Overmisting

ChamLover04

Member
I need an advice on misting frequency and duration. Now I’m misting before school at about 7:15, right after school at 15:00 and at 18:00. The misting usually lasts for about 5 minutes, because I just like to see him drink water because I’m honestly still insecure as he is my first chameleon. The problem is I still haven’t gotten creative with making drainage holes and putting a plastic container underneath the cage and I might be overmisting because water accumulates fast. I just did a major clean up of the cage. The schefflera plant is pretty much done because it got watered too much, but the pothos is still holding up good. The cham’s poop seems normal, he looks hydrated and all, but just wondering if I should switch up my schedule and mist for let’s say 3-4 minutes at 7:00 and 18:00 and just put a dripper on at 15:00. Should that be enough? He’s a panther chameleon so I know he likes higher humidity than veileds. It’s about 35-40% before misting, goes to like 55-60% after misting and I turn on the fogger when his lights are off.
 
you may find this help full , this is the regime im trying to follow now .

Setting up the lighting and hydration schedule
daily environmental cycle for a chameleon

When we set up our daily schedule we are attempting to replicate the wild conditions that the chameleon has grown to expect. Let’s start at midnight.
At midnight the chameleon has been asleep for many hours. It is dark and, although the moon waxes and wanes, chameleons will seek out dark places to sleep. They see light of all colors just fine and any light can disturb their rest.
As the early morning progresses the humidity rises. Fog banks can start to form and the chameleon is breathing in moist air. This high humidity forms an important part in their natural hydration. To simulate this, we turn ultrasonic humidifiers on around 1:30AM. The fog from the humidifiers tends to bounce off of surfaces and roll out the cage so we run the misting system for a couple of minute to coat the cage in a layer of water. This helps the fogger be more effective and the fog tends to stick around. The fogger go from 1:30 to 6:00 in a 30 minutes on and 30 minutes off pattern. This is to protect against too much fog. This is wise when you have closed in three or more sides of your cage to retain humidity. If you have a completely screen cage then you may leave it on the entire time. This all is done so the chameleon can breathe in the humidity. Just before the lights come on the misters are run for another couple of minute to make sure that when the chameleon wakes up it wakes up to surfaces covered in “dew”. This is a natural source of water for them even in their dry season. Once the dew is laid down the lights can come on.
Around 7AM the daylights come on. This can include the UVB light if they are the same fixture. If they are separate fixtures then save turning the UVB light on to correspond to when the basking bulb is switched on. I like to leave the daylight bulbs on for 15 or 30 minutes to give the chameleon a chance to leisurely lick whatever dew they want. I then turn the basking bulb on so they can warm themselves up.
As the ambient temperatures start to warm there is no longer the need for a basking lamp and it is shut off. The chart shows it going off at 10:00AM. The actual time that the basking lamp is on will depend on your chameleon’s needs. Watch the behavior. If they routinely get the warmth they need in 30 minutes and then climb away with content colors to hunt then reduce your basking time to that time plus 15 minutes that they make use of the warmth.
Sometime during the day (I start at 3PM) start your dripper. This is a backup hydration strategy just to make sure they have enough water. While it is true they do not have drippers every day in the wild during the dry season, they also are not needing to reconstitute dry calcium powder on all their feeders. The advantage of running a dripper is that it is completely optional for them and, as a bonus, it also allows you the opportunity to ensure your plants get watered. Place it above a different plant each day and through out the week, all plants will get watered. It is not critical when you start the dripper. In this schedule I have it in the late afternoon so that the chameleon can rehydrate before the evening rest. I suggest starting the dripper an hour or so after feeding them so they can replenish what they need. In the wild, their food is a major source of hydration. We mess that up a bit with our powders and a dripper is a way we make up for that. Ideally, the chameleon will have gotten enough hydration from the moist night air, morning dew, and food items. I consider it a success when the chameleon ignores the dripper and an early warning sign when he drinks from the dripper.
Once the chameleon settles in and goes to sleep I like to have a couple minutes misting just to set up the night humidity.
You’ll notice there are no daytime mistings. Although this is common in chameleon husbandry, and I did it myself, I have transitioned my mistings to the sleep hours. Chameleons have been consistent in their communicating that they do not like being sprayed. I have given up deciding I know what is best for them and started to listen to them. The night fog, morning dew and the afternoon dripper provide the necessary hydration in a natural way. With those provided there just isn’t a need to force them into a shower in the middle of the day.
 
you may find this help full , this is the regime im trying to follow now .

