Questions about Misting and Light Timing for Juv Veiled?

[m1ndless]

I am getting a cham in about 2 weeks, and I am setting up my cage and everything now so it's ready and perfect.. but I have a few more questions..

I have an odd scheduele than most, and I am not sure what would be the best way to make sure my cham gets his necessary watering/misting and lighting.

I typically don't wake up until 10:00am most days, sometimes later on weekends. My room is pitchblack when my curtains are shut, will it be okay to not flip his lights on (basking and UVB) until I wake up? Or do they need to come on when the sun comes up, regardless of if he knows it or not, or can I get around it sucessfully?

If I turn his lights on around 10:30 each morning, can I leave them on til 10:30pm that night? I don't get home from work til about 9:15, so that would give me some time to feed him and mist him before I turn the lights off.. but I wasn't sure if that would be too late at night to mist?

For water delivery when I am at work, I was considering adding a dripper that I would turn on right before I go to work at 1pm, and let it drip for a few hours, but I wouldnt be able to get the water out from the collector bowl at the bottom until I got home from work that night, is that alright?

Thanks Guys!

 

[Justin Carl]

i let my water collector go for a week sometimes. it just all depends if im lazy or not. mine will hold about 3 gallons tho.

 

[dectr6]

Others on here are probably better qualified to answer your questions. I do know that my veiled knows when it's dark outside and goes to sleep like clockwork about fifteen minutes later weather the timer has kicked the lights off or not. You need to keep him on a regular schedule though so he doesn't get stressed. Hope that helps. David

 

[wst0209a]

I have the lights turn on a little bit after the sun has come up, which is roughly around 7:45-8:00. I think most people here also follow what happens naturally. When the sun comes up, turn the lights on. When sun goes down turn the lights off. I turn my lights off around 7:15. I don't know if others have turned their lights on at 10:30 and have been successful with it but I wouldn't recommend it.

You never want to feed a chameleon right before he goes to sleep. You should feed him in the morning to allow him to digest what he ate and work it off. Get his metabolism going early in the day. If you feed at night it is most likely he will become overweight because he doesn't start working it off for another 12 hours. You can use the cup method to allow him to have food through the whole day. Throw enough crickets for the day in the cup and go.

Mist your chameleon in the morning. Have a dripper going all day. And if there is anyone home have them mist the enclosure. You should mist the cage down at least three times a day.

Have the lights on a timer so that the time the lights go on stays consistent everyday. You can empty the water cup at the end of the day

 

[m1ndless]

So as long as I empty the water collector container at the bottom daily, it will be okay? It needs to be shallow so my cham can drown in it, right? Should I put mesh over it so he and the feeders cant even get in too?

Will my cham know when it's sunrise or not if my room is pitchblack either way?

Is it possible to both the cup feeding method, and put a few in there to let him hunt, so he says active?

My roomate works overnights, so I will just have him mist my cham in the after noon then. Thanks.

 

[wst0209a]

The mesh would be a good idea. Anything you can do to make your enclosure safer is worth doing. Better safe then sorry. You can just lay a piece a screen over the cup and hold it on with a rubber band.

I'm not sure whether they can tell it is sunrise or not. I sometimes catch my chameleons awake before the lights go on but my room is not pitch black. It is definitly ok to let the crickets loose in the cage and roam free for him to hunt. The reason I suggested the cup method is because my cage is not escape proof so I have to use the cup method to keep my feeders in.

The more your friend can mist the better. Just allow the total cage to dry before misting again

 

[m1ndless]

Awesome, I plan on misting at 9am when I wake up, and again at 1pm before work, then I will have my friend mist him around 5-6pm, is that enough mistings per day if I have the dripper going for a few hours when I leave for work? ?

I will just have my lights come on at 7am when the sun comes up, and turn off around 7pm, thanks.

Will it be alright to turn the light on to check on him when I get home from at night, even after his lights have gone off, or is it best not to bug him after he goes to sleep?

 

[wst0209a]

Best not to bug him, you can turn on your room lights and check on him. I turn my room lights on and my chameleons never wake up. The more you mist the better. 3 times at the minimum. Mist in the morning, when it dries out mist again, and so on.

 

[m1ndless]

Alright, I will mist as much as I can before I leave for work. I think when i wake up I will throw in a few crickets so he can "hunt" and then before I leave for work, I will get the ones he didn't eat (if any) and put them in a cup along with his second serving so he can eat all day long while I am at work.

Where is a good spot to position the cup with the crix? Low or High? Near the basking spot or no?

Thanks Guys!

 

[wst0209a]

You can place it in the basking spot since he will spend a good bit of time there. Make sure the cup is not see through and it isn't to deep so he can't get to the food.

 

[m1ndless]

How big of cups do you guys use? Won't the crix get out of the cup?

 

[wst0209a]

People use many different cups to feed out of. I have a very large cage that I can use a larger cup. I use a milk jug. Here are some pictures. http://www.chameleonnews.com/year2003/jan2003/hints/hints.html
Brad Ramsey did a good job improving this to make it easier on the eyes. http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
You can also use dixie cups and many other small cups to fit in your cage.

The crickets never have jumped out of my feeder cup. I tested it one day, put a few in there and placed it in a big container in case any jumped out. None jumped out.

 

[m1ndless]

Awesome, thanks!

 

[dodolah]

Best not to bug him, you can turn on your room lights and check on him. I turn my room lights on and my chameleons never wake up. The more you mist the better. 3 times at the minimum. Mist in the morning, when it dries out mist again, and so on.

chameleons are diurnal and they are pretty sensitive to light.
My chameleon is completely opposite of his.
any hints of light turning on, he will immediately wake up thinking it's morning.
trust me you do not want to wake up a sleepy chameleon

best to leave him alone.

 

[m1ndless]

Alrighty, I will have the lights flip on around 7:30am and then have it shut off at 7:30pm and then just turn my room light on to check on him when I get home, will that be alright.

 

[wst0209a]

It all depends, you just have to test it out. If he wakes up when you turn your room lights on, then it is better to just leave him alone when you get home. If he doesn't wake up when you turn the lights on then it will be ok to check on him.

 

[m1ndless]

What about infrared lights? I saw some at the store today, it says it will not disturb them, can I use that to check him out?

My room is often a high traffic place, espically after I get home from work, I hope I can get him not to wake up until I do, it would work out better.

 

[nightcrawler]

if its high traffic you might not want to put him in there they get stressed out with massive amounts of movement. if there is always traffic then he will think that everything is going to east him because you and other things are so much larger then he is and he will be on his guard all the time and that will be stressful.

 

[dodolah]

What about infrared lights? I saw some at the store today, it says it will not disturb them, can I use that to check him out?

My room is often a high traffic place, espically after I get home from work, I hope I can get him not to wake up until I do, it would work out better.

not a good place to keep him there.
after 7.30 pm, all light should be off.
Infra red i think is fine.

chameleon doesn't have ears.. so the sound probably won't bother him..
it is the lights and vibrations that will bother his sleep.

 

[m1ndless]

if its high traffic you might not want to put him in there they get stressed out with massive amounts of movement. if there is always traffic then he will think that everything is going to east him because you and other things are so much larger then he is and he will be on his guard all the time and that will be stressful.

What about in my closet? I have a walk in closet, its rather large, or would that be too cramped for him?

I get home at 9pm, I need to at least change and stuff before I go to bed, I guess I can do it in my bathroom so I don't disturb him.

EDIT

Do I need to add a multivitamin, along with the calcium, when dusting my crix, or just the calcium? I was told you need to add multivitamin twice a week?