Sorry, but a few more questions??

[Lynn57]

As the time is getting closer for me to be getting my veiled baby ... I'm somehow worried that I'll screw up...what if this happens or that happens....these are a few things I need the answer to so I can quit worry so much.

- I live up north and it can get pretty cold here in the winter months (that's like about 7- 8 months) What happens if I lose power for a day? How do others handle this?

- During the summer months there are sometimes weeks where the temps are in the high 20's (90F) I'm worried as to how I can keep the night temps low enough in order to have the humidity in the 80-100% range that he needs? I know that higher heat and humidity are a recipe for health issues (I don't have a A/C unit)

- Can anyone tell me "approximately" how many crickets/mealworms etc a mature veiled cham eats per feeding and or per week?? I've read so many different opinions on this..
.
Thank you so much!!!

 

[ehdee6]

What happens if I lose power for a day? How do others handle this?

If you lose it for a day or two, they'll likely just sleep it out. If it goes for longer than a few days there's a few options:

1 Get a generator for backup power. (Expensive)

2 Get a spare charged car battery, or two, and get an inverter to run power from them.

3 Do you have a friend, or family member, in another area with power to go to? Maybe you can have a small backup cage to bring them over to stay.

4 If you're worried about heat, you can get some reptile heat packs and make a box to put the Cham in to keep them warm until the power comes back. (In this case it was summer, so she used an ice pack.) Always make sure the heat pack isn't too hot, and wrap it in a towel, if it is.


- Just as a side note, you should always have a box ready to put your cham in for transportation in case of emergency.

- You should also have a hand mister to use for backup, if you use an automatic mister system.

In the summer during heat waves you can put ice cubes on the top to drop the temperature and keep humidity up. It's ok to mist less, but make sure you have a dripper running for a while in the day, and offer hornworms. It's also ok to not run a heat lamp once the ambient room temperature is above 25c. But keep the UVB light going, it will provide enough heat.

For the feeding it's highly dependent on it it's male, or female. Were you able to pick the gender? Also if it is female, you have to consider a lay bin for your cage.

 

[Lynn57]

If you lose it for a day or two, they'll likely just sleep it out. If it goes for longer than a few days there's a few options:

1 Get a generator for backup power. (Expensive)

2 Get a spare charged car battery, or two, and get an inverter to run power from them.

3 Do you have a friend, or family member, in another area with power to go to? Maybe you can have a small backup cage to bring them over to stay.

4 If you're worried about heat, you can get some reptile heat packs and make a box to put the Cham in to keep them warm until the power comes back. (In this case it was summer, so she used an ice pack.) Always make sure the heat pack isn't too hot, and wrap it in a towel, if it is.


- Just as a side note, you should always have a box ready to put your cham in for transportation in case of emergency.

- You should also have a hand mister to use for backup, if you use an automatic mister system.

In the summer during heat waves you can put ice cubes on the top to drop the temperature and keep humidity up. It's ok to mist less, but make sure you have a dripper running for a while in the day, and offer hornworms. It's also ok to not run a heat lamp once the ambient room temperature is above 25c. But keep the UVB light going, it will provide enough heat.

For the feeding it's highly dependent on it it's male, or female. Were you able to pick the gender? Also if it is female, you have to consider a lay bin for your cage.

Thank you! That helps me a lot!
So my daughters bought me a 4 mth male panther yesterday as an early gift!!
I have the tank now and won’t bring him home till it’s set up and ready for him. I’m so excited!!

 

[Beman]

As the time is getting closer for me to be getting my veiled baby ... I'm somehow worried that I'll screw up...what if this happens or that happens....these are a few things I need the answer to so I can quit worry so much.

- I live up north and it can get pretty cold here in the winter months (that's like about 7- 8 months) What happens if I lose power for a day? How do others handle this?

- During the summer months there are sometimes weeks where the temps are in the high 20's (90F) I'm worried as to how I can keep the night temps low enough in order to have the humidity in the 80-100% range that he needs? I know that higher heat and humidity are a recipe for health issues (I don't have a A/C unit)

- Can anyone tell me "approximately" how many crickets/mealworms etc a mature veiled cham eats per feeding and or per week?? I've read so many different opinions on this..
.
Thank you so much!!!

See my feedback in red bold.