Setting up the lighting and hydration schedule
daily environmental cycle for a chameleon

When we set up our daily schedule we are attempting to replicate the wild conditions that the chameleon has grown to expect. Let’s start at midnight.
At midnight the chameleon has been asleep for many hours. It is dark and, although the moon waxes and wanes, chameleons will seek out dark places to sleep. They see light of all colors just fine and any light can disturb their rest.
As the early morning progresses the humidity rises. Fog banks can start to form and the chameleon is breathing in moist air. This high humidity forms an important part in their natural hydration. To simulate this, we turn ultrasonic humidifiers on around 1:30AM. The fog from the humidifiers tends to bounce off of surfaces and roll out the cage so we run the misting system for a couple of minute to coat the cage in a layer of water. This helps the fogger be more effective and the fog tends to stick around. The fogger go from 1:30 to 6:00 in a 30 minutes on and 30 minutes off pattern. This is to protect against too much fog. This is wise when you have closed in three or more sides of your cage to retain humidity. If you have a completely screen cage then you may leave it on the entire time. This all is done so the chameleon can breathe in the humidity. Just before the lights come on the misters are run for another couple of minute to make sure that when the chameleon wakes up it wakes up to surfaces covered in “dew”. This is a natural source of water for them even in their dry season. Once the dew is laid down the lights can come on.
Around 7AM the daylights come on. This can include the UVB light if they are the same fixture. If they are separate fixtures then save turning the UVB light on to correspond to when the basking bulb is switched on. I like to leave the daylight bulbs on for 15 or 30 minutes to give the chameleon a chance to leisurely lick whatever dew they want. I then turn the basking bulb on so they can warm themselves up.
As the ambient temperatures start to warm there is no longer the need for a basking lamp and it is shut off. The chart shows it going off at 10:00AM. The actual time that the basking lamp is on will depend on your chameleon’s needs. Watch the behavior. If they routinely get the warmth they need in 30 minutes and then climb away with content colors to hunt then reduce your basking time to that time plus 15 minutes that they make use of the warmth.
Sometime during the day (I start at 3PM) start your dripper. This is a backup hydration strategy just to make sure they have enough water. While it is true they do not have drippers every day in the wild during the dry season, they also are not needing to reconstitute dry calcium powder on all their feeders. The advantage of running a dripper is that it is completely optional for them and, as a bonus, it also allows you the opportunity to ensure your plants get watered. Place it above a different plant each day and through out the week, all plants will get watered. It is not critical when you start the dripper. In this schedule I have it in the late afternoon so that the chameleon can rehydrate before the evening rest. I suggest starting the dripper an hour or so after feeding them so they can replenish what they need. In the wild, their food is a major source of hydration. We mess that up a bit with our powders and a dripper is a way we make up for that. Ideally, the chameleon will have gotten enough hydration from the moist night air, morning dew, and food items. I consider it a success when the chameleon ignores the dripper and an early warning sign when he drinks from the dripper.
Once the chameleon settles in and goes to sleep I like to have a couple minutes misting just to set up the night humidity.
You’ll notice there are no daytime mistings. Although this is common in chameleon husbandry, and I did it myself, I have transitioned my mistings to the sleep hours. Chameleons have been consistent in their communicating that they do not like being sprayed. I have given up deciding I know what is best for them and started to listen to them. The night fog, morning dew and the afternoon dripper provide the necessary hydration in a natural way. With those provided there just isn’t a need to force them into a shower in the middle of the day.
Wow, that’s a great guide, thanks a lot for the throughout explanation! :)
p.s. Should I run the fogger at low, medium or high?
 
you may find this help full , this is the regime im trying to follow now .

