What to do for a 24-48 hour trip?

[Stinky]

As long as you feed them well before you go and don't reduce the water avaliable to your chams while youre gone they will be fine, sure things can go wrong and people will tell you "What if light blows!" "What if a thermostat fails!" "WHAT IF THE SKY FALLS IN!!!" But unless you have a tuppeny halfpenny setup it really is so highly unlikely that any of those things will happen that you can happily put them out of your mind. Have fun

 

[DanSB]

As long as you feed them well before you go and don't reduce the water avaliable to your chams while youre gone they will be fine, sure things can go wrong and people will tell you "What if light blows!" "What if a thermostat fails!" "WHAT IF THE SKY FALLS IN!!!" But unless you have a tuppeny halfpenny setup it really is so highly unlikely that any of those things will happen that you can happily put them out of your mind. Have fun

What is the hesitance to getting someone to check and mist once a day?

Why is asking friends, family, or neighbors to swing by once a day and check and spray a mister on your chameleons for a ten minutes such a big deal?

Certainly there is a very small chance there will be an issue. When I get in the car I wear my seat belt, when I get on a motorcycle I wear a helmet. I have never needed a helmet and only really used my seat belt once.

If you're the type of person who doesn't purchase insurance or bother with seat belts then you would be consistent to take the chance, but if you're not this is just one more safety measure you may never need. It is a risk / cost analysis and I suppose it really is a personal one so I shouldn't be judging another's choices.

 

[arnau666]

this is what i do when i cant stay home for 1 -2day:

i extra mist ,i feed him before i go and i put a cup with feeders inside the cage for the next day wich i saw he eats from
for humidity i use 3-4 perfusions all over the cage-each connected to bottles of 500 ml/1000ml and i hang them on my closet ! i adjust the flow of water- some go faster some slower - the humidity is kept at 60-70%
sometimes he sits under the perfusion drippers and drink
one perfusion is near the basking spot -1000ml
2nd is in one corner of the cage
3rd the other corner
and 4th in the middle of the cage
well this is what i do and works grate

 

[Stinky]

What is the hesitance to getting someone to check and mist once a day?

Why is asking friends, family, or neighbors to swing by once a day and check and spray a mister on your chameleons for a ten minutes such a big deal?

Certainly there is a very small chance there will be an issue. When I get in the car I wear my seat belt, when I get on a motorcycle I wear a helmet. I have never needed a helmet and only really used my seat belt once.

If you're the type of person who doesn't purchase insurance or bother with seat belts then you would be consistent to take the chance, but if you're not this is just one more safety measure you may never need. It is a risk / cost analysis and I suppose it really is a personal one so I shouldn't be judging another's choices.

I'm just trying to keep a reasonable sense of perspective on the scenario, sure having a friend or reflective pop in to mist and check is the ideal but if that is'nt an option there are responsible and adequate measures that can be taken for a few days that are more than acceptable,,,,,,, like checking to see If the sky is falling down before you go

 

[DanSB]

I'm just trying to keep a reasonable sense of perspective on the scenario, sure having a friend or reflective pop in to mist and check is the ideal but if that is'nt an option there are responsible and adequate measures that can be taken for a few days that are more than acceptable,,,,,,, like checking to see If the sky is falling down before you go

Who reports if the sky is going to fall? Is it the weatherman or possibly a field reporter? (That's a loaded question we all know it is chicken little)

Maybe we should focus on recommending what is ideal then if that is found to not be possible we can look for alternatives?

To me it just sounds like many here think it is absurd to bother having someone check your chameleon just because they have a method to keep up humidity and calculate feeding isn't necessary. I am simply trying to get the point across it is not only not absurd but it is a good idea and should always be your first choice.

Lets face it: It is a pain in the butt to find someone you trust enough to wander around your house when you're not home let alone to check on your chameleon that it would be really easy for most people to make the inferior choice of poking a few holes in some milk jugs and hoping for the best!

I think it is ideal to go a little bit out of your way to do the right thing by the animal you have taken responsibility for...

 

[Stinky]

Who reports if the sky is going to fall? Is it the weatherman or possibly a field reporter? (That's a loaded question we all know it is chicken little)

Maybe we should focus on recommending what is ideal then if that is found to not be possible we can look for alternatives?

To me it just sounds like many here think it is absurd to bother having someone check your chameleon just because they have a method to keep up humidity and calculate feeding isn't necessary. I am simply trying to get the point across it is not only not absurd but it is a good idea and should always be your first choice.

Lets face it: It is a pain in the butt to find someone you trust enough to wander around your house when you're not home let alone to check on your chameleon that it would be really easy for most people to make the inferior choice of poking a few holes in some milk jugs and hoping for the best!

I think it is ideal to go a little bit out of your way to do the right thing by the animal you have taken responsibility for...

I dont think that I said anything about not going out of your way for the animal youve taken responsibilty for, in fact I'd be very surprised if there were a single person here who doesn't go more than the extra mile for their Cham. There have been some very well informed solutions to this problem posted that are a little more sophisticated than simply "poking holes in milk containers", although I find that they work quite well. Peace dude

 

[DanSB]

I dont think that I said anything about not going out of your way for the animal youve taken responsibilty for, in fact I'd be very surprised if there were a single person here who doesn't go more than the extra mile for their Cham. There have been some very well informed solutions to this problem posted that are a little more sophisticated than simply "poking holes in milk containers", although I find that they work quite well. Peace dude

There really are some very good solutions here but most of them really just amount to a more complicated method of poking a hole in a milk jug and I will not say they aren't effective because they definitely are.

You very specifically said that people shouldn't be concerned with the what ifs, take care of the feeding and watering issues and have fun.

I very specifically say that is a bad idea and no matter how sophisticated you need someone to drop in and check on your animals.