As the time is getting closer for me to be getting my veiled baby ... I'm somehow worried that I'll screw up...what if this happens or that happens....these are a few things I need the answer to so I can quit worry so much. Worry happens for everyone. Being new is just that. You are new and everything is a work in progress and it can be scary. That is what this forum is for. This is one of my older threads... But I lay out my journey up until Beman turned 5 years old. He passed away at the beginning of the year. He was almost 7. He was my first chameleon. And he was my first reptile ever. https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/happy-5th-birthday-beman-and-newbie-inspiration.190137/

- I live up north and it can get pretty cold here in the winter months (that's like about 7- 8 months) What happens if I lose power for a day? How do others handle this? Ok lose power and your house temps stay above 50F you are safe still. the cham will go into a shut down mode and sleep. NOW if this is more than a day or two that is where it gets risky. IF it drops below 50F this is where it gets very dangerous and they can pass away. So If this ever happens you need a back up... Someone with a generator that you can go stay etc. you have a go box for the cham. This can be anything from a plastic box with lid and a stick in the bottom through both sides so it is stable. He will sleep in the box. they can do this for days without damage.

- During the summer months there are sometimes weeks where the temps are in the high 20's (90F) I'm worried as to how I can keep the night temps low enough in order to have the humidity in the 80-100% range that he needs? I know that higher heat and humidity are a recipe for health issues (I don't have a A/C unit) Buy a window unit air conditioner. A veiled will not be able to handle 90's in the home. Ambient daytime levels they need are low 70's. Per night fogging. you simply do not add this if your temps do not get below 67. You mist instead.

- Can anyone tell me "approximately" how many crickets/mealworms etc a mature veiled cham eats per feeding and or per week?? I've read so many different opinions on this.. Dont feed mealworms. They are not the best nutritional source. A mature male Veiled should get anywhere from 3-5 insects every other day to every 3 days based on if they are holding excess weight. Babies should get 2-3 dozen small crickets every single day. This will reduce when they hit about 9 months and they curb back on their own.

 

[Lynn57]

See my feedback in red bold.

As the time is getting closer for me to be getting my veiled baby ... I'm somehow worried that I'll screw up...what if this happens or that happens....these are a few things I need the answer to so I can quit worry so much. Worry happens for everyone. Being new is just that. You are new and everything is a work in progress and it can be scary. That is what this forum is for. This is one of my older threads... But I lay out my journey up until Beman turned 5 years old. He passed away at the beginning of the year. He was almost 7. He was my first chameleon. And he was my first reptile ever. https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/happy-5th-birthday-beman-and-newbie-inspiration.190137/

I’m very sorry for your loss. He obviously was a very special boy.

- I live up north and it can get pretty cold here in the winter months (that's like about 7- 8 months) What happens if I lose power for a day? How do others handle this? Ok lose power and your house temps stay above 50F you are safe still. the cham will go into a shut down mode and sleep. NOW if this is more than a day or two that is where it gets risky. IF it drops below 50F this is where it gets very dangerous and they can pass away. So If this ever happens you need a back up... Someone with a generator that you can go stay etc. you have a go box for the cham. This can be anything from a plastic box with lid and a stick in the bottom through both sides so it is stable. He will sleep in the box. they can do this for days without damage.

I do have a backup generator as I have parrots and and a tortoise and frogs etc I was just wondering how many hours basically I could leave it without too much concern.

- During the summer months there are sometimes weeks where the temps are in the high 20's (90F) I'm worried as to how I can keep the night temps low enough in order to have the humidity in the 80-100% range that he needs? I know that higher heat and humidity are a recipe for health issues (I don't have a A/C unit) Buy a window unit air conditioner. A veiled will not be able to handle 90's in the home. Ambient daytime levels they need are low 70's. Per night fogging. you simply do not add this if your temps do not get below 67. You mist instead.

- Can anyone tell me "approximately" how many crickets/mealworms etc a mature veiled cham eats per feeding and or per week?? I've read so many different opinions on this.. Dont feed mealworms. They are not the best nutritional source. A mature male Veiled should get anywhere from 3-5 insects every other day to every 3 days based on if they are holding excess weight. Babies should get 2-3 dozen small crickets every single day. This will reduce when they hit about 9 months and they curb back on their own.

 

[Beman]

I’m very sorry for your loss. He obviously was a very special boy.

I do have a backup generator as I have parrots and and a tortoise and frogs etc I was just wondering how many hours basically I could leave it without too much concern.

Thank you. He really was an amazing little dude.

So you will be good if you have a generator and have all the other animals... It is not being in the dark that is a worry. They can go days like this. They just sleep through it. It is all about the temps. Under 50 or even lower is the danger zone. Their bodies have a hard time dealing with it for any length of time. So you should be good.

 

[jamest0o0]

Cham’s are resilient and imo not nearly as sensitive as people make them out to be. Given a baseline of good husbandry, they handle periods of stress well. I live up north and have never lost power in the winter for any amount of significant time. If it’s so bad that you’re going days under 50, you have bigger worries and need to drive yourself and your animals to safety.

Summers are warmer at night and more humid. I just wouldn’t fog and keep up good ventilation and go on with misting. Never had an issue with any of my Cham’s this way.