Setting up the lighting and hydration schedule
daily environmental cycle for a chameleon

When we set up our daily schedule we are attempting to replicate the wild conditions that the chameleon has grown to expect. (1) Let’s start at midnight.
At midnight the chameleon has been asleep for many hours. It is dark and, although the moon waxes and wanes, chameleons will seek out dark places to sleep. They see light of all colors just fine and any light can disturb their rest. (2)

As the early morning progresses the humidity rises. (3)
Fog banks can start to form and the chameleon is breathing in moist air. This high humidity forms an important part in their natural hydration. To simulate this, we turn ultrasonic humidifiers on around 1:30AM. The fog from the humidifiers tends to bounce off of surfaces and roll out the cage so we run the misting system for a couple of minute to coat the cage in a layer of water. This helps the fogger be more effective and the fog tends to stick around. The fogger go from 1:30 to 6:00 in a 30 minutes on and 30 minutes off pattern. This is to protect against too much fog. This is wise when you have closed in three or more sides of your cage to retain humidity. If you have a completely screen cage then you may leave it on the entire time. This all is done so the chameleon can breathe in the humidity. Just before the lights come on the misters are run for another couple of minute to make sure that when the chameleon wakes up it wakes up to surfaces covered in “dew”. This is a natural source of water for them even in their dry season. (4) Once the dew is laid down the lights can come on.

Around 7AM the daylights come on. This can include the UVB light if they are the same fixture. If they are separate fixtures then save turning the UVB light on to correspond to when the basking bulb is switched on. I like to leave the daylight bulbs on for 15 or 30 minutes to give the chameleon a chance to leisurely lick whatever dew they want. I then turn the basking bulb on so they can warm themselves up.

As the ambient temperatures start to warm there is no longer the need for a basking lamp and it is shut off. The chart shows it going off at 10:00AM. (5) The actual time that the basking lamp is on will depend on your chameleon’s needs. Watch the behavior. If they routinely get the warmth they need in 30 minutes and then climb away with content colors to hunt then reduce your basking time to that time plus 15 minutes that they make use of the warmth.

Sometime during the day (I start at 3PM) start your dripper. This is a backup hydration strategy just to make sure they have enough water. While it is true they do not have drippers every day in the wild during the dry season, (6) they also are not needing to reconstitute dry calcium powder on all their feeders. The advantage of running a dripper is that it is completely optional for them and, as a bonus, it also allows you the opportunity to ensure your plants get watered. Place it above a different plant each day and through out the week, all plants will get watered. It is not critical when you start the dripper. In this schedule I have it in the late afternoon so that the chameleon can rehydrate before the evening rest. I suggest starting the dripper an hour or so after feeding them so they can replenish what they need. In the wild, their food is a major source of hydration. We mess that up a bit with our powders and a dripper is a way we make up for that. Ideally, the chameleon will have gotten enough hydration from the moist night air, morning dew, and food items. I consider it a success when the chameleon ignores the dripper and an early warning sign when he drinks from the dripper.

Once the chameleon settles in and goes to sleep I like to have a couple minutes misting just to set up the night humidity.
You’ll notice there are no daytime mistings. Although this is common in chameleon husbandry, and I did it myself, I have transitioned my mistings to the sleep hours. Chameleons have been consistent in their communicating that they do not like being sprayed. I have given up deciding I know what is best for them and started to listen to them. The night fog, morning dew and the afternoon dripper provide the necessary hydration in a natural way. With those provided there just isn’t a need to force them into a shower in the middle of the day.



I had to break this up, because it was hard to read lol. Questions, corrections in Bold.

1. While I do agree, that natural keeping is better, this is not natural conditions they have come to expect. Our Chameleons (unless yours in WC) have never lived in the wild, they expect the conditions they were raised under, the conditions that their breeder provided.

2. This is 2 different statements, one of which is correct, the other has not actually been proven as reality, but its easier to go with that, and out of scope of the thread.

3. Who told you this? The Humidity doesn't rise at midnight, the humidity is high all day, and gets higher at nightfall. Ideally you should begin raising humidity at nightfall, which I think you covered with your misters, but gradually raise till 100% at midnight is fine, maybe start at 50% (daytime humidity) and raise it, so spray at lights out, then fog 45 mins later for 15, then gradually increase the fogging till midnight with your 30/30 cycle would be fine.

