - 5 minutes
2:00 PM - 1 minute
5:00 PM - 1 minute
I am not a long time cham keeper, I've had the veiled for about 5 months, and the quad for about 10 weeks. They are both growing and seem to be thriving.
For one misting each day, I run longer not to get things more wet, but to give more time to stimulate the lizards brain to do some drinking. That's the idea anyhow, it is not like I've spent a lot of time watching them drink.
My veiled is currently in a Dragon Strand Larger Breeder (21.5"x16"x44.5") with four mist heads, three inside and one up top to create a rain spot, and my quad is in a Reptibreeze "Large" (18"x18"x36") with three mist heads inside, and two on top creating a larger rain spot.
The schedule is:
8:00 AM - 1 minute
11:00 AM - 5 minutes
2:00 PM - 1 minute
5:00 PM - 1 minute
I am not a long time cham keeper, I've had the veiled for about 5 months, and the quad for about 10 weeks. They are both growing and seem to be thriving.
Last edited:
