New Chameleon Owner Question

[althekoolkid]

Spoiler: Chameleon Information

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled -- Female --Not sure about age (3+ Months) -- had for about 1 Week -- as of 04/09/18
• Handling - Very occasionally (she doesn't like it and hisses)
• Feeding - Mostly crickets -- about 10 a day -- every morning -- powdered and loaded with orange based cricket food
• Supplements - Cant remember -- Reptarium recommended bundle (will Update Soon)
• Watering - Exo Terra Monsoon (dual) and a Zoo Med Dripper -- (automatic) Every 2 Hours for 30 seconds (I have a drip table and a mesh bottom to drain excess water) -- I occasionally see her drinking but not often and usually directly from the mister nozzle after a misting and not from the leafage
• Fecal Description - Consistent colors and has not been tested
• History - She constantly sits at the top of the cage and almost never climbs downward (only side to side)

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Zoo Med ReptiBreeze -- 24x24x48
• Lighting - Linear Florescent UVB, Dual channel Basking Bulb/Heat lamp and colorless/lightless night lamp -- Day lights from 7 to 7 and night lamp from 8 to 8
• Temperature - 70-80-90ish -- 65 at night
  Humidity - Don't have any humidity tracker -- Creating and maintaining humidity with an Exo Terra Monsoon and a drip table
• Plants - No Live Plants
• Placement - Located at the edge of the living room -- No fans, or vents withing 5 feet -- fairly low traffic area (two person household) -- The enclosure is about 3 feet off the ground setting on a drip table
• Location - Northern Texas

I am a new chameleon owner and I have a question about watering. . . I want to make sure that I am providing my Cham with the best care I can.

I use both a misting system (Monsoon) and a dripper (Big Dripper). The mister kicks in for 30 seconds every two hours (I run it this way because the bottom of my enclosure is mesh and drains into a drip table and into a bucket. . . It doesn't retain as much moisture) and I run the Big Dripper during the day as well.

Here's my issue. . . (I don't have any reason to believe that she is unhealthy in any way, I am just looking for recommendations) My chem Laura Croft (LC for short) very rarely leaves the top 10 inches of her 48 inch tall screened terrarium (she seams very lazy sometimes). I know chameleons drink from moving droplets and its very difficult for me to create standing droplets on the foliage at that height in her enclosure, there is plenty of water for her to drink at the upper middle portion of her enclosure but she rarely ever leaves the top, even to hunt crickets. From time to time she will drink a droplet of water off of the tip of the Monsoon nozzle heads because they are at the very top of her enclosure one center right and one center left. Can I trust that she will come down to drink if she needs to or should I try to rearrange her dripper in a manner that more suits here top dwelling lifestyle?

I'm considering zip-tying a small fake plat to the top of my enclosure and then running my dripper tube into the middle of it. . . What do you all think?

 

[nightanole]

I have a 7ft tall cage, 9 times out of 10 harry would be at eye level +-6". They just have a spot they will hang out at the most. If you want LC to explore more, you could try moving around the heat source, or placing a small 35 watt halogen flood a foot from the bottom of the cage( side ways and far enough she cant burn).

My main concern is the misting pattern. Each chameleon is unique. Some run and hide when the mister goes off, and run out afterwards and drink from the leaves. They would love your setup. Others will only drink "the rain", refuse to drink from leaves, and may take a few minutes in the rain before they start drinking.

You want the mister to go off 3-6 times a day, and completely dry out between mistings to prevent mold. So you might be better off setting the timer for 5-10min bursts every 3-4 hours.

The same problem with the big dripper and fake plants, if its wet 6 hours a day, that spot might get mold. Honestly i dont think you need a big dripper and a misting system. The dripper is mainly for the hand misting folks, to setup before they leave for work/school.

 

[althekoolkid]

she doesn't seem to mind the mister. Some times it goes off right next to her and she doesn't even flinch. I think the longest it will run is 2 minutes though, but when I get home from work the cage is generally dry. It runs more frequently but for a shorter period of time. I'll do some fiddling and get it as close to your recommendation as I can and see how it works out.