4. I am not sure about Yemens. Panther Chameleons in Madagascar, many do not survive the Dry Season, they are Annuals in the wild. We should as you said provide a Dew, and they do utilize that in the Wet Season 100%, just pointing out the Dry season statement. Should the dry season really be imitated? As that is what this seems.

5. Wait your Ambient Temperature rises? Do you think that the temp in Madagascar reaches its peak heat at 10am, then it magically drops to 70 for the rest of the day? On the contrary, the Heat hasn't even begun till after 10am, the hottest part of the day is in the afternoon. So you suggest we expose our chams to what they would be in nature, and give them a hot morning and cool day? When that is the complete opposite of anything resembling nature at all?

6. Again we want to stay far and away from thinking about or recreating the "Dry Season" as again, dont most not survive that season.

7. This is the wrong logic to follow. Few issues here,

1. Chameleons need to "Bathe" as it were, they need to wash their eyes, they need to be able to soak their skin. Removing all ability's to "Shower" is not correct.

2. What is the point of removing the Afternoon or any time of Mists? Are we trying to recreate the Dry Season Again? The Wet Season consists of 20-27 days of 2+ inches of rainfall
throughout the day, it rains, basically every day. In small amounts, very often. I am well aware of the "High Heat + Misting = RI" Well again, we have the hottest days being in the wet season,
its not only raining, and extremely humid, but those are the days that are hottest. This could happen to some folks, and is likely more so a ventilation issue then a high heat + humidity. Which then again as you have stated, its been common place for us as keepers to keep basking lights on during misting and everyone didn't have constant RIs.

3. Do Chameleons really not like rain? Or misters for that matter? Or is what they dont like is out of the Blue being sprayed by water. In my experience, a chameleon will be shocked, and run from the misters turning on. Then to slowly return to the water stream, to "Bathe" on their own leisure. Thats because the Misting, or the Rain is not the problem, the startling is.

Chameleons cannot look at your clock, and say "Hey its going to rain soon", in nature they DO KNOW its going to rain, just as we do. What happens to us when it rains, is it a bright sunny day then all of a sudden we get sprayed by water? How would that make you feel? The misting during the day does not need to be removed, the Ques of its coming is what needs to change. This doesn't stop there either.

In the morning, when you are just waking, or woken and someone flips on a super bright light in your face, how does that make you feel? My wife does it all the time to me, and it drives me up the wall. Does the sun just naturally pop up full 100000 lux in your face, no. So why do we do that to chams?

The correct approach to the afternoon mist, is to turn off the basking light, ahead of time. Have your grow lights on automated dimmers, that have ramp timers, and to ramp the light down. If you cant do that, and must flip the light on, thats fine, everything goes off, except the UVB light, 30 mins before the mist. 30 mins after the mist, the lights come back on. Now the chameleon has that natural Que, he knows, "Ugh oh, the sky just darkened, I am about to get sprayed with water, let me hide, or let me sit over here next to the mister".

My lights currently switch off, in that fashion (will be ramping in the next week or 2, once I get the controller finished) Guess what, he doesn't freak out when the misters go off, when the lights shut off, he begins to move under a leaf, or he moves towards a mister. He has learned what it means when his lights dim in the middle of the day, just as a Wild Chameleon already knows.


Ahh I see that is a copy pasta, well then Coastal, this to them not you, still applicable in the thread however, so I will leave it as is.
 
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I had to break this up, because it was hard to read lol. Questions, corrections in Bold.

1. While I do agree, that natural keeping is better, this is not natural conditions they have come to expect. Our Chameleons (unless yours in WC) have never lived in the wild, they expect the conditions they were raised under, the conditions that their breeder provided.

2. This is 2 different statements, one of which is correct, the other has not actually been proven as reality, but its easier to go with that, and out of scope of the thread.

3. Who told you this? The Humidity doesn't rise at midnight, the humidity is high all day, and gets higher at nightfall. Ideally you should begin raising humidity at nightfall, which I think you covered with your misters, but gradually raise till 100% at midnight is fine, maybe start at 50% (daytime humidity) and raise it, so spray at lights out, then fog 45 mins later for 15, then gradually increase the fogging till midnight with your 30/30 cycle would be fine.