It is simply a fundamental disagreement about how much risk we are willing to take and we should probably just let it go at that (I suspect you already have)

by the way I just noticed your new around these parts, welcome and don't let me being argumentative late at night put you off. This place really is awesome. And even though I didn't really acknowledge it your points are very valid so I apologize if I was coming off as extra obnoxious tonight.

 

[ktravelet]

I'm pretty sure a reptile can withstand any condition in America right now for 48 hours.

Just leave with a dripper and everything will be fine. Who cares if a light burns out, timer malfunctions, house AC dies, or even if the dripper stops working 6 hours in.

Don't get me wrong, I love my veiled. It's reptile though and can be surprisingly resilient.

 

[Olimpia]

Dan, I hear you, but sometimes finding someone isn't an option. Right now my boyfriend lives with me so that's great, it saves me a lot of stress, or before I used to have 3 roommates. But I've moved to a different city twice, alone, maybe I haven't made any friends at school yet, and my neighbors suck, and no one in town (that I can find in the yellow pages) is even remotely interested in babysitting reptiles. So trust me, I don't think it's ideal to leave animals along at home for more than a day but sometimes it's what happens. It's tough finding someone willing to give out crickets, or even who wants to be in the same room with any of the critters!

True story - Once I called a great of mine friend who agreed to take care of all the reptiles, which included the chams, geckos, and the snakes of a few friends who had dropped them all off for winter break at my house. I offered to pay, he agreed, and did the tour of the routine with me one day. Everything seemed great, he seemed fine, he'd seen the animals a hundred times before, and I felt more than comfortable enough to leave my and others' animals in his care.

Well, I wasn't gone 2 days when I call to check in and he says that he is scared of the reptiles. All of them scare him, he hates insects, and doesn't like being in the room. What?!? So here I am, in a different city, calling to see if anyone is staying at the university over the break who can maybe help out the original guy or take over. After making a hundred calls I found one more friend who wasn't leaving town and didn't mind the animals. It was such a fiasco! Not only that, but the first guy would still come over to help and would start cleaning the house with super loud music blasting so we got several very angry noise complaints during that time. It was a mess lol Finding people is tough!

Now I'm really happy that I have a boyfriend that grew up with geckos, so he is more than happy to help out.

 

[Trillian]

If I thought there were any other reptile-keepers locally I'd definitely set up a reptile-sitting business! My vet provides 'kennel' services for reptiles on vacation, and he'll hibernate them too.

 

[DanSB]

Dan, I hear you, but sometimes finding someone isn't an option. Right now my boyfriend lives with me so that's great, it saves me a lot of stress, or before I used to have 3 roommates. But I've moved to a different city twice, alone, maybe I haven't made any friends at school yet, and my neighbors suck, and no one in town (that I can find in the yellow pages) is even remotely interested in babysitting reptiles. So trust me, I don't think it's ideal to leave animals along at home for more than a day but sometimes it's what happens. It's tough finding someone willing to give out crickets, or even who wants to be in the same room with any of the critters!

True story - Once I called a great of mine friend who agreed to take care of all the reptiles, which included the chams, geckos, and the snakes of a few friends who had dropped them all off for winter break at my house. I offered to pay, he agreed, and did the tour of the routine with me one day. Everything seemed great, he seemed fine, he'd seen the animals a hundred times before, and I felt more than comfortable enough to leave my and others' animals in his care.

Well, I wasn't gone 2 days when I call to check in and he says that he is scared of the reptiles. All of them scare him, he hates insects, and doesn't like being in the room. What?!? So here I am, in a different city, calling to see if anyone is staying at the university over the break who can maybe help out the original guy or take over. After making a hundred calls I found one more friend who wasn't leaving town and didn't mind the animals. It was such a fiasco! Not only that, but the first guy would still come over to help and would start cleaning the house with super loud music blasting so we got several very angry noise complaints during that time. It was a mess lol Finding people is tough!

Now I'm really happy that I have a boyfriend that grew up with geckos, so he is more than happy to help out.

Just to be clear I do believe there may be times when you have no choice but to leave your critters alone for a few days. I've been there and foresee that it could happen again. I don't think a person is negligent if they do leave them alone for a few days because there is often no choice and we still need to live our lives.

My only concern is that it <b>seems</b> that setting up an ingenious drip system and over feeding before leaving looks like the first choice for some.

You obviously know that it is preferable to have someone checking in and my guess is would only not have someone checking in if there truly was no other option.

ktravelet: I'm not sure what part of america you live in but in Sacramento Ca where I live (A mild climate by all accounts) if the thermostat for the central climate control system for some reason isn't working properly sustained temps over 110 in the summer and in the winter lows sustained between high 20s and low 30s... This will kill many chameleons and cause undue stress to many others....

 

[Stinky]

There really are some very good solutions here but most of them really just amount to a more complicated method of poking a hole in a milk jug and I will not say they aren't effective because they definitely are.

You very specifically said that people shouldn't be concerned with the what ifs, take care of the feeding and watering issues and have fun.

I very specifically say that is a bad idea and no matter how sophisticated you need someone to drop in and check on your animals.

It is simply a fundamental disagreement about how much risk we are willing to take and we should probably just let it go at that (I suspect you already have)

by the way I just noticed your new around these parts, welcome and don't let me being argumentative late at night put you off. This place really is awesome. And even though I didn't really acknowledge it your points are very valid so I apologize if I was coming off as extra obnoxious tonight.

No worries buddy it's all good I may come off as being somewhat blasé with my naturally jovial mannerisms but I do take the care and well being of animals seriously and I'd never offer up advice frivolously, we have different perspectives and obviously we're both passionate about our charges so at worst we're on opposite sides of the same page.
Have a good weekend buddy