out side time

chameleonNcomics

New Member
hey i just started putting my cham out side today for some real sun. any hints on how often this would be good for them as they are not to happy about being garbed more then there used to also is wind ok its a little windy out but not crazy blowing all around(i live in FL). i have no clue what the deal is with this dose it need to be a calm still day? how often do others put theres out side for some real sun? any hints.
thanks.
 
come on guys i feel like this is a super easy one here. i just need to know things like whats the lest amount of time they can be in the sun and have benefited from it and about if there can be any wind or if it should be still (hes not used to being left out side for long periods of time) hes out there as we speak lol
 
Windy conditions are alright for him. Make sure he isn't flopping off branches from it though and it isn't too cool from the wind.

You may need to change supliment schedule depending on how much sun he's getting, I haven't had many chances to put Jack out in the sun lately so I haven't done my homework in this department yet
 
i let crickets free range in the cage inside from like 3 to bed time. he wont eat out of any thing has to be free range so i don't think eating time will be a prob. thanks though hope some other people start to chime in as well.
 
going to try to get some more help on this. i would still really like to know good minimal times on the amount of sun that would be good for your cham? like 1hr? 2hrs? whats a good amount of time in the sun where they would benefit from having been out there? i only put him out there so he can get some real sun some times other then that he has all he needs inside. Thanks plz help i feel like this is an easy ? for most ppl on here.
 
So, first question is, "Does your cham have shade to escape direct sun if he needs to?" If the answer is yes, then the easy answer would be as long as you want. I don't have exact time spans, but natural UVB spectrum light is great! This would be just like having a UVB bulb going in his enclosure all day, but only better! As for the feeding schedule, with the shorter days this time of year, I would try to feed him earlier so he has time to digest properly before bedtime. My boy is sleeping at 5:30 or so, so that would only give him 2 hours to eat and digest. Hope this helps!
 
I saw one study that 20 minutes in direct sunlight creates enough vitamin D3 in the skin to be detected in a blood test 2 weeks later, without any additional UVB exposure. So I think if you can do at least 20-30 as often as you can a week, your chameleon would love it. But more is better when it comes to outside time, as long as they have access to shade.

I will keep mine outside for days or weeks at a time, depending on the weather. The only negative aspect is the temperature, whether it gets too cold or too hot. But as long as you provide shade and lots of misting your chameleon could handle our 80/90F days without problem.

A little wind is not a problem, they have a good grip for a reason. If he is not in a cage just keep an eye out for hawks and other birds that might want to swoop in an grab a free lunch. Just don't leave him unattended and he will be fine. If he is in a cage just make sure it can't be knocked over by wind or anything, so he doesn't make a break for it if it does fall over.

If you are doing a lot of sunshine exposure a week you can cut out the D3 supplement twice monthly if you want, but you don't necessarily have to. Perhaps you can just use it once monthly if you want to. I have almost completely cut it out of my supplement schedule, they get it very rarely.
 
i use repashy calcium plus all in one so i wouldn't worry about that part thanks for the info it was what i was looking for. on a side note the last few days i have noted that my cham seems to be taking like little cat naps more in the last few hrs or so of his 12hr day (he gets 12 on 12 off) give or take an hr or so.i dont think he means to go to bed just nap maybe? what would cause this to happen? most the time hes siting up when i see this or standing never in the way he sleeps when i turn the light off. i cant think of why. is this maybe ok? his grip is strong his fecal looks good colors good eyes are clear i monitor his wight and its good at 58.8 grams (although im not sure what an adult flap neck should be) i dont see alot of saliva in his mout he just hunted a cricket down as i was typing this....im guessing and hopping this is ok as flapnecks are a never ending thing to deal with
 
He's probably wanting to go to bed earlier, now that the days are shorter. This is why most of us change our light schedule to match the earlier night times. We have our timers set to go off at about 6ish, depending on how soon it gets dark in your area.
 
I put mine outside on the weekends. Cage and all, go out on the lawn each on a stand. We have trees so they are never only in direct sunlight, there's always a shady spot for them to find. They both love it, my Graceful immediately turns dark green and flattens out. My Panther takes a bit longer to get comfy. Hopefully soon my husband is going to build an outside enclosure for them, so I just have to worry about moving the chams themselves in the future :)
 
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