4. There is very little to NO dew, nor humidity, nor water, in the areas of our commonly kept locales of Panther Chameleons. I am not sure about Yemens. Panther Chameleons in Madagascar, many do not survive the Dry Season, they are Annuals in the wild. We should as you said provide a Dew, and they do utilize that in the Wet Season 100%, just pointing out the Dry season statement.

5. Wait your Ambient Temperature rises? Do you think that the temp in Madagascar reaches its peak heat at 10am, then it magically drops to 70 for the rest of the day? On the contrary, the Heat hasn't even begun till after 10am, the hottest part of the day is in the afternoon. So you suggest we expose our chams to what they would be in nature, and give them a hot morning and cool day? When that is the complete opposite of anything resembling nature at all?

6. Again we want to stay far and away from thinking about or recreating the "Dry Season" as again, most do not survive that season.

7. This is the wrong logic to follow. Few issues here,

1. Chameleons need to "Bathe" as it were, they need to wash their eyes, they need to be able to soak their skin. Removing all ability's to "Shower" is not correct.

2. What is the point of removing the Afternoon or any time of Mists? Are we trying to recreate the Dry Season Again? The Wet Season consists of 20-27 days of 2+ inches of rainfall
throughout the day, it rains, basically every day. In small amounts, very often. I am well aware of the "High Heat + Misting = RI" Well again, we have the hottest days being in the wet season,
its not only raining, and extremely humid, but those are the days that are hottest. This could happen to some folks, and is likely more so a ventilation issue then a high heat + humidity. Which then again as you have stated, its been common place for us as keepers to keep basking lights on during misting and everyone didn't have constant RIs.

3. Do Chameleons really not like rain? Or misters for that matter? Or is what they dont like is out of the Blue being sprayed by water. In my experience, a chameleon will be shocked, and run from the misters turning on. Then to slowly return to the water stream, to "Bathe" on their own leisure. Thats because the Misting, or the Rain is not the problem, the startling is.

Chameleons cannot look at your clock, and say "Hey its going to rain soon", in nature they DO KNOW its going to rain, just as we do. What happens to us when it rains, is it a bright sunny day then all of a sudden we get sprayed by water? How would that make you feel? The misting during the day does not need to be removed, the Ques of its coming is what needs to change. This doesn't stop there either.

In the morning, when you are just waking, or woken and someone flips on a super bright light in your face, how does that make you feel? My wife does it all the time to me, and it drives me up the wall. Does the sun just naturally pop up full 100000 lux in your face, no. So why do we do that to chams?

The correct approach to the afternoon mist, is to turn off the basking light, ahead of time. Have your grow lights on automated dimmers, that have ramp timers, and to ramp the light down. If you cant do that, and must flip the light on, thats fine, everything goes off, except the UVB light, 30 mins before the mist. 30 mins after the mist, the lights come back on. Now the chameleon has that natural Que, he knows, "Ugh oh, the sky just darkened, I am about to get sprayed with water, let me hide, or let me sit over here next to the mister".

My lights currently switch off, in that fashion (will be ramping in the next week or 2, once I get the controller finished) Guess what, he doesn't freak out when the misters go off, when the lights shut off, he begins to move under a leaf, or he moves towards a mister. He has learned what it means when his lights dim in the middle of the day, just as a Wild Chameleon already knows.


Ahh I see that is a copy pasta, well then Coastal, this to them not you, still applicable in the thread however, so I will leave it as is.
The guide seemed interesting, but you’re right about the reality being they aren’t used to the wild, but to the conditions they are kept in captivity. Imitating their natural habitat conditions should be the goal, but also creating healthy enclosure habits. I get what you’re saying and I agree with it. Thanks for the eye opener and taking your time to correct/answer!
 
I had to break this up, because it was hard to read lol. Questions, corrections in Bold.

1. While I do agree, that natural keeping is better, this is not natural conditions they have come to expect. Our Chameleons (unless yours in WC) have never lived in the wild, they expect the conditions they were raised under, the conditions that their breeder provided.

