Regular chameleon related chores

[Xepera]

So what do you do every day, every other day, every week, every month or so, twice a year... to keep your chameleon healthy, happy and well fed, cage clean etc. I think your lists of chores would be very informative for new chameleon owners and those thinking about becoming one. Thanks for your help!

 

[laurie]

I know I will forget lots but here goes

DAILY CHORES
empty drainage trays,

fill mister bucket,

fill dripper holding tank,

moring hand mist all chams,

feed and water all feeders,

wipe out all cham cages, except brev's

hand feed the half of the room who gets fed that day, using which ever supplement I need that day (I do half each day)

check each cham for any issues as I feed,

check lights, plants, temp & humidity

put one cham out to free range in the morning, and another out in the afternoon

WEEKLY CHORES
deep clean 1/4 of all cages ( I have several chams)

replace plants as needed

every other week
weight and log each chams weight

This may not sound like much but it is very time consuming if you have several chameleons.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Daily
Mornings
-Feed silkworms
-Feed crickets (remove any uneaten food from previous evening)
-Fill water drippers (and later empty the collection pan)
-spray water stick insects
-Feed chameleons (I feed small amounts frequently, about six days a week, rather than large amount every other day, and try for different feeder bug each day, and supplement according to routine and feeder choice)
-check silkworm eggs for new hatches (if eggs are out to hatch, which they usually are)
-check temp / humidity guages to see what the highs and lows of the night before were, and of course check current temps
Afternoon/Evening
-clean cricket bucket of droppings and old food, then add new food for them
-spot clean any recent droppings in cham cages
-check temps in cham cages and feeder bins
-mist chameleons
-fill water drippers (and later empty collection bowl)
-feed three roach bins
-feed and water isopods (every other day)
-feed multiple containers of superworms and beetles veg or fruit (every other day)
-feed mealworms and beetles (every other day)
-feed silkworms again (multiple times daily)
-possible second feeding for chameleons unless this is a skip feeding day
-update food journal (of what chameleons ate)
Weekly
-feed stick insects and clean tank(s)
-light cleaning of roach bins
-add bran/oats to supers and mealworms
-check superworm pupae, transfer beetles to beetle bin
-move large keeper silkworms to place for them to cocoon (move any cocoons /emerging moths to moth bin)
-make silkworm chow (if leaves not in season)
-collect veg from garden (romaine, kale, dandelion, squash, apple - whatever is in season)
-check plants (remove dead leaves, water, rotate...)
-check shoe boxes containing cham eggs (if incubating)
-in winter, if needed, check room humidifier (fill)
-launder/clean towels used on bottoms of cages under drip collection bowls
-clean drippers and dripper collection bowls
-attend to fruit fly cultures
every other Month or so
-make fresh batch of dry gutloads (one for the roaches, a different one for crickets and others)
-fully clean cages
-fully clean roach bins
-check/replace sticky trap (ease paranoia about escaped roaches or crickets)
-weight chameleons
-move supers/mealworms into new containers (fraz builds up too much otherwise)
as needed
-replace laying bin sand
-clip vines, root new ones
-paint cages
-collect branches
-replace UVB tubes, heat lights

 

[pssh]

They just about covered it, but if you only have one or two chameleons, it's not nearly has hard as it sounds.

Daily:
-turn on lights at 5:30
-spray/mist at 6:00
-add water to drippers
-feed around 6:10 before I leave.
-come home and mist again
-feed again if I fed very little (I have young chameleons)
-refill dripper if needed
-empty collection pans
-clean the bottom of the cage or any poop off leaves
-feed new food to feeders and remove old food
-turn off lights around 6:00

weekly:
-clean plants
-really good wipe down if the cage floors
-clean dripper holding tanks
-weekly handling to check grasp, eyes, and for other indicators of poor health
-buy more crickets
-buy new veggies
-wipe down cricket bin
-pull out most of the old molted skin things from the roach cage
-spray sides of roach bin to keep up humidity

monthly:
-full on complete cage cleaning with bleach and everything.
-complete cleaning of cricket bin

I only have two chameleons, and it's not terribly time consuming. I think it's worth it, I really enjoy my babies