Outdoor Carpet Chameleon Enclosures

S

SSReptile

New Member
I'm new to the the forums and I think I'm ready to enter the world of chameleon husbandry. I have a lot of experience with other herps, but I am new to chams.

I want to work with Furcifer lateralis lateralis and house them outside, but I live in Southern California. I'm worried it can get to hot and dry. Has anyone been able to successfully house F. lateralis lateralis outside in a similar climate, and if so what worked for you?
 
Carpets like it cool. They only need a basking spot of about ~82 degrees, it is typically easier to keep them inside an air conditioned house. I keep them inside for all of summer (other than some occasional sun exposure) and when it begins to cool down, I take them outside for longer periods. Here is a link to my blog entry on how I keep my carpet chameleon, hopefully it will give you some ideas https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/cushcameleon/150-raising-carpet-rudis-chameleons.html.
 
Fearaffect said:
I currently house my pair outside.....alot of daily mistings and shade when the temps do get hotter.
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I'm glad to hear it can be done. When the temps do get hotter, do you move the entire enclosure to a shaded area or do you provide extra shade inside the enclosure?

cushcameleon said:
Here is a link to my blog entry on how I keep my carpet chameleon.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link. I'm sure it will come in handy.
 
SSReptile said:
I'm glad to hear it can be done. When the temps do get hotter, do you move the entire enclosure to a shaded area or do you provide extra shade inside the enclosure?
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They will need to be able to absorb rays from the sun. So it would probably be best to leave the cage in the sun, but provide more shade inside the enclosure. How hot does it get where you live?
 
SSReptile said:
Today was pretty average for a summer day and it was around 83 degrees in the shade under my basil plants. You can imagine how hot it was in the sun.
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You could keep them in the shade during the hottest part of the day (mid afternoon) and then put them in the sun during the cooler parts of the day (morning and late afternoon). There are different ways you can do it. I don't think you will know for certain which way suits you best until you actually have a cage and thermometer to check the temperatures. If all else fails, you can always use your house.
 
I have a portable "patio" cover that I have near them. Also, when it does get hot, the misters are going and they are always basking in the sun, no matter how hot it gets. The misters lower the temps by almost 20deg. My fischers are right next to them also and they spend most of the time basking also. I'll have to take pics today for u guys to see.
 
SSReptile said:
That's a great setup Fearaffect. Thanks for all the advice it really helps.
Click to expand...

Thanks!

Yea, I got the misting system off Amazon...patio misting type that hooks to the garden hose, and have a timer hooked to the faucet with a 2 way coupler so I can use another hose normally for the yard.

everything cost like 50 bucks
 
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