2. This is 2 different statements, one of which is correct, the other has not actually been proven as reality, but its easier to go with that, and out of scope of the thread.

3. Who told you this? The Humidity doesn't rise at midnight, the humidity is high all day, and gets higher at nightfall. Ideally you should begin raising humidity at nightfall, which I think you covered with your misters, but gradually raise till 100% at midnight is fine, maybe start at 50% (daytime humidity) and raise it, so spray at lights out, then fog 45 mins later for 15, then gradually increase the fogging till midnight with your 30/30 cycle would be fine.

4. I am not sure about Yemens. Panther Chameleons in Madagascar, many do not survive the Dry Season, they are Annuals in the wild. We should as you said provide a Dew, and they do utilize that in the Wet Season 100%, just pointing out the Dry season statement. Should the dry season really be imitated? As that is what this seems.

5. Wait your Ambient Temperature rises? Do you think that the temp in Madagascar reaches its peak heat at 10am, then it magically drops to 70 for the rest of the day? On the contrary, the Heat hasn't even begun till after 10am, the hottest part of the day is in the afternoon. So you suggest we expose our chams to what they would be in nature, and give them a hot morning and cool day? When that is the complete opposite of anything resembling nature at all?

6. Again we want to stay far and away from thinking about or recreating the "Dry Season" as again, dont most not survive that season.

7. This is the wrong logic to follow. Few issues here,

1. Chameleons need to "Bathe" as it were, they need to wash their eyes, they need to be able to soak their skin. Removing all ability's to "Shower" is not correct.

2. What is the point of removing the Afternoon or any time of Mists? Are we trying to recreate the Dry Season Again? The Wet Season consists of 20-27 days of 2+ inches of rainfall
throughout the day, it rains, basically every day. In small amounts, very often. I am well aware of the "High Heat + Misting = RI" Well again, we have the hottest days being in the wet season,
its not only raining, and extremely humid, but those are the days that are hottest. This could happen to some folks, and is likely more so a ventilation issue then a high heat + humidity. Which then again as you have stated, its been common place for us as keepers to keep basking lights on during misting and everyone didn't have constant RIs.

3. Do Chameleons really not like rain? Or misters for that matter? Or is what they dont like is out of the Blue being sprayed by water. In my experience, a chameleon will be shocked, and run from the misters turning on. Then to slowly return to the water stream, to "Bathe" on their own leisure. Thats because the Misting, or the Rain is not the problem, the startling is.

Chameleons cannot look at your clock, and say "Hey its going to rain soon", in nature they DO KNOW its going to rain, just as we do. What happens to us when it rains, is it a bright sunny day then all of a sudden we get sprayed by water? How would that make you feel? The misting during the day does not need to be removed, the Ques of its coming is what needs to change. This doesn't stop there either.

In the morning, when you are just waking, or woken and someone flips on a super bright light in your face, how does that make you feel? My wife does it all the time to me, and it drives me up the wall. Does the sun just naturally pop up full 100000 lux in your face, no. So why do we do that to chams?

The correct approach to the afternoon mist, is to turn off the basking light, ahead of time. Have your grow lights on automated dimmers, that have ramp timers, and to ramp the light down. If you cant do that, and must flip the light on, thats fine, everything goes off, except the UVB light, 30 mins before the mist. 30 mins after the mist, the lights come back on. Now the chameleon has that natural Que, he knows, "Ugh oh, the sky just darkened, I am about to get sprayed with water, let me hide, or let me sit over here next to the mister".

My lights currently switch off, in that fashion (will be ramping in the next week or 2, once I get the controller finished) Guess what, he doesn't freak out when the misters go off, when the lights shut off, he begins to move under a leaf, or he moves towards a mister. He has learned what it means when his lights dim in the middle of the day, just as a Wild Chameleon already knows.


Ahh I see that is a copy pasta, well then Coastal, this to them not you, still applicable in the thread however, so I will leave it as is.

This was a segment copied over from Bill Strand's new website, the Chameleon Academy. :)

Edit: oops, nevermind - saw you started a new thread on the subject. (y)